Meet the Author
14 Jul 2018
A trainee nurse meets one of the only inmates to ever escape Long Bay prison. From this meeting, stemmed an intriguing, immersive and captivating book.
Many Australians will be familiar with the story of Russell ‘Mad Dog’ Cox. After being charged with armed robbery in 1974 he was sent to Long Bay, Australia’s most notorious prison. A year later, he, along with two other inmates, somehow obtained a firearm and tried to shoot their way out of the prison.
In the process, he was shot several times and was admitted to Prince Henry Hospital, where he was treated by a 19-year-old trainee nurse, Patrick Kennedy.
Later, Cox would successfully escape from the high security section of the prison, one of the only inmates ever to do so.
Perhaps inspired by his brush with Mad Dog, Patrick has written a book, entitled Long Bay, exploring the history of infamous prison and the people, including Russell Cox, who have resided there.
For Patrick, the process of researching the book was uniquely immersive. He is the only author to ever be given free reign within the correctional complex, and the experience had a profound impact on his interpretation of Long Bay.
“It was a great privilege to be allowed inside to interview officers, inmates, nursing staff and chaplains,” he says. “Despite the fact I have worked in very difficult environments as an intensive care ambulance paramedic in my career, I must say being inside Long Bay can be a nerve racking experience.”
Stories of hope
But despite the confronting nature of researching a prison with some of Australia’s most violent and dangerous criminals, the stories Patrick uncovered were surprisingly hopeful.
“One prisoner in particular was convicted of hideous crimes that were so outrageous I would not detail them in my book,” Patrick recalls. “Two decades ago he apologised for what he did and now tells other younger criminals to get out of gaol and get on with their lives. He appears now to be content despite the fact he will never get outside of Long Bay again.”
A surprising story
Although Patrick had been fascinated by Russell Cox since their encounter in his youth, he found the experience of researching his life and time in prison to be similarly illuminating, and often surprising.
“I was given access to an oral history recording of Mr Cox, where he described a lot of his life in Long Bay and his time while he was on the run. To my surprise Cox sounded remarkably articulate, cool, disarming, genuine, honest and did not appear to exaggerate – not what you expect from a man who has been in trouble with the law from the age of nine.”
Patrick was not the only person who found himself surprised by Mr Cox. “Despite the fact he was involved with the escape, which left a prison officer shot, Mr Cox was quite well liked by prison officers. In fact one man who was held hostage by Mr Cox and his colleagues in 1975 ended up supporting his application, at the age of 55, for parole in 2004.”
It is these shades of grey that have informed much of Patrick’s book. Like so many things, Long Bay is not what it seems.
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