About this book:

'Hoddle Street: The Ambush and the Tragedy', is a factual reconstruction of the mass murders that began in Hoddle Street, Clifton Hill, and came to an end in McKean Street, North Fitzroy, on a cold August night in 1987. It begins quietly enough with police on a quick change over shift, answering calls and ambulance officers attending to the sick and the injured. It is the night of a full moon and more than one person makes the observation that it is when "all the nuffies" come out.

Men and women go about their business and private lives. They visit family or friends, watch the television and head for home when their lives are interrupted and changed forever. Hiding behind bushes and whatever other cover he can find, Julian Knight, then 19, murders seven men and women and injures countless more. Officially police claim it to be 19 injured, but that is just a token figure. It should be in the thousands.

Knight who had been given the option of resigning or being dismissed from the Australian Army following his stabbing of a cadet sergeant major, was upset that the life he had dreamed was no longer possible. His former girlfriend did not want anything more to do with him; a barmaid thought he was strange and his mother had converted his bedroom into a sitting room and he owed some money on a car. He was in a job he didn't like and there was no career opportunity.

After having some drinks in a hotel, he gathered his three firearms and began shooting under the cover of darkness while his enemy, the public, were under streetlight. Finally cornered by Constables John Delahunty and Ralph Lockman, Knight surrendered when he had run out of ammunition after trying to kill the two police officers in a lane off McKean Street, North Fitzroy. Screaming "don't shoot, don't shoot" he gave up and began a life sentence but with a minimum of 27 years imprisonment to serve.

This book took five years to write and the richness in detail is due to the author interviewing more than 300 people. It is in three chapters, the first dealing with the incident itself. Then under the heading, THE AFTERMATH, fifty of his victims tell of what happened to them. This includes police, ambulance officers, the wounded, those whose loved ones were murdered. It is after all a book about the victims, not just about the offender. The third chapter is titled JULIAN KNIGHT and reveals that he had at an earlier age previously shot at cars and people and that he was never one who was going to make it in the army. He just didn't have it in him. Then his initial time behind bars at Victoria's Pentridge Prison - the hospital and H division. The irony of it all is that Knight, while under sentence, furthered his education and received an Arts degree majoring in Strategic and Defence Studies.

'Hoddle Street: The Ambush and the Tragedy' is an important book. If you wanted to know what happened in the first mass murder of its kind in Australia, and about the effect such a crime has on its survivors then this is the book to read. It is a tough book, not one for the squeamish, and not one for the person who wants to read it over a period of weeks. You won't be able to put it down. Guaranteed.

296 pages not including photographs, and map.

People said it could only happen in other countries. But they were wrong. A nineteen year old who wanted to be a hero, but was found wanting during military training, shattered the myth that Australia was different. Armed with rifles and ammunition Julian Knight murdered seven and injured many more. This book is a reconstruction, through the eyes of those who were there, of what happened that cold August night on 1987.

Ambush Heroes Have Say by Brian Walsh - Herald Sun - 28 Nov 1998.

Haunted by Hoddle Street - Aussiepost - 26 Dec 1998.

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Reviews:

"There is a lot I didn't know and I suspect having now read your book some of it I wish I hadn't learned. I wish I still didn't know some of it. Congratulations on your book. I think it will find a ready readership, hopefully amongst the right people rather than people who are turning to it for what may be questionable reasons. But if you've always wondered what really is the story behind the story of what happened in 1987 in Hoddle Street, in Clifton Hill, well, Peter Haddow's book will tell you, in perhaps more detail than you really wanted to know on a few occasions, but it's compelling and there's a lot to be learned from the detail as well."

Jon Faine, 3LO/ABC774 morning presenter (10 Dec 1998).

