Photo by Alex Hockett on Unsplash
Whenever I used to travel to Sydney, I’d make regular visits to Bankstown, a suburban district. It had a nice Lebanese restaurant. My Australian friends would always discourage me from going there because of the town’s notorious reputation. If you google it, you’ll probably find lots of crime stories involving mob hits. The most recent involved a Vietnamese lawyer who was shot at point black range at a cafe.
If you are familiar with the old Australian TV series, “Underbelly” it is said to be inspired by the famous Muslim-Lebanese family in Australia — the Ibrahims. The most flamboyant of all is John Ibrahim (the king of Kings Cross) who recently had a book out about his life entitled, “Last King of the Cross”. His cousin recently married the sister of Salim Mehajer, another infamous figure, thus cementing the union between two of Australia’s most notorious families.
At one time, John lost his beloved macaw when it flew over the nearby cliffs at his seaside bungalow. The Rose Bay police, along with police rescue, abseiled down and retrieved the bird.
And then there was Mahmoud “Mick” Howie (deceased), who once headed the outlawed bikie gang, The Comancheros. Here’s a news clipping about Mick’s funeral.
The bikie gang was created a couple of decades ago by William G. Ross. He survived the Milperra Massacre in 1984, a shoot-out between rival motorcycle gangs. An innocent 15-year old girl died when a stray hit her.
What was once an all-white-gang, The Comancheros evolved to include several club charters across states. Members now make up different ethnic groups: Lebanese, Samoans, Maoris, Greeks, Italians, Asians, etc.
The Comancheros are not your regular beer-belching bikie gang. These guys are tech-savvy; members include trained military snipers and computer specialists.
So, I thought it’ll be fun to weave a new thriller about an ordinary guy working at a wine estate who finds himself embroiled with a bikie gang. It all begins when a reporter sent to do a feature story about the estate in Clare Valley in South Australia is found murdered.
I am familiar with South Australia, having managed the state tourism’s public relations account for a decade. The SA landscape is gorgeous that it’s hard to pick a favorite location as it changes from place to place. Well, there’s also going to be a bit of Sydney in the story along with other locations around the globe. Honestly, it never occurred to me that I could find more materials to write another novel.
