Australian True Crime – The Day They Blew Up The Police Station: The Russell Street Bombing (Re-Issue)
Release Date: January 11, 2026
Host: Meshel Laurie
Guest: Retired Victoria Police Chief Inspector Rob Bailey

Episode Overview

This re-issued episode of Australian True Crime revisits one of the most infamous events in Australia's history: the 1986 Russell Street Bombing. Host Meshel Laurie is joined by retired Chief Inspector Rob Bailey, a frontline witness and survivor of the attack. Bailey provides a gripping personal account of the explosion, the violent era of Melbourne’s armed robbery “war,” and the enduring impact of trauma on police officers and their families. The conversation is honest, raw, and reveals much about policing culture, mental health, and the long shadow cast by traumatic events.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Russell Street Bombing: Firsthand Account

• Rob Bailey’s Diary Entry and Experience ([01:18] – [04:04])

  • Rob reads the hauntingly terse diary entry from the day:
    "11:30 spoke to Senior Detective Ross Forster... 1pm Injury on duty during bomb blast." ([01:18])
  • The bombing occurred as he stood 12 meters from the car containing the bomb, describing an eerie emptiness in the street moments before the detonation.

    "I looked left and right... There was nothing... I looked at my watch... just about to run across the road. And I thought, no, I'll let this car go through first. And I'm glad I did, because I would have been standing beside the Commodore when it went up." ([02:03])

  • Despite being thrown back and injured, his police training and combat experience from Cyprus shaped his response ("just another day at the office at that particular time"). ([02:03])

• Miraculous Near-Misses

  • Other officers, including “Handsome Charlie” Bazzina, also avoided the blast through random chance.
  • Rob recalls unknown woman and girl present at the scene with lingering concern for their fate. ([04:09])

• Immediate Aftermath and Ongoing Danger ([04:09] – [08:00])

  • Despite injuries (hair on fire, embedded glass, cracked arm), Rob continued assisting for hours.
  • Describes chaotic scene with further small explosions, his reaction to a photojournalist, and being compelled to finally seek medical attention.
  • Incidentally, his wife walked past a bank targeted in a related diversion robbery: "I'm getting blown up as she's walking past where some of these offenders apparently were." ([08:20])

2. Policing Culture and Trauma

• Fight Not Flight – The Policing Mindset ([08:54] – [10:00])

  • Rob reflects on the internalised “fight” response ingrained in police and veterans:

    "I was taught to fight, never to flight. I don't understand what flight is. I still don't... My natural reaction is, 'Oh, part of a day's work. I've been blown up before, have a couple of beers, go to bed, went to work the next day.'" ([08:54])

  • Even as he suffered hearing loss, glass wounds, and migraines, he returned to work the next day.

• Mental Health and Delayed PTSD ([10:00] – [11:05]; [17:04] – [21:58])

  • First panic attack came a month later, witnessed by his young daughter who subsequently developed anxiety attacks herself.

    "It was the middle of the night. And those people who have had a really severe anxiety or panic attack will tell you that's absolutely terrifying... I started getting treatment... Every time I had an anxiety attack for about the next 12 months, so did she... She got a bigger payout than I did because she was so young and she suffered from those anxiety attacks." ([09:36])

  • Critique of official injury counts:

    "I really challenge the 22 non-fatal injuries because I know at least two people have taken their lives as a direct result of that. I'm suffering because of that..." ([17:04])

• Cultural Shift in Acknowledging Trauma

  • Emphasizes past reluctance to admit psychological harm (“never admit that we were soft or go home”) and the failure to debrief with family.

    "I don't think I ever told my wife one story about whatever happened at work, which is horribly wrong... Now I tell people, you go home and you debrief with someone." ([18:04])

  • Personal impact on marriage and the importance of opening up to family.

    "I was never violent, but I would lose it occasionally and I'd drink too much occasionally... Wives and partners and kids should say to Mum or Dad... 'how was your day?'" ([19:09])

• Lack of Institutional Support

  • No counseling was provided by Victoria Police.

    "I had no counselling whatsoever from Victoria police. I mean, these days, the Victoria police handle it a lot better... But... how do you manage it? Do you send someone, counsellor out for every job you do?" ([20:08])

3. The Violent Era: Policing and Armed Robbery

• The “War” with Armed Robbers ([11:09] – [14:48])

  • Describes the 1980s as a time of near-daily armed robberies: "There used to be armed hold ups on a daily basis... In those days, quite often I had a number of these criminals who came and gave themselves up... just to get out of the action." ([11:48])
  • The Armed Robbery Squad's tough, hard-drinking, high-stress working culture is recounted with a mix of nostalgia and candor.
  • Shift in criminal landscape due to advances in technology and changing patterns in banking and retail ([13:13]).

