Tony Dalton

Tony’s story

The longest ‘safe house’ stay that I had was with Connie and Keith Benn at Travancore. Keith was the Superintendent of Travancore and they lived in a house on site. I was with them for about ten months, their kids had left home and Connie’s mum lived with them. I remember she was a great cook, she taught me how to make Italian food which was all new to me.

While there I read, chatted to Connie and Keith, who came home for lunch, and we became good friends, I was like a surrogate child. I did sometimes stay at my then girlfriends place in Nth Fitzroy and at the holiday house of friends of the Benns.

I was careful, but Keith’s secretary said that she knew who I was ands obviously didn’t report me. There were though several close shaves. I remember being pulled over by the Police in Mt Alexander Rd one night about 3am, on my way back to Travancore. There were three of us in the car, the other two were friends not Draft Resisters, we were smoking dope and the car was full of smoke. One friend got out to distract the cops, staying just coherent enough to keep them occupied. They asked who I was and started naming people who were involved in the draft resistance movement but didn’t name me. The others told the Police that I was staying with Dr Benn and they said ok on your way.

I woke Connie up when I got back to the house and said I will get out of here and went and stayed with my girlfriend for a few days and then went back to the Benn’s house.

It seemed that the cops were interested in pulling people up but not throwing everything into it. I remember spotting Michael Hamel Green on a street in Prahran.

I stayed with Ian Turner in Richmond for six weeks and spent some time in Sydney during a bit of a breach, but was bored there. I also remember staying with Lela Mullet in Coburg for a time.

I don’t remember feeling scared. I went to New Guinea for 6 weeks on a project as an architecture student, I was able to go because I hadn’t broken the law at that stage.