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. However he became more famous for his daring escapes than for his initial crimes.

Crimes

On 4 March 1946, Dugan escaped from a prison

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

which was transporting him between

Darlinghurst Courthouse The Darlinghurst Courthouse is a heritage-listed courthouse building located adjacent to Taylor Square on Oxford Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Co ...

and

Long Bay jail The Long Bay Correctional Complex, commonly called Long Bay, is a correctional facility comprising a heritage-listed maximum and minimum security prison for males and females and a hospital to treat prisoners, psychiatric cases and remandees, loc ...

. As the tram passed the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

, Dugan used a kitchen knife to saw a hole through the roof, through which he escaped. The tram is still kept today at the

Sydney Tramway Museum The Sydney Tramway Museum (operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway) is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus, New South Wales, Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney. Hist ...

. On 16 December 1949, Dugan and accomplice William Cecil Mears (1920–2002) both escaped from Central Police Station, Sydney, during a court recess. Mears was in court after being charged with possession of an unlicensed pistol and had subpoenaed Dugan as a witness. During an adjournment for lunch, Dugan and Mears hacksawed through an iron bar in their cell and escaped from the police complex and onto the streets of Sydney. Police gave chase, but the two were last seen as they jumped onto a passing tram. In 1950, Dugan was sentenced to death, along with a co-offender. An

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

against sentence failed but

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

later commuted the sentences to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. After another prison escape, Dugan reportedly left behind a note scrawled on the wall of his cell which read, "Gone to

Gowings Gowings was a department store chain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, established in 1868. Set on several floors, it specialized in men's casual clothing, camping gear and novelty items. It had a men's barber and a dining restaurant. C ...

." The reference to Sydney department store's advertising slogan was slang for many things including "left in haste".

Final years

Dugan served a total of 35 years in prison, exactly half of his life. He served his final prison sentence at

Long Bay Correctional Centre The Long Bay Correctional Complex, commonly called Long Bay, is a correctional facility comprising a heritage-listed maximum and minimum security prison for males and females and a hospital to treat prisoners, psychiatric cases and remandees, loc ...

and was released on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

in 1984. Dugan worked as a rehabilitation officer during his final years of freedom until his health declined. In the 1980s, he became a campaigner for prison reform and exposing corruption, living in a prisoners' half way house in

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

. In 1980, Darcy married Jan Simmonds, who he had met in prison while she was researching a book about her brother Kevin Simmonds, famous for being an escapee and fugitive in the late 1950s. Although they separated not long after, they remained friends and Jan looked after Darcy when his health began to fail upon his final release from prison. His autobiographical book ''Bloodhouse'' was published posthumously, in 2012.

Death

Dugan died in the Sydney suburb of

from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

on 22 August 1991. He was buried at Rookwood Catholic Cemetery on 29 August 1991 on what would have been his 71st birthday.Rookwood Catholic Cemetery. ''Mortuary 2. Area 7. Grave 1590.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugan, Darcy 1920 births 1991 deaths Australian bank robbers Australian escapees People from Sydney Escapees from New South Wales detention Criminals from New South Wales Neurological disease deaths in New South Wales Deaths from Parkinson's disease People convicted of robbery Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by New South Wales