For Port Macquarie’s Greg Brown, living the Underbelly crimewave life that we see on the popular television series is more than a reality.
The retired police officer, now aged 95, has lived through it all — being confronted with a double barrel shotgun in his face, to dealing with fearless “crooks” and solving sickly murders.
Yep, Greg lived through it all as Sydney’s crims took to the streets in such a vicious way so many years ago.
But today he favours a golf club over a gun and loves his life of retirement in Port.
But the road from one extreme lifestyle to another has been full of adventure, toil and triumph.
Greg was born in East Maitland in 1916.
Being the youngest of eight children and living through the depression, things were tough, he said.
Upon completing his Leaving certificate at Waverly College, Greg was drawn to the NSW Police Force, more out of necessity than for love.
It was to be the camaraderie between colleagues and the job satisfaction that would see Greg serve 43 years, rising to the rank of Detective Superintendant.
As a Constable, Greg was stationed at Darlinghurst Police Station during the ‘real’ Underbelly Razor days.
“I’ve seen a bit of the TV series and let me tell you, the girls were anything but the glamours they portray on TV,” he said.
“Tilly Devine got my respect the first time I came across her. “She was holding a double barrel shotgun, telling us she would blow all us away if we didn’t **** off.
“Those girls could stop a steam train in its tracks,” Greg said.
“These days the crooks don’t respect anyone.
“You see, that’s the difference between now and then – on the most part, we respected the crooks and they respected us.”
On October 21 Greg was joined by former Local Area Commander James Crana and attended the Bi-Annual NSW Police Investigators Dinner at the Sydney Convention Centre.
“We were greeted by applause as we entered in the back of a 1927 Buick Tourer – the same one they used in the Underbelly series,” he said.
“Whilst the dinner recognised the work of police investigators as far back as 1905, it also honoured the current breed.”
Greg had no hesitation in recounting his most memorable moment as a member of the force:
“It was when my fellow officers and I solved the case of the ‘Pyjama Girl’ murder,” he said.
“Linda Agastini’s body was found in 1934 dressed only in a pair of pyjamas and the case gained worldwide attention, remaining unsolved for 10 years.
“The fact that we were able to solve this mystery was incredibly satisfying and a defining moment in my career.”
Greg’s advice to young police officers is simple: “Policing is a thankless job and they need to stick to their guns.
“Decent members of the public will appreciate the work that officers do but the crims won’t give a crap,” he said
“You’re not in it for the money or for the accolades, you’re there for the challenge; and fellow officers will understand that.”
Since retiring in 1975, Greg has lost most of those closest to him, however, as has been the case all his life, he never gives up.
He still drives to golf every Thursday to hit a few balls around the course with his mates – and is only too happy to share a yarn of days gone by.
Story and Image:
Darrell Nash