• Police Shootings and Retaliation

  • Mutual escalation between armed robbers and police, including infamous police shootings.

    "The armed robbers were saying that coppers were killing them... So they went out and killed some coppers. And a lot of it was payback, interrelationship between the bad guys..." ([14:03])

4. The Investigation and Aftermath

• Apprehending the Perpetrators ([14:48] – [16:27])

  • Describes the raid that caught Craig Minogue, Peter Reed, Stan Taylor, and Rodney Minogue, its deadly aftermath, and lasting impact on the officers involved.
  • Emotional impact of the committal, including being spat on by Minogue and the controversial behavior of a magistrate.

    "I remember walking out and Minogue was in the dock and he spat on me as I walked past... a certain magistrate... thanked the Minogues and the other offenders for behaving themselves during the committal. And I cracked it big time..." ([15:04])

• Questioning Official Statistics

  • Reiterates disagreement with the official casualty numbers, affirming the “invisible” toll on first responders. ([17:04])

5. Long-Term Trauma and Support for Veterans

• Mental Health Support Developments ([21:58] – [27:08])

  • Vividly recounts the lack of protocols or aftercare for traumatic incidents ("You relied on your sergeant... Just get on with it.").
  • Efforts to help establish support networks for retired police based on Veterans Affairs, identifying need for trauma-informed psychologists. ([22:11]; [25:15])

    "General run-of-the-mill psychologists and psychiatrists haven't got a clue. They just simply don't understand. You've got to have those people who are savvy with the actual work that happens." ([25:15])

  • Candid about his own dependence on alcohol as a coping mechanism but highlights improvements in awareness.

• Policing, PTSD, and ‘Deaths by Natural Causes’ ([27:13] – [31:28])

  • Lack of systematic recording for veteran status on death notices hides the real toll of policing-related trauma.

    "We need to have data about that so we can actually measure it... they drink themselves to death. So that's a means of suicide, in my view." ([27:30])

  • Rob’s role in helping peers confront and manage trauma, sometimes with “brutal” honesty, and his perspective on what rehabilitation means for him personally.

    "People say, you know, why do you do what you do? And I said, it's part of my rehab... I have this innate ability to start talking to people and I'm actually seeing... I can see that the devil's dancing around in their brain." ([28:44])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rob Bailey’s understated police diary entry:

  "Injury on duty during bomb blast. See report completed. Off duty 5pm." ([01:18])

• On narrowly escaping the explosion:

  "I looked at my watch and I said, I've got an appointment at 1 o'clock and I'm just about to run across the road. And I thought, no, I'll let this car go through first. And I'm glad I did..." ([02:03])

• On police culture and mental health:

  "We are taught to fight, not to freeze or flight. So my natural reaction is, oh, I'm part of a day's work. I've been blown up before..." ([08:54])

• On the cost of trauma:

  "Time doesn't heal it. Time doesn't change it, make it any better at all. It's still really present."
  — Meshel Laurie ([32:21])

• On the legacy of unaddressed trauma:

  "There's some people can handle it and there's some that can't. And I mean, it's the aggregation of things... all of this stuff aggregates." ([18:04])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro and Diary Reading: 00:00 – 01:48
• Bailey’s Account of the Bombing: 02:03 – 08:00
• Effects on Mental Health and Family: 08:33 – 11:05
• The Armed Robbery “War”: 11:09 – 14:48
• The Investigation and Aftermath: 14:48 – 17:04
• Trauma Figures and Institutional Response: 17:04 – 21:58
• Lack of Support for Trauma: 21:58 – 25:12
• Creating Veteran Support Services: 25:12 – 27:08
• Deaths, Data, and Ongoing Consequences: 27:08 – 32:21
• Cyprus, Military Trauma, and Perspective: 32:21 – 33:34

Closing Thoughts

This episode is an unfiltered exploration of one of Melbourne’s darkest days, the price paid by police officers, and the evolution of mental health awareness within law enforcement. Rob Bailey’s harrowing testimony underlines how split-second timing, randomness, and institutional inertia can shape — or scar — entire lives. His efforts to improve support for police veterans, and his reflections on a lifetime of trauma, offer a vital, human context often missing in official histories.

Listeners are reminded of the raw humanity behind the badge, the ongoing nature of trauma, and the importance of support networks — both for those in the job and after they've left it.

If you or someone you know requires support, help is available:

• Lifeline: 13 11 14
• 1-800-RESPECT: 1-800-737-732
• 13Yarn (for Indigenous Australians): 13 92 76