On this day in 1984 a suitcase bomb was left in the Wellington Trades Hall. At 5:19 it detonated, killing Ernie Abbott, the caretaker.
The bomber has never been caught, despite a massive police investigation and a reward of $50,000 offered for information. We don’t even really know why the Trades Hall was targeted – though anti-union extremism seems an obvious motive.
Thirty years on, it’s likely the bomber has taken his identity to the grave.
At 5:19 pm, let’s take a minute’s silence in memory of Ernie.
Stephanie Rodgers 