'Pedley nails the true story of Australia's Dillinger, Brenden Abbott, whose life and crimes raise echoes that go all the way back to Ned Kelly and Ben Hall.' Andrew Rule, author of The Chosen Few
Bank robber. Fugitive. Womaniser. Comedian. Conman. Chameleon. How the Postcard Bandit put his stamp on Australia... and paid the price.
Brenden Abbott escaped custody three times and was a fugitive for more than six years, using sophisticated disguises, fake identities and safehouses to become the nation's most successful and feared bank robber, reaping millions of dollars.
They called him the Postcard Bandit, after a series of photos emerged of Abbott living the high life of a rich tourist at iconic Australian locations.
Cunning and shrewd, he used self-taught skills in make-up to create convincing disguises, computers to create false IDs, and electronics to dodge alarms and police. Weeks were spent planning each robbery, observing staff, identifying weaknesses in security, patterns of behaviour and the layout of the banks.
These intelligence-gathering skills also aided both of his audacious prison escapes, and detectives who have interviewed Abbott say he relentlessly probes for information.
Less than three years after his recapture, he escaped from a Queensland prison amid a hail of gunfire and became the nation's most wanted man. When they finally caught him, Abbott was cast into a specially built solitary confinement cell, and furious authorities set about trying to break his spirit with endless years of isolation.
Abbott was held in maximum security in Queensland until he was transferred to Casuarina Prison in Western Australia in 2016. He is eligible for parole in 2028, but claims that after three decades in prison, he's now wrongfully imprisoned. Abbott continues to fight in court for his freedom, desperate to spend time with the son he's only ever known through prison bars.
