A former Dubbo journalist is unlocking a 42-year-old mystery in a true-crime investigation captivating audiences.
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Patrick Begley, a former journalist of the Daily Liberal, is the coreporter alongside ABC's Caro Meldrum-Hana on Exposed, a three-part series which delves into the 1979 Ghost Train fire at Sydney's Luna Park.
On June 9, 1979 near closing time on a winter's night, the Ghost Train ride on the harbourside fun fair caught fire. It grew into a hellish inferno, that claimed seven lives, including four schoolboys from Waverly College, and three members of the Godson family from the country town of Warren.
Mr Begley began working on the investigative story in December 2019, and said despite multiple inquiries and rumours, no one had ever been held accountable for the fire.
"No cause has ever been given to why the fire occurred, and the causes that have been handed up - an electrical fault as suggested by the police originally - that didn't really hold water, that theory fell apart in days," he said.
"Then the coroner suggested it might have been a cigarette butt that was flicked by someone, but there didn't seem to be much evidence to support that either, so it really is a mystery after 42 years, and we really hoped that people would join us in trying to delve deeper into the mystery."
Mr Begley and Ms Meldrum-Hana were joined by researcher Dunja Karagic on the series and delved into original police files, statements, inquest proceedings and electrical reports.
They also tracked down passengers on board the Ghost Train ride, staff members, police, ambulance and firefighters working on June 9, 1979.
"It can be quite arduous work, but I think because there's so many different facets of this story, it's kept me interested," Mr Begley said.
"At one moment you're looking at the electrical wiring system, the next moment you're looking at the history of the park, so it really has been a story that's taken us in all different directions."
The Ghost Train Fire is the second investigation in the ABC series Exposed. The first in 2018 looked into Sydney's convicted baby killer, Kelli Lane, which cast doubt on the verdict, but failed to alter the outcome of the case.
Mr Begley said episode three of Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire was expected to leave audiences reeling.
"It really looks at who could have been behind this fire," he said.
"Episode three really tries to ask, why would anyone ever want to light a fire in a theme park, and who might that person be."
Mr Begley started his journalism career out west in 2013 and credited Dubbo for some of his successes.
"Starting at the Liberal teaches you that there are stories everywhere, not just in the big cities, not just in Canberra, but there really are stories everywhere," he said.
"It's just finding the right people to talk to you, establishing trust, showing that you care, that you're trying to get it right and you just want to understand.
"Its showing people that you're genuinely interested in the story and their part in the story, so that's definitely a lesson that I started to learn in Dubbo."
Despite the completion of the series, the investigative journalist said the story is still evolving.
"It is definitely still evolving, we've had lots of people write in ... there's some fascinating stuff there already."
"We hope the story keeps going and we can add to it, even as the final episode airs this week."