$100,000 reward for information solving the mystery of the disappearance of Brenda Hean and Max Price
PAYMENT OF A REWARD
Tasmanian film director Scott Millwood appealed to the public on 10 September 2007 to come forward with information on the disappearance of leading Hobart conservationist, Brenda Hean and pilot Max Price. The pair were flying to Canberra via Flinders Island in a two-seater Tiger Moth VHAQL in a last ditch effort to lobby the Federal Government to save Lake Pedder from inundation by a hydro-electric power scheme. Their plane disappeared on 8 September, 1972 and was never found.
Millwood has offered $100,000 Reward for information that solves the mystery of their disappearance.
The $100,000 Reward has been deposited in a Commonwealth Bank Account over which The Brenda Hean Reward Committee (the Committee) has exercised a charge. The Committee consists entirely of lawyers qualified both to hold the funds on trust and to assess evidence and recommend the payment of a Reward. The funds will be held on trust by the Committee for as long as the offer of the Reward remains open.
Applications for a Reward may be made in the following manner:
- In writing to: The Brenda Hean Reward Committee, PO Box 1271, St Kilda South 3182, VICTORIA
- The Applicant must provide full details of how they solved the mystery of what happened to Brenda Hean and Max Price. The Applicant should address the following questions and conditions, which will inform the assessment process, as well as any other information or evidence that demonstrates that they directly solved the mystery.
The Committee will consider any Application according to the extent to which it solves the mystery of the disappearance of Brenda Hean and Max Price. The Committee considers that a Reward may be paid where an Applicant or Applicants provide material information and evidence that proves the following beyond a reasonable doubt of the Brenda Hean Reward Committee:
- Location of the Tiger Moth and the remains of Brenda Hean and Max Price enabling forensic examination and a determination as to what caused the Tiger Moth to crash;
- Identification of the person or persons who threatened Brenda Hean and Max Price before their final flight;
- Identification of the person or persons who broke into the Cambridge Airport Hangar holding the Tiger Moth before its final flight;
- Identification of the person or persons, if any, who interfered with the Tiger Moth before its final flight and evidence of such interference;
- Identification of the person or persons, if any, who conspired to prevent the Tiger Moth from reaching its destination; and
- Identification of the person or persons, if any, who conspired to cover-up what happened to the Tiger Moth and its passengers following its crash.
These conditions are not exhaustive and the Committee will analyse the question of whether a Reward should be paid according to legal analysis appropriate in the circumstances. Their prime question will be, “Did the material information or evidence provided by the Applicant directly result in the solving of the mystery?”. “Did the material information or evidence provided by the Applicant directly prove beyond a reasonable doubt how Brenda Hean and Max Price died and if there was foul play?”. Evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal trial or the conclusions of a public enquiry may demonstrate that it is appropriate for a Reward to be paid. The evidentiary threshold applied to evidence presented by an Applicant will be beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Committee will pay a Reward at its discretion according to the conditions above and any other conditions it considers appropriate. The Reward pool available to the Committee is AUD$100,000. It may choose to pay a Reward up to $100,000 to an Applicant or to pay multiple rewards as proportions of the $100,000 to several Applicants whose evidence directly solves the mystery.
The Committee will not pay a Reward where it would breach the law, including the Crimes Act (Cth), or where such a payment might be seen to breach the law.
As the purpose of the offer of the Reward is to find the truth, to solve the mystery and provide the public with a sense of transparent investigation, the Reward will only be paid to individuals who also provide their evidence to any public investigation or enquiry or trial. The Reward is primarily being offered because it is in the public interest that the truth be revealed. It is a pre-condition for payment of any Reward that the Applicant participate in the film being produced by the filmmakers and consent to be interviewed and discuss their evidence in the film.
The offer of the Reward remains open until 31 December, 2007 and an application for the Reward must be received by the Committee on or before that date.