Donald MackayPrint Page 
The monument commemorates the life and death of anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay, who was murdered in 1977. It contains a portrait bust of Donald Mackay and honours his services to the city of Griffith.
The disappearance of Liberal Party candidate and anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay from the New South Wales city of Griffith shocked the country in 1977 and has since become one of Australia's longest-running murder mysteries.
Mackay vanished from the car park of the Griffith Hotel on July 15, 1977. Police found three bullet casings and blood smeared on the door of Mackay's van, but his body has never been found. Since then, almost 3,500 people have been questioned by police about the incident. A royal commission into Mackay's disappearance in the 1970s found he had been murdered by a mafia hitman.
In 1986 hitman James Frederick Bazley was charged over the death. Bazley claimed he was innocent, blaming allegedly corrupt former Sydney detective Fred Krahe as the killer,but was convicted of conspiring with Gianfranco Tizzone, Robert Timbole, George Joseph and unknown other persons to murder Mackay, as well as the murders of drug couriers Douglas and Isabel Wilson. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Gianfranco Tizzoni, who turned informer in 1983, admitted to his 'complicity' in Mackay's murder.Specifically, Tizzoni admitted that he arranged for a hitman he knew as 'Fred' to undertake the contract. When shown photographs of possible suspects, Tizzone fingered James Frederick Bazley as the trigger man.
In July 2012, 35 years after his disappearance, the New South Wales police offered a $200,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of Mackay. The reward was considered a last-ditch attempt to loosen tight and ageing lips. In particular those of James Frederick Bazley, who is 86 and unwell. However, in the rare moments he has broken his silence, Bazley denied he was the killer.
Location
| Address: | Banna & Jondaryan Avenues, Griffith, 2680 |
|---|---|
| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.288546 Long: 146.050829 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Crime |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | 2008 |
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Donald Bruce Mackay
1933 - 1977
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke
1729 - 1797
This monument, erected by the citizens of Griffith, stands in honour of Donald Bruce Mackay in recognition of his service to this city.
Donald Mackay is remembered for his vision, valour and moral fortitude in supporting those less fortunate in society, and his resolve to keep the city free of the consequences of illegal drugs.
Born in 1933, the second son of a Griffith pioneering businessman, Len Mackay and his wife Phyllis, Don received a liberal Christian upbringing, instilling in him a rare compassion for his fellow man.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Don became alarmed at the escalating marijuana trade in the Griffith area and the apparent lack of effort to halt it.
His action to highlight the supply of illegal drugs attracted widespread media attention and Don soon became the public face of those who opposed this destructive practice.
Undeterred by the threats on his life that followed, Don continued his campaign to eradicate the drug trafficking which would ruin the lives of many people.
According to judicial evidence, on the evening of 15 July 1977, Don was callously murdered. The news stunned not only the citizens of the city, but the nation as a whole. Up until this time his remains have not been found.
It is hoped that this memorial will help inform future generations of the courage and foresight of this man and act as a tribute to his life.