“This was published some considerable time ago, but for some reason in the last few weeks I’ve been drawn towards some True Crime books. This was a particularly harrowing read, all about the events of Hoddle Street in 1987 – told as short snippets from the viewpoint of many of the people involved – the dead, the injured and the police desperate to get the manic situation under control.  I think it was that method of telling the story that made it all the more stark.  Excellent book to give you a true feeling for how the unimaginable and unexpected effects everyone.”
Australian Crime Fiction 20 June 2007 - www.austcrimefiction.org

"…Peter Haddow reconstructs the path taken by many of the people who were unfortunate enough to find themselves in Clifton Hill on that night. To do so the author conducted more than 300 interviews before writing this book. It shows. Their accounts are woven into an engrossing but matter-of-fact narrative that takes the reader through the shooting spree and its aftermath. Haddow also details the effect Hoddle Street had on those involved - from the police and paramedics who risked their lives to the survivors and grieving families of the victims. The book finishes with the life and times of the cowardly misfit Knight. …in this book there are no John Wayne characters looming larger than life. But there are a hell of a lot of ordinary people who acted with extraordinary courage on a night most would love to forget."

Reviewed by Brian Walsh in the Herald Sun (28 Nov 1998).

Sly of the Underworld (John Sylvester) "a good read" and "not bad" on 3AW Breakfast program (17 Dec 1998).

"The book is based on interviews with 300 of the police, ambulance officers, civilians and relatives who became victims of the 19-year old Duntroon reject, who told detectives he was depressed, and wanted to see what it was like to kill someone… The book reveals the deep trauma suffered by police and civilians alike. Many police resigned afterwards, unable to cope with their disillusionment or their inability to cope… There is anger towards the insensitivity and intrusiveness of the media, who hounded many of the victims and trivialised their stories. There is anger towards Julian Knight and a feeling that his craving for publicity should be ignored…"

"We can only be grateful that he finished the project, because this book humanises the faceless victims, provides a valuable insight into the deep scars of post traumatic stress, and probes the background of Julian Knight. The book begins with a full moon, banality and a 'dead boring shift'."

"Peter Haddow's book is gripping reading. He describes it as a dedication to the victim of Hoddle Street. The book also makes a vital contribution to our understanding of the coping abilities and stresses of emergency workers under fire, and the impact on victims long after the headlines fade. Finally, if it doesn't explain how a purportedly sane man can kill seven people, read the media accounts like a vulture and get angry at the errors but display no remorse for the bereaved, Hoddle Street: The Ambush and the Tragedy, is an invaluable attempt to portray Julian Knight, the person, not the glorified hero or villain."

Reviewed in This Is The Drum (official publication of the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services), (Mar 1999).

"Hoddle Street: The Ambush and the Tragedy gives a fascinating insight into a night that is a blight on Melbourne and Australia's history. It was an event that everyone said couldn't happen in our country. But it did - and we must never forget that it happened and we must never let it happen again…"

Reviewed in The Police Association Journal , Victoria, vol 65, issue 5 (May 1999).

"Haddow's book captures what the people caught in the ambush experienced on the night and how it changed their lives. It tells of incidents during the night, the aftermath and the trial that have never been revealed before… It is a gripping, if not intriguing, read that lifts much of the mystery surrounding the events of 9 August, 1987."

Reviewed by Alan Dew, Australian Police Journal, vol 53, no 4 (Dec 1999).

"…a well-researched piece of work based upon interviews with the participants and others more peripherally involved, and also from transcripts, police statements and newspaper articles…this is graphic reading, and not for the faint hearted…a gripping account that sustained interest. …a creditable account of an incredibly harrowing and traumatic event. …it presents a thoughtful account of the problems faced by victims of violent crime and poses the question of how society could have allowed this to happen."

Reviewed by Tony Fairbridge in Woorilla, vol 9, no 2 (1999).

"The book Hoddle Street: The Ambush and the Tragedy should be compulsory reading for all recruits. …the book is amazing…Yeah it is a really good book."

Reviewed in www.UpholdTheRight.com, Forum Index ->Victoria Police (Non recruiting), (11 Jul 2002)

"This book retraces the life of Julian Knight, the adopted son of an army couple, who was expelled from schools and then the army. More than this, Peter Haddow takes readers beyond the jail cell and contradictions of Knight's private life. This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand these shocking murders..."

(Reviewed by Gary Turner in the Melbourne Times on 15 October 2003)

This book has also been reviewed in the Brisbane Valley Star, Lockyer Valley Star & Gatton Star, Queenland; and the Melbourne Observer.

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