Missing money never found
Former National Bank Manager Frank Ryan, who is long retired but still lives in Cowes, has provided the following account of a major crime that occurred on Phillip Island back in 1973, that to this day has not been solved.
Frank was NAB Cowes branch bank manager at the time the crime occurred.
In those days, mail was transferred on a daily basis from the Cowes Post Office to the Melbourne GPO by ferry across to Stony Point, and then by road to Melbourne.
The bank used the mail service to deliver its takings to head office.
Frank recalls that on the day in question, it had been a very busy morning.
It was a Tuesday after a long weekend public holiday, with business operators banking their long weekend takings.
Deposits were larger than usual because of the three day holiday takings.
Following their usual practice, bank staff lodged as registered mail five parcels, containing a total amount of $73,500 in circulated banknotes, for the 3pm outward mail.
In 1973 postal bags of ordinary mail and registered and or certified mail bags (which were a different colour) were delivered by utility to the Cowes pier, to be loaded on to the Cowes ferry and on arrival at Stony Point, the mail bags were collected by the Mornington Peninsula Mail Collection Contractor and delivered to the Melbourne GPO along with bags collected on the Peninsula.
The combined consignment of mail bags from the Peninsula and Phillip Island on that day totalled 37.
The daily mail routine had gone on without problems for years.
However, on this particular occasion, NBA branch manager Frank was awoken at 11 pm that night by a phone call from a very a distressed Manager in Charge at the Melbourne GPO, who told him that only 36 bags had arrived.
The registered mail bag from the Cowes NAB was missing.
We confirmed to him that a large sum of cash/banknotes had been sent in the registered bag that day.
And then all hell broke loose, says Frank, as the enormity of the situation dawned.
$73,500 was a very large amount of money in those days.
And it was gone, without trace.
Police were called, and reporters from Melbourne SUN and The AGE raced down to Cowes, wanting to cover every angle of what was a huge story at the time.
Frank recalls the reporter’s anger when they were denied access to the Cowes NAB Strongroom for photographs, and all of their questions were met with a stonewall NO COMMENT.
Melbourne detectives were also on the scene, interviewing bank staff, Cowes post office staff, Cowes ferry staff and the mail contractors at the Stony Point end.
But their efforts, while ongoing and thorough, turned up nothing.
To this day the missing money has never been recovered, nor has anyone been charged.
Plenty of theories were circulated and suspicions raised within this small island community, which was amazed at the audacity and success of the heist.
But to no avail.
Will this mystery ever be solved? is the question Frank Ryan has often pondered.
Highly unlikely, is his conclusion, after all of this time.