The Day a Prison Escapee Kidnapped a School

Meshel Laurie (0:03)

This is Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie. In 1977, 20-year-old teacher Rob Hunter had been working at Wooreen State School in Gippsland for just nine days. Then a convicted kidnapper and prison escapé arrived at the school with a gun.

Rob and his nine students were taken hostage and forced on a terrifying journey through rural Victoria. Rob tells the story in his book, Day 9 at Wooreen. This is Australian True Crime. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. A warning, this episode of the podcast contains graphic descriptions of violence.

Rob Hunter (0:51)

I like to talk about it because I'm healthy, I'm very healthy, and it's a real celebration of health after hurt.

Meshel Laurie (0:59)

Yeah. You mean healthy, emotionally, spiritually, mentally.

Rob Hunter (1:03)

Yes. A lot of people suffer terribly, perhaps worse than trauma than what I went through. But it was an amazing story.

We were saved fairly dramatically.

Meshel Laurie (1:17)

I mean, it's all an amazing story. Tell us though how you as a young fella, Rob Hunter, ended up in this situation. Tell us about the beautiful little school in Wooreen.

Rob Hunter (1:27)

February the 14th, 1977, 20 years of age, my ninth day of teaching.

Meshel Laurie (1:35)

In total, not just there.

Rob Hunter (1:37)

That's right. Ninth day of teaching ever. Newly qualified, a one teacher school, all on my own as an adult and with nine children.

Lovely little school, lovely community, parents very supportive. I felt like I knew them already because we'd had a barbecue on the Wednesday prior.

Meshel Laurie (1:59)

To welcome you.

Rob Hunter (2:00)

To welcome and get to know you thing. Yeah. Then Monday morning, February the 14th, let the children out for recess at 10.3 as normal. Moments later, they came racing back inside saying, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Hunter, there's a man outside with a gun.

I went to the door and I was forcefully met by this balaclava-hooded man.

Meshel Laurie (2:24)

We're not a gun culture in Australia. I say that even though there's been three shootings in my suburb in the last month, but we don't see ourselves as a gun culture, and certainly in the early 70s. This is a farm community, so we know farmers have guns, but this is just so unexpected, so crazy.

Rob Hunter (2:42)

Yes. Little dairy farming community, Wooreen, just north of Leongatha, South Gippsland, beautiful countryside, Rolling Hills, very small little community. The only building in the whole community other than the farms, no church, no hall, just the school. The school was the hub of the community.

Meshel Laurie (3:06)

My goodness. No wonder they had a barbecue when you came.

The kids have come running in and said, there's a man outside with a gun. Did you believe them? Would you think kids are mucking around?

Rob Hunter (3:17)

No. I thought, okay, someone will be wanting to shoot a rabbit, or I didn't think it was an issue. But when I got to the door, there was this burly, dark clad balaclava. He had a Collingwood beanie over his head as a balaclava, Michelle.

Meshel Laurie (3:37)

And a lot of Melburnians listening will say, that's a pretty serious character.

Rob Hunter (3:42)

He had cut out some slots for his eyes, and it was just over his nose. His mouth was free. He was sweating, panting, excited, pointing a gun directly at my chest. Get back inside or I'll fucking shoot you.

Meshel Laurie (3:58)

Oh my God.

Okay. What do you do next? I mean, as we've established, you're 20 years old and you're in charge of nine children. I guess you acquiesce, you do whatever a bloke with a gun tells you to do.

Rob Hunter (4:12)

Exactly. Exactly. So I did exactly what he said pretty much for the rest of that time, for the rest of the 24-hour ordeal.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Three bags full, sir.

Meshel Laurie (4:25)

And all the kids come in, did you?

Rob Hunter (4:27)

Yeah. So we all stayed pretty calm. The children were looking at me thinking, Mr. Hunter, what's going on here? And I just played it as cool as you could possibly try to be. And no tears.

Kids started asking questions. What? Who are you? Where are we going? And he's telling us, I'm just going to take you away for a little while until my demands are met. And the children say, where? Why? Who?

How long?

Meshel Laurie (5:05)

And what demands? I mean, I don't know if the kids are wondering this, but you must be like, what demands? What could anyone, how could anyone benefit from kidnapping you and some kids?