Herald Classics: Murdoch ends a decade's silence

Keith Murdoch in 1975. Photo / NZ Herald file.

In this piece published on July 14, 2001, former All Black Keith Murdoch ends a decade's silence. Almost. Here's Paul Yandell's four-minute interview with Murdoch in which he says absolutely nothing.

Sounding a little surprised and distant, Keith Murdoch was nonetheless polite when he spoke to the Weekend Herald yesterday.

He was just about to walk out of the recreation room at the Camfield Station and begin another day's work, when the newspaper called him about 6.30 am local time.

The previous evening he was tracked to the station after Australian police said they had served him a summons on Thursday.

Work colleagues said Keith - they did not know his surname - had been working there for about six weeks, but he was asleep now and no one there dared wake him.

"Call him in the morning about 6.30 am. He'll be up," said a workmate.

He was, and he spoke publicly for longer than he has in 31 years - four minutes.

The search for Keith Murdoch's side of the story began in 1972 after he became the first All Black to be sent home from a tour.

Only two other journalists have spoken to him in a professional capacity since then - the legendary T. P. McLean (now Sir Terry) in 1974, and Margot McRae while she was working on the rugby documentary Mud and Glory in 1990.

T. P. McLean was threatened with being thrown into a pool of black oil when he approached Murdoch in person, but McRae at least got one comment on record: "You're not going to be long are you?"

The article as it appeared in the Herald on July 14, 2001.

Herald: Is that Keith Murdoch? (pause)

KM: Yeah.

Herald: It's Paul Yandall here. I'm a journalist from New Zealand. I just want to talk to you about the Limerick case. I understand the police managed to track you down yesterday and give you a summons.

(No answer.)

Herald: Keith, can you hear me all right?

KM: No, not really. No.

Herald: On the case do you have any comment to make? I think they have been looking for you for a little while.

KM: No, nothing. No comment.

Herald: All right. Keith, will you go back to Tenant Creek?

KM: Yeah, well, I've got to. I'm only a witness.

Herald: That's right, the police are stressing that you are only a witness ... We're just trying to track you down to make sure that's all kosher.

KM: That's all I've got on there - it's just a witness thing, that's all.

Herald: When will you be heading back?

KM: Just when the court case comes up.

Herald: I think July 25 is the date.

KM: Something like that, yeah.

Herald: The police said when they handed you the summons you were actually quite surprised, that you didn't actually know that you had to be called. Was that the case?

KM: Well, it was so long ago that's all. I didn't know nothing about it. Well, I didn't know the time.

Herald: And there wasn't anything suspicious about you leaving Tennant Creek at all? You were just looking for work?

KM: Yeah, that's right. I haven't worked for a while. I just left to look for work; that was it.

Herald: How's that going? You've managed to find work all right up there?

KM: Yeah, I'm working away.

Herald: What do you do up there? Your mates have said that you're a [water] bore checker up at the station.

KM: Yeah.

Herald: Were you up at Mataranka about six weeks ago working at the pub there?

KM: No.

Herald: How have you been the last few years? I know you've been keeping a low profile.

KM: I'm all right, yeah.

Herald: In the Limerick case ... Do you know what happened? All we know was that he was found at the bottom of a mine but we don't know much about what happened previously.

KM: I was just at some people's place one night. It was about a month before that. We called the cops. He came around the door and the cops came and took him away. That's all.

Herald: One of the rumours flying around is that you guys actually caught him and took him away but you're saying the police took him away?

KM: Yeah. There were three police that arrived, they just stopped on the side of the road and came and took him away.

Herald: Was he at your place at the time?

KM: Yeah.

Herald: Do you know the police I need to talk to down at Tennant Creek?

KM: There's three of them there. One black one and two white ones. That's all. Righto, see you, I've got to go to work.