William Charles Jenkings (1915 – 12 May 1996) was an Australian writer, newspaper reporter, and a well known

Bondi Beach Bondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council, in the Easter ...

personality.

Career

Jenkings was a news and crime reporter for the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

newspaper ''

The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', having joined the paper in 1944. ''The Daily Mirror'' was then owned by

Ezra Norton Ezra Norton (8 April 1897 – 4 January 1967) was an Australian newspaper baron and businessman. Early life Norton was born in the Sydney suburb of Watsons Bay, son of the proprietor of ''Truth'', John Norton (1858–1916) and Ada McGrath (18 ...

and was later owned by

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

's News Ltd. Jenkings worked as a reporter there until his retirement in 1991. Jenkings made and maintained legendary contacts both in the underworld and the police force, and was regarded as the foremost crime reporter in Sydney for over 50 years. He covered high-profile cases during the 1950s and 1960s, including the

Graeme Thorne kidnapping Graeme Thorne was an Australian child who was kidnapped and murdered in 1960 for part of the money that his parents, Bazil and Freda, had won in an Opera House lottery. The crime, regarded as one of the most infamous in Australia's history, cau ...

, the Bogle-Chandler case, and the

Wanda Beach Murders The Wanda Beach Murders, sometimes referred to simply as "Wanda", is the case of the unsolved murders of Marianne Schmidt and Christine Sharrock at Wanda Beach near Cronulla in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on 11 January 1965. The victims ...

. One of his sources, Detective Ray "Gunner" Kelly, benefited greatly from the publicity, becoming one of Australia's best-known policemen. Jenkings was also unabashed at his support for several of the men he'd met in his working life. He had known Rupert Murdoch when Murdoch controlled ''The Daily Mirror'', and Jenkings insisted that he was "a great boss". He also refused to believe allegations about the involvement of Sydney policemen Ray Kelly, Fred Krahe and Frank Farrell in corrupt activities, saying that he had also known them personally.

Author

Jenkings published two books. The first, ''Crime Reporter,'' was a pulp-paperback about some of his highest-profile reporting cases. His second, ''As Crime Goes By..'', covered his life story, which was mostly ghost-written for him just after he retired, and became a best-seller. The book featured interesting accounts of the lives of many famous Sydney criminals such as

Kate Leigh Kathleen Mary Josephine Leigh (née Beahan; 10 March 1881 – 4 February 1964) (other names included Kathleen Barry, and Kathleen Ryan) was an Australian underworld figure who rose to prominence as a madam, illegal trader of alcohol and cocaine ...

Tilly Devine Matilda Mary Devine (née Twiss, 8 September 190024 November 1970), known as Tilly Devine, was an English Australian organised crime boss. She was involved in a wide range of activities, including sly-grog, razor gangs, and prostitution, and b ...

, John 'Chow' Hayes,

William 'Joey' Hollebone William Joseph Hollebone (1 January 1917 – 28 September 1960), known informally as 'Joey' Hollebone, was a notorious and violent member of the criminal underworld, based in the inter-city suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Hollebone began serving a ...

Nellie Cameron Nellie Cameron (born Ellen Katherine Kelly; 1910 – 8 November 1953), known as "The Kiss of Death Girl", was a notorious Sydney prostitute in the 1920s and 1930s, who was featured extensively in the 2011 Australian television mini-series ''Und ...

, "Pretty"

Dulcie Markham Dulcie May Markham (27 February 1914 – 20 April 1976) was a prominent Sydney prostitute and associate of gangland figures in Sydney during the 1930s, 1940's and 1950s, when she was closely involved with the razor gang milieu of that era of or ...

, Robert "Pretty Boy" Walker, Richard "Dick" Reilly, "Greyhound" Charlie Bourke, Stewart John Regan and

Darcy Dugan Darcy Ezekiel Dugan (29 August 192022 August 1991) was an Australian bank robber and New South Wales' most notorious prison escape artist. During his criminal career, he committed numerous armed holdups, robbing banks and even a hospital. How ...

. In it he suggested that he knew the solutions to the Bogle-Chandler and Wanda Beach cases, although the suspect he named for the latter commenced legal action against Jenkings for the allegation. This litigation was not finalised, and it ceased with Jenkings' death.

Personal life

Jenkings married Noreen Cecilia Simpson at St. Anne's Catholic Church,

Bondi, New South Wales Bondi () is a suburb of eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council. It is often colloquially referred to as "Bond ...

, on 30 March 1940. He lived with his family for most of his life in Bondi, and was known to many people as "Bondi" Bill Jenkings, and was a life member of the Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club. He died on 12 May 1996, was cremated at the

Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, Eastern Suburbs Crematorium and Botany General Cemetery (aka Botany Cemetery), is a cemetery and crematorium on Bunnerong Road in Matraville, New South Wales, in the eastern suburbs district of Sydney, Australia. ...

at Botany, and was survived by his wife and four children.Sydney Morning Herald - Death Notice : 14 May 1996. ''Bill Jenkings.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Bill 1915 births 1996 deaths Australian crime writers Burials at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park 20th-century Australian journalists

Career

Author

Personal life

Further reading

References