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Public Enemies: Russell 'Mad Dog' Cox, Ray Denning and the Golden Age of Armed Robbery
The gripping and revealing inside story of Australia's most notorious armed robbers.
In the Australia of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, armed robbers were the top of the criminal food chain. Their dash and violence were celebrated, and men like Russell 'Mad Dog' Cox and Ray Denning were household names long before Underbelly established Melbourne's gangland thugs as celebrities.
Cox and Denning were once Australian Public Enemies Number One and Two. Both were handsome, charismatic bandits who refused to bow to authority. Both were classified as 'intractable' in prison, and both escaped. Cox was the only man to escape from Katingal, Australia's only 'escape-proof' jail. Soon after he broke out, he tried to break in again and rescue his mates.
Their story is one of violence and crime, but it is also about the unimaginable horrors that young boys faced when condemned to 'institutions' in the 1960s, and the terrible conditions in Australian jails in the 70s and 80s. These were the hells where a whole generation of armed robbers was forged.
Mark Dapin brings his brilliant research skills and distinctive, powerful narrative style to a book that explores the life of these infamous yet respected public enemies and the criminal world they inhabited. From armed robberies, shootings and bashings to prison floggings and jail breaks, this is the gritty, page-turning reality behind the headlines.
In the Australia of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, armed robbers were the top of the criminal food chain. Their dash and violence were celebrated, and men like Russell 'Mad Dog' Cox and Ray Denning were household names long before Underbelly established Melbourne's gangland thugs as celebrities.
Cox and Denning were once Australian Public Enemies Number One and Two. Both were handsome, charismatic bandits who refused to bow to authority. Both were classified as 'intractable' in prison, and both escaped. Cox was the only man to escape from Katingal, Australia's only 'escape-proof' jail. Soon after he broke out, he tried to break in again and rescue his mates.
Their story is one of violence and crime, but it is also about the unimaginable horrors that young boys faced when condemned to 'institutions' in the 1960s, and the terrible conditions in Australian jails in the 70s and 80s. These were the hells where a whole generation of armed robbers was forged.
Mark Dapin brings his brilliant research skills and distinctive, powerful narrative style to a book that explores the life of these infamous yet respected public enemies and the criminal world they inhabited. From armed robberies, shootings and bashings to prison floggings and jail breaks, this is the gritty, page-turning reality behind the headlines.
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
12 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Mark Dapin
21 books21 followersMark Dapin is the author of the novels King of the Cross and Spirit House. King of the Cross won the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction, and Spirit House was long listed for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and shortlisted for the Age Book of the Year and the Royal Society for Literature's Ondaatje Prize.
His recent work of military history, The Nashos' War, has been widely acclaimed. He is a PhD candidate at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
His recent work of military history, The Nashos' War, has been widely acclaimed. He is a PhD candidate at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 21, 2020
Public Enemies is a fascinating and unexpectedly entertaining true crime book featuring infamous Australian bank robbers, Russell 'Mad Dog' Cox and Ray Denning, from Mark Dapin.
Pieced together from various sources including personal records, news reports, legal documents and interviews, Dapin attempts to sort fact from fiction to present a comprehensive and realistic portrait of Denning and Cox, and the path that led to them being deemed Australian Public Enemies, Number One and Two in the 1980’s. He explores their difficult childhoods marked by poverty and abandonment, teenage years spent in and out of appallingly abusive reformatory schools, and their criminal behaviour, resulting in various terms of imprisonment (and repeated escapes), throughout adulthood.
For a time, Denning, Cox and other bank robbers like them, were considered ‘legends’, anti-heroes whose crimes and activities attracted newspaper headlines (to which author Michael Robotham, who was at the time a cadet journalist attests), female fans of all ages, and grudging admiration for their daring and cunning.
Of the two men, Denning was clearly the more colourful character. A walking contradiction, he was a hard, violent man, but also charming, with a great sense of humour. For years he espoused anti-authoritarian views, and used his notoriety while on the run to campaign against the regular bashing of prisoners meted out by prison guards, and the the practice of ‘verballing’, (the creation of unsubstantiated, fabricated statements), used by the police to secure convictions. Then suddenly in the late 1980’s, Denning became an unrepentant ‘supergrass’, informing on, and testifying against, many of his associates. Not that the police nor government were grateful, reneging on an agreement to provide him with witness protection services. He died a few weeks after his release from jail in 1993, officially from a self-administered heroin overdose, though that verdict is in doubt.
Russell 'Mad Dog' Cox, whose real name was not Russell or Cox, nor Mad Dog (a nickname he despised) was both harder and more violent than Denning, suspected of being involved in at least three murders, but was also considered to be intelligent and even ‘professional’, arguably one of the more successful bank/payroll robbers of the era. Like Denning however, Cox had a knack for escaping jail, and once, incredulously, trying to break in.
Denning and Cox worked together only sporadically, but moved within the same criminal circles which stretched from Victoria to Queensland. Dapin exhaustively explores their milieu, introducing their associates, common enemies (like Roger Rogerson), and occasionally even their victims. Though it can be challenging to keep track of so many people and details, the additional context is compelling.
Public Enemies is provocative, gripping and entertaining, written in a personable tone, rife with Australian colloquialisms, I found myself utterly absorbed in the life and times of Ray Denning and Russell Cox.
Pieced together from various sources including personal records, news reports, legal documents and interviews, Dapin attempts to sort fact from fiction to present a comprehensive and realistic portrait of Denning and Cox, and the path that led to them being deemed Australian Public Enemies, Number One and Two in the 1980’s. He explores their difficult childhoods marked by poverty and abandonment, teenage years spent in and out of appallingly abusive reformatory schools, and their criminal behaviour, resulting in various terms of imprisonment (and repeated escapes), throughout adulthood.
For a time, Denning, Cox and other bank robbers like them, were considered ‘legends’, anti-heroes whose crimes and activities attracted newspaper headlines (to which author Michael Robotham, who was at the time a cadet journalist attests), female fans of all ages, and grudging admiration for their daring and cunning.
Of the two men, Denning was clearly the more colourful character. A walking contradiction, he was a hard, violent man, but also charming, with a great sense of humour. For years he espoused anti-authoritarian views, and used his notoriety while on the run to campaign against the regular bashing of prisoners meted out by prison guards, and the the practice of ‘verballing’, (the creation of unsubstantiated, fabricated statements), used by the police to secure convictions. Then suddenly in the late 1980’s, Denning became an unrepentant ‘supergrass’, informing on, and testifying against, many of his associates. Not that the police nor government were grateful, reneging on an agreement to provide him with witness protection services. He died a few weeks after his release from jail in 1993, officially from a self-administered heroin overdose, though that verdict is in doubt.
Russell 'Mad Dog' Cox, whose real name was not Russell or Cox, nor Mad Dog (a nickname he despised) was both harder and more violent than Denning, suspected of being involved in at least three murders, but was also considered to be intelligent and even ‘professional’, arguably one of the more successful bank/payroll robbers of the era. Like Denning however, Cox had a knack for escaping jail, and once, incredulously, trying to break in.
Denning and Cox worked together only sporadically, but moved within the same criminal circles which stretched from Victoria to Queensland. Dapin exhaustively explores their milieu, introducing their associates, common enemies (like Roger Rogerson), and occasionally even their victims. Though it can be challenging to keep track of so many people and details, the additional context is compelling.
Public Enemies is provocative, gripping and entertaining, written in a personable tone, rife with Australian colloquialisms, I found myself utterly absorbed in the life and times of Ray Denning and Russell Cox.
October 1, 2020
This is a good recount of two of Australia's most infamous bank robbers, Ray Denning and Russell Cox. But it also is an insight into the prison system, boy's homes and the police force in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
A good read but I was frustrated with the author who felt that his opinions and thoughts would add to this story.
A good read but I was frustrated with the author who felt that his opinions and thoughts would add to this story.
July 30, 2020
PUBLIC ENEMIES by Mark Dapin
If you like four letter words, violence, corruption, bashings and verballing – have I got a book for you. Oh, and there’s a few bank robberies thrown in as well.
This extraordinary book mostly details the career of Russell “Mad Dog” Cox and Ray Denning but all the side issues, particularly prison break-outs, are covered also.
That most of the participants come from broken homes should come as no surprise with their lives spiralling downwards from the beginning almost and not aided by institutions that were set up to help them that bred paedophile rings with connections to the highest levels.
There are so many times you get absorbed in what was happening and then find out that it actually couldn’t have happened at all. The many sources the book derives from means that there’s conflicting statement after conflicting statement. Sorting out the truth is sometimes a futile process.
“Verballing” by the police and truncheon bashing by warders were just part of the routine if you were a criminal those days. It’s no wonder so many wanted to escape.
The cast of characters would be enough for many a movie (and has spawned a couple) and some of the events they pulled off are truly extraordinary, almost as far-fetched as some of the lawyers’ arguments.
These were, for want of a better word, the halcyon days of bank robbing, when bank notes and coins were mostly the way of transactions. Having a spy in Armaguard, the main security firm, could reap many rewards if you were bold and resourceful. How quickly it has changed with the use of cards.
They were also the glory days of verballing, where police (particularly Roger Rogerson) would make up a statement that suited them and tender it in court as what the charged offender had said. No matter that it wasn’t in the accused’s handwriting or that it wasn’t signed or there was no video record of such an interview. Though many criminals were guilty of what was fabricated, there were also some that weren’t.
It’s the dark side for sure, but delving into a world many of us will never encounter in depth nonetheless makes for an interesting and thoroughly researched read. Oh, and you could never accuse it of being boring.
If you like four letter words, violence, corruption, bashings and verballing – have I got a book for you. Oh, and there’s a few bank robberies thrown in as well.
This extraordinary book mostly details the career of Russell “Mad Dog” Cox and Ray Denning but all the side issues, particularly prison break-outs, are covered also.
That most of the participants come from broken homes should come as no surprise with their lives spiralling downwards from the beginning almost and not aided by institutions that were set up to help them that bred paedophile rings with connections to the highest levels.
There are so many times you get absorbed in what was happening and then find out that it actually couldn’t have happened at all. The many sources the book derives from means that there’s conflicting statement after conflicting statement. Sorting out the truth is sometimes a futile process.
“Verballing” by the police and truncheon bashing by warders were just part of the routine if you were a criminal those days. It’s no wonder so many wanted to escape.
The cast of characters would be enough for many a movie (and has spawned a couple) and some of the events they pulled off are truly extraordinary, almost as far-fetched as some of the lawyers’ arguments.
These were, for want of a better word, the halcyon days of bank robbing, when bank notes and coins were mostly the way of transactions. Having a spy in Armaguard, the main security firm, could reap many rewards if you were bold and resourceful. How quickly it has changed with the use of cards.
They were also the glory days of verballing, where police (particularly Roger Rogerson) would make up a statement that suited them and tender it in court as what the charged offender had said. No matter that it wasn’t in the accused’s handwriting or that it wasn’t signed or there was no video record of such an interview. Though many criminals were guilty of what was fabricated, there were also some that weren’t.
It’s the dark side for sure, but delving into a world many of us will never encounter in depth nonetheless makes for an interesting and thoroughly researched read. Oh, and you could never accuse it of being boring.