As Crime Goes By: The Life and Times of “Bondi” Bill Jenkings

Foreword by Rupert Murdoch. pp. 296, illusts First Edition #0518 Jenkings was a news and crime reporter for the Sydney newspaper The Daily Mirror, having joined the paper in 1944. The Daily Mirror was then owned by Ezra Norton and was later owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd. Jenkings worked as reporter for there until his retirement in 1991. Jenkings made and maintained legendary contacts both in the underworld and the police force, and was regarded as the foremost crime reporter in Sydney for over 50 years. He covered high-profile cases during the 1950s and 1960s, including the Graeme Thorne kidnapping, the Bogle-Chandler case, and the Wanda Beach murders. One of his sources, Detective Ray “Gunner” Kelly, benefited greatly from the publicity, becoming one of Australia’s best-known policemen.Jenkings was also unabashed at his support for several of the men he’d met in his working life. He had known Rupert Murdoch when Murdoch controlled The Daily Mirror, and Jenkings insisted that he was “a great boss”. He also refused to believe allegations about the involvement of Sydney policemen Ray Kelly, Fred Krahe and Frank Farrell in corrupt activities, saying that he had also known them personally. TRUE CRIME pp. 296 illusts #0919