20 YEARS ON: THE BACKPACKER HOSTEL FIRE

COULD ARSONIST AND MASS MURDERER ROBERT PAUL BE RELEASED ON PAROLE?

- April Glover

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Australia was considered a far-flung paradise for backpackers from all over the globe.

Travelers flocked Down Under, where they were spellbound by our relaxed lifestyle, beaches, remote outback and the hostel culture.

The backpacker dream was badly shaken during serial killer Ivan Milat’s reign of terror, but in 2000, another tragedy ripped through the tourism community.

The rural town of Childers, 300km from Brisbane, was popular with backpackers for its fruit-picking opportunities.

On June 23, 2000, Robert Paul Long, then 37, deliberately lit a deadly fire at the Palace Backpacker Hostel in Childers.

At about 1 am, Long started a fire in a garbage bin outside the popular hostel as 84 people slept in the heritage building.

Long, a drifter who had previously lodged at the hostel allegedly had a hatred of the young backpackers who stayed there. It was later claimed he felt “excluded” and used the fire to channel his rage.

His petty revenge had unthinkable consequences, with 15 of the slumbering backpackers killed as the fire tore through the hostel.

Nine men and six women died, including Western Australian twins Kelly and Stacey Clarke.