Tristie, a German shepherd-Doberman cross, had been shot while Thomson was living there. He told a friend he was very upset about the incident, and did not know who was responsible.
The 31-year-old then told the school’s principal he feared his dog would be shot and killed if he stayed.
The front page of the North West Star on October 25, 1978.Credit: North West Star
By September, Thomson and his friend Twaddle, who was working and living in Alice Springs at the time, made plans to travel to Queensland on their motorbikes.
Thomson wrote to his girlfriend, Edwards, who was living interstate, inviting her to join. She accepted, flying to Alice Springs to meet the pair.
Before leaving, Thomson fitted his red BMW motorbike with a sidecar so his dog could travel with him.
While the group had no formal itinerary, they planned to be back in Melbourne by Christmas to spend the holiday with family. Edwards and Thomson met while living in Melbourne some years earlier after he moved from New Zealand. Twaddle, also from New Zealand, had become close friends with Thomson, and they shared a love of motorbikes.
One witness, who lived near Thomson on the mission at the time, told the inquest she saw a Toyota Landcruiser parked at Thomson’s property some time before the 31-year-old left his job and the mission.
She said she saw the Landcruiser drive past her gate as she stood outside talking with a friend. She also told the inquest she saw Thomson in the passenger seat, with a man she did not know driving.
Thomson eventually left the mission, and several people reported seeing him, his girlfriend, and their friend. One traveller on the road even took a photo because she was struck by the sight of seeing a dog riding in the sidecar, the inquest heard.
There were also sightings of the group travelling in company with a third motorbike rider, a man.
Hughes read a police statement from a man, now dead, who saw the group of friends while he was working at the Aileron Hotel, north of Alice Springs. He described Thomson and Twaddle, and a third man, who explained they were testing the bike out ahead of their trip to Cairns.
One of the last photographs taken of the trio, at Devils Marbles, days before they were allegedly murdered. Credit: Queensland Police Service
The man relayed to police that all three appeared to be “pretty high on drugs”, and that he heard Thomson say to Twaddle: “Did you get any stuff off of that bloke in Alice Springs?”
Later that night, the worker reported “trouble developed outside the hotel with some Aboriginals”, and the group went outside for 10 minutes. Thomson returned carrying a .22 rifle, which was not assembled, the worker believed.
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“I said to him, ‘What do you want to do, start a riot bringing that into the bar?’ He said, ‘No, I brought it off the motorbike in case anyone took it’,” Hughes read from the statement.
“I was concerned about the rifle, and told [Thomson] that if the Aboriginals saw it, they would probably get theirs and there would be trouble.”
The group had a conversation with the worker, who said Indigenous people were difficult to understand. Thomson arranged to drop off language tapes for the worker, which he did the next morning.
He didn’t see the group again until October 2, 1978, but this time, the party consisted of Thomson, Twaddle, and Edwards. They also had a dog with them.
Before arriving in Mt Isa, the trio stopped at Moondarra Caravan Park, with a receipt showing three adults staying two nights for the value of $6.
Witnesses at the park saw the group, including one who spotted a Toyota Landcruiser visiting them, with the friends leaving the site in the car.
One night, about 8pm, a witness reported seeing a brown-and-white four-door Landcruiser arrive. He later noticed everything except the sidecar on Thomson’s bike had been packed into the Toyota.
“He recalls that as the Toyota left, he heard a male voice call out and call the dog into the car,” Hughes told the inquest.
Their two tents were also gone, and the smaller bike was no longer there, Hughes said.
The group were later seen in Mt Isa, including by three real estate employees, who recalled seeing them out their window on West Street.
Twaddle’s blue Suzuki motorbike had been left near a service station in Mt Isa from about October 5, 1978.
Bruce Preston was initially accused of the murders but the charges were later dropped.Credit: Lydia Lynch
Hughes said there was evidence on October 6 that a dog had been found at the Mt Isa dump, later identified to be Tristie.
“The Mt Isa Council’s dogcatcher recalled collecting Tristie from the dump … 6th of October, 1978. She believed the dog had not been there for more than a couple of days. Tristie was kept at the pound for four days before being put to sleep,” Hughes told the inquest.
“Police also located a number of personal items in 44 gallon drums that lined the entrance to the Mt Isa city dump.
“These included three motorcycle helmets … police inquiries established that these helmets were similar to those known to have been used by Mr Thomson and Mr Twaddle. Other items recovered from the drums were also consistent with the belongings of Ms Edwards.”
Thomson’s body was discovered on the morning of October 24, 1978, by a couple walking with their greyhounds. One of the dogs had bolted after a wild pig, and in chasing the dog, the body was discovered on a bank.
The pair drove into town to alert police, who then discovered two more bodies about 50 metres from Thomson – his girlfriend Edwards and Twaddle.
Post-mortem examinations ruled each of the friends died from gunshot wounds to the head by a .22-calibre rifle. Scientific examination of the bullets determined the opinion that two different types of ammunition were used.
But analysis revealed that even if police found the gun, it would not be possible to prove via ballistics that it was the weapon used to kill the friends.
Police were able to identify Edwards by markings on her watch, linked back to a jeweller in Victoria, where she was born. Her father recognised the watch in a newspaper article, confirming he had bought it for her.
How the group were killed at Spear Creek has been the subject of police investigations spanning almost five decades, with cold case detectives still probing the case.
Police were believed to have made a breakthrough in 2019, when former prison guard Bruce John Preston, who previously worked at NSW’s Goulburn Supermax jail, was arrested and charged with the outback murders.
However, prosecutors dropped all charges against Preston in July 2023. He had denied the charges.
Hughes told the court Preston would give evidence at the inquest. She said the red BMW motorcycle was found in Preston’s possession, and he pleaded guilty and was fined $300 at the time.
The inquest, before Coroner David O’Connell, is scheduled to run until October 17, and will probe how the trio died, their travel movements, including where they stopped, and the circumstances of their camping at the Moondarra Caravan Park.
It will also examine a fourth rider who was seen with the group, and the connection to the Toyota Landcruiser.
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