Ronald Ryan - Escape

Escape

After Ryan was sentenced to Pentridge Prison, he was placed in B Division where he met fellow prisoner Peter John Walker (who was serving a 12 year sentence for bank robbery). When Ryan was informed that his wife was seeking a divorce, he made a plan to escape from prison. Walker decided to go along with him. Ryan planned to take himself and his family and flee to Brazil where there was no extradition treaty with Australia.

At around 2:07pm on Sunday, 19 December 1965, Ryan and Walker put the escape plan into effect. As prison officers were taking turns attending a staff Christmas party in the officers' mess hall, Ryan and Walker scaled a five-metre prison wall with the aid of two wooden benches, a hook and blankets. Running along the top of the wall to a prison watch tower, they overpowered prison warder Helmut Lange and took his M1 carbine rifle. Ryan threatened Lange to pull the lever which would open the prison tower gate to freedom. Lange, however, deliberately pulled the wrong lever. Ryan, Walker and Lange then proceeded down the steps to the tower gate, but it would not open. At the bottom of the stairs was the night officers' lodge. Warder Fred Brown was returning from lunch to relieve Lange when he was confronted by the escapees. Brown did not resist. When Ryan realised Lange had tricked him, Ryan jabbed the rifle into Lange’s back and marched him back up the stairs so Lange could pull the correct lever to open the tower gate. The two escapees then exited the gate out into the prison car park.

To the escapees' dismay there were only two cars in the car park and one had a flat tyre.

However, they did find a prison chaplain, Brigadier James Hewitt of the Salvation Army, in the car park. The escapees grabbed Hewitt and used him as a shield. Ryan, armed with the rifle, pointed it at Hewitt and demanded his car. Prison Officer Bennett in Tower 2 saw the prisoners. Ryan called to Bennett to throw down his rifle. Bennett ducked out of sight and then got his rifle.

When Hewitt told Ryan he did not have his car that day, Ryan rifle-butted him in the head causing serious injuries. Les Watt, a petrol attendant who watched the escape from a petrol station on Sydney Road, witnessed Ryan hitting Hewitt with the rifle. The escapees then left the badly injured chaplain and Ryan ran to nearby Champ Street.

Walker moved to the next door church. Prison officer Bennett had his rifle aimed at Walker and ordered Walker to halt or he would shoot. Walker took cover behind a small wall that bordered the church.

The prison alarm was raised by Warder Lange, and it began to blow loudly, indicating a prison escape. Unarmed warders, Wallis, Mitchinson and Paterson, came running out of the prison main gate and onto the street.

George Hodson, who had been having lunch in the prison officers mess near the Number 1 post, responded to Lange’s whistle. Bennett shouted to Hodson that he had a prisoner, Walker, pinned down behind the low church boundary wall. Hodson headed for Walker and picked up Walker's pipe. Hodson grappled with Walker but the escapee managed to break free so Hodson began hitting the fleeing Walker over his head with the piece of pipe. Walker was a faster runner than Hodson, so Hodson continued to chase after Walker with the pipe still in his hand. Both men ran towards the armed Ryan.

Meanwhile, confusion and noise were gaining strength around the busy intersection of Sydney Road and O'Hea Street, with the armed Ryan waving the rifle around trying to get cars to stop so he could commandeer them, and people ducking for cover between cars.

Frank and Pauline Jeziorski were travelling south on Champ Street and had slowed to give way to traffic on Sydney Road when Ryan armed with the rifle appeared in front of their car. Ryan threatened the driver and his passenger wife to get out of their car. The driver, Frank Jeziorski, turned his car off, put it in neutral then got out of his vehicle. Ryan got in via the driver's door. Surpisingly, Pauline Jeziorski refused to get out of the car. She was persuaded by Ryan to get out, only to go back in the car to get her handbag. Paterson, realising Ryan was armed, returned inside the prison to get a rifle.
Warder William Mitchinson was first to reach the car and grabbed Ryan through the driver's window, he told Ryan "the game's up". Warder Thomas Wallis who was following, ran to Pauline Jeziorski's side of the car. He grabbed her and pulled her away from the car.

In frustration, Ryan forced Mitchinson to back off, then got out of the passenger's side door and noticed Walker running towards him, being chased by Hodson who was holding the pipe in his hand. Walker was shouting frantically to Ryan that prison guard William Bennett, standing on the Number 2 prison tower, had his rifle aimed at them. At this time, Hodson was chasing Walker, Ryan took a couple of steps forward and raised his rifle and aimed it at Hodson.

George Hodson fell to the ground. He had been struck by a single bullet, travelling from front to back. The bullet had exited through Hodson's back, about an inch lower than the point of entry in his right chest. Hodson died in the middle of Sydney Road.

Paterson, now with a rifle, ran back outside and onto Champ Street. He decided he could not get a clear shot, so he stood on a low wall in the prison's front garden. He aimed his rifle at Ryan, and claimed he fired a shot in the air when a woman came into his line of sight.

Ryan and Walker ran past the fallen warder and commandeered a blue vanguard driven by Brian Mullins, with Walker driving the car drove through the service station and driving away on O'Hea Street.