This clip contains interviews with two eyewitnesses who came face-to-face with Ronald Ryan and Peter Walker in December 1965.

The first eyewitness is prison chaplain Brigadier James Hewitt, who speaks from his hospital bed after receiving a blow to the head from a rifle butt during Ryan and Walker's escape. Mrs June Crawford was confronted and threatened by the escapees when they robbed the Ormond, Melbourne branch of the ANZ Bank.

This clip is from a film compilation of Channel Nine News footage on Ronald Ryan held in the NFSA television collection.

During Ronald Ryan and Peter Walker's escape from Pentridge Prison in December 1965, warder George Hodson was shot dead. Several days later, Nine News reporter Tom Jones took to the streets to interview locals about the presence of the prison in their suburb.

This clip is from a film compilation of Channel Nine News footage on Ronald Ryan held in the NFSA television collection.

On the night of Christmas Day 1965, Peter Walker killed Arthur Henderson (later claiming it was self-defence); Henderson had met and recognised prison escapees Walker and Ronald Ryan whilst they were hiding in Melbourne. Escaping to Sydney, Ryan and Walker were arrested on 5 January 1966.

They faced court in March 1966. Ryan was found guilty of the murder of George Hodson and sentenced to hang. Walker was found guilty of the manslaughter of Henderson. While Ryan's lawyers pursued an appeal on the grounds that the verdict was against the weight of evidence, members of the community began to question the correctness of the verdict and the sentence. This clip features Barry Jones, representing the Victorian Anti-Hanging Committee. Jones was outspoken about there being a margin of doubt and therefore that all legal avenues should be exhausted before punishment was carried out.

Note: the start of this clip is silent

This clip is from a film compilation of Channel Nine News footage on Ronald Ryan held in the NFSA television collection.

When Ronald Ryan was sentenced to death in 1966, it sparked debate across the community with politicians and religious authorities making statements for and against capital punishment. In this clip, supporters of the death penalty include Mr William Moss, Leader of the Victorian Country Party, and a representative from the Church of England; those against are Mr Clive Stoneham, Leader of the Opposition and Anglican Bishop Geoffrey Sambal.

At the time, capital punishment was an official policy of the governing Victorian Liberal Party. Premier Sir Henry Bolte believed that Ryan’s execution sentence was correct, given ‘that it was a murder against authority’ (as quoted by Nine News reporter Tom Jones following a press conference).

This clip is from a film compilation of Channel Nine News footage on Ronald Ryan held in the NFSA television collection.

This excerpt features part of a press conference with Mrs Ryan, Ronald’s mother, who was being cared for by nuns. She reads a short statement and then answers questions from reporters about her visits with her son in Pentridge Prison.

This clip is from a film compilation of Channel Nine News footage on Ronald Ryan held in the NFSA television collection.

Footage of the crowd of protesters outside Pentridge Prison on the day of Ronald Ryan’s execution, 3 February 1967.

One of the film reels from the Nine Network contained silent footage of two live reports by Nine News’ Michael Schildberger from outside Pentridge Prison. During the documenting of another NFSA news collection, from TVT-6 in Tasmania, we found the same footage - this time with sound - on a compiled news film reel. The second print confirmed the timing of the news reports: the first being at 7.30 am and the second at 3 minutes before 8 am, the time set for Ryan’s hanging. It was not known at the time that this would be the last execution carried out in Australia.

This clip is from a film compilation of Channel Nine News footage on Ronald Ryan held in the NFSA television collection.

Ronald Ryan was the last man hanged in Australia. Narration and black-and-white stills tell the story of his upbringing and early life. He came from an impoverished family, brought up by his widowed mother. His wife, Dorothy Pirois recalls their first meeting and Ronald’s heavy gambling after they were married. Peter Walker, fellow escapee, recalls Ryan as an ordinary bloke. Ryan’s lawyer, Dr. Philip Opas QC says he liked his client.

Summary by Damien Parer

Father John Brosnan, priest to hanged man Ronald Ryan, compares the Ryan hanging to that of Ned Kelly in that both were political. The judge, Sir John Starke, says that the then Victorian premier, Sir Henry Bolte, insisted that the sentence be carried out.

Summary by Damien Parer

In a dramatic re-creation Ronald Ryan (played by Colin Friels) is hanged in Pentridge prison. Radio journalist Brian Morley recalls being a witness to the hanging. In the re-creation, the priest (played by John Clayton) gives Ryan’s body the last rites.

Summary by Damien Parer