Remembering the Hilton
Senior Constable Terry Griffiths was on duty in Sydney on 13 February 1978 when a bomb exploded outside George Street’s Hilton Hotel.
The bomb was in a bin outside the hotel and when council workers operating a City of Sydney Council garbage truck tipped the bin’s contents into the truck, the explosion was instantaneous. Garbage collectors Alec Carter and William Favell were killed at the scene and NSW Police Officer Paul Burmistriw died from his injuries nine days later.
The AFP was formed the following year in response to the act of terror.
Forty years on, retired Senior Constable Griffiths still carries the scars of the trauma he experienced that night. “Our love for one another is stronger than any bomb,” he told a commemorative service on Tuesday 13 February.
Acting AFP Commissioner Leanne Close said that as well as the impact on individuals in the vicinity of the blast, there was a broader impact on the public’s confidence in Australia’s law enforcement agencies. The attack put all policing services under close review.
“This review brought about a range of important changes to State and Commonwealth policing and directly led to the creation of the Australian Federal Police in late 1979,” she said.
The AFP’s first commissioner, Sir Colin Woods, had experienced the IRA bombing campaigns in the UK and brought with him a practical experience to guide the AFP in counter terrorism.
“He was a strong advocate for close cooperation between law enforcement agencies,” Acting Commissioner Close said. “It is often said that the fundamental duty of each individual police officer is to protect those in their community. This applies throughout the world no matter what particular badge is displayed on the officer’s uniform.
"It is perhaps some consolation that over the four decades of policing, technology, intelligence practices and collaboration are now quite significantly different to the practices in 1978.
"But I can assure you that one thing remains constant: our determined commitment to protect the people of Australia to the best of our ability against these types of heinous crimes.
Acting AFP Commissioner Leanne Close lays a wreath at the site of the Hilton Hotel bombing.
“The impact on family, friends and colleagues of those directly affected by the blast clearly continues today, and I give my sincere condolences to the families and friends of all here present who’ve had to live through this experience for the last 40 years.”
As part of the commemorations, a 16km ‘AFP Sergeants Mess’ inaugural Charity Walk took place through the streets of Sydney. The walk commenced in the evening of 12 February and concluded at the George Street entrance of the Hilton Hotel at the time the bomb went off - 12.40am.
Participants raised money for AFP Legacy, AUSPOL and NSW Police Legacy.
Mess Committee President Detective Sergeant Vince Pannell said the walk was a sombre event with participants reflecting on the act of terror which sparked the formation of the AFP.
“The long walk provided an opportunity to quietly reflect on the tragedy of 40 years ago,” he said. “Marking that event by walking to the exact location at the exact time of the bombing was an eerie experience for us, but one which allowed us to think about where we have come from, and what is important to each of us as individuals and as police.”
AFP members and retired Senior Constable Terry Griffiths (second from right) during a charity walk in the lead-up to Hilton Hotel bombing commemorations.
13 February 1978
At the time of the Hilton bombing, the hotel was the site of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting (CHOGRM), a regional subsidiary of the biennial meetings of the heads of government from across the Commonwealth of Nations.
A bomb inside a rubbish bin exploded when the bin was emptied into a garbage truck outside the hotel at 12.40am, killing garbage collectors Alec Carter and William Favell.
A police officer guarding the entrance to the hotel lounge, Paul Birmistriw, died of his injuries in hospital nine days later.
The bomb injured 11 others. The 12 foreign leaders staying in the hotel at the time were uninjured.
On the attack’s 30th anniversary in 2008, a plaque was unveiled at the explosion site on George Street.
NSW Police – who lost member Paul Burmistriw in the bombing – lay a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the incident.
The attack was one of the first terror incidents on Australian soil, and was a catalyst for the formation of the Australian Federal Police.
Terrorism remains a major security challenge for Australia. In recent years, a number of plots have been disrupted by the coordinated efforts of Australia’s security and law enforcement agencies, as well as the AFP’s international partners.
The AFP’s Counter Terrorism teams of today contribute to safeguarding Australia's national security through a whole of government approach, facilitated by national and international cooperation, coordination and collaborative working arrangements.
