Mellish’s Wife Speaks To Sydney Radio Station

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31725, 8 July 1968, Page 11

Mellish’s Wife Speaks To Sydney Radio Station

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) SYDNEY, July 7. Beryl Mellish, the 18-year-old wife of the besieged gunman, Wallace Mellish, today telephoned a Sydney radio station and asked for people “to go away and leave us alone” —because that was the only thing Mellish wanted, she said.

The tousle-haired Mellish, armed with a pistol, shotgun, and awo rifles, is holding his wife and her 12-week-old baby hostage in a cottage at Glenfield, on the western outskirts of Sydney, and has held a small army of police at bay with threats, ransoms, and bribes since Tuesday—when he threatened to kill “1000 people” rather than face a cartheft charge.

Mellish’s threats of death to his wife and her baby have been the factor behind the police not rushing the small wooden cottage, or using force to cap-

ture him. Sydney Radio Station 2SM this afternoon relayed this morning’s conversation between Mrs Mellish and a reporter, Steve Raymond, in which the teen-age bride complained that her baby son. Leslie, was starving. Before broadcasting the conversation, the New South Wales Commissioner of Police (Mr Norman Allan), who has been at the centre of the siege drama, was asked to confirm that it was Beryl Mellish speaking on a taperecording of the conversation —and did so. Mrs Mellish began the conversation with the reporter by saying: “I just want to say that we’re not getting any electricity, and I can’t heat milk for my baby who’s starving, and under no circumstances is Wally going to let me and the baby out.” The reporter then said: “Superintendent Fergusson [in charge of the siege, which is now in its sixth day] told me yesterday that under no circumstances would he let the baby go without food.” Mrs Mellish replied: “Yes, but under no circumstances is Wally going to let us out, and the police said last night they would not put the electricity on. It’s still not on, and my baby is screaming.” Reporter: Is there anything you would like people to know, Beryl, while you're talking to us? Mrs Mellish: I’d just like people to go away and leave

us alone, because that’s the only thing he wants. Reporter: How is Wally by the way? Mrs Mellish: He won’t let us out. He’s still sitting around with nothing to do. Reporter: There’s been a lot of talk on whether or not you’re being held hostage, or whether you’re with Wally. Mrs Mellish: But I am being held a hostage. Reporter: Do you think Wally will evenutally come out peacefully, and receive the treatment that he does need?

Mrs Mellish: I don’t know. It’s entirely up to him, but at the moment he says he's not going to. Asked if she had contacted Superintendent Fergusson

that morning, Mrs Mellish said: “I talked to Mr Allan last night and he said he would not allow anybody to come here and put the electricity on.” [The police last night rushed floodlights to the besieged cottage after Mellish warned that “something drastic” would happen if the lights, doused by a power failure, were not restored. A detective reassured Mellish that the police were not responsible for the power failure, and told him emergency lights would be provided until the power break was repaired.] The reporter then said: “Well, I can't see how Commissioner Allan would back down on a promise that the baby wouldn’t go without food, or anything it wanted.” Mrs Mellish said: “Yes, but look I’m not lying.” [Commissioner Allan said on Friday that only food for the baby would be allowed into the cottage.] Mr Allan Interviewed Mr Allan was later interviewed about the conversation with Mrs Mellish. Mr Allan said her charges that the baby was screaming and starving “should be put in proper perspective.” He said that while arrangements were being made last night for someone to see that the electricity was put on in the cottage, Mellish, speaking to the Rev. Clyde Paton, who

had married him in the cottage five days before, had said: “I’ll let someone come down, but whoever it is that comes will have a doublebarrelled shotgun trained on his head, and if he makes one false move I’ll blow his head off.” Mr Allan said he then immediately cancelled all arrangements to solve the electricity problem, because he was not prepared to have anyone’s life depend on Mellish’s judgement of what was a false move. “It was in these circumstances that I told Mrs Mellish I would not have the lights put on at night, but that the matter would be further examined in the daylight,” he said. Mr Allan said he explained to Mrs Mellish last night that there was still sufficient residual hot water in the system to use for the baby’s food, as at that time the electricity had been off for only a few minutes.

Mrs Mellish had also assurred the police several times that she had plenty of food for the baby. Nobody had heard the screams which Mrs Mellish alleged the baby had been making, Mr Allan said. Whenever the baby did cry usually at feeding times some of the police surrounding the house had always heard it. But Mr Allan said that on no account would the police allow the baby to go hungry.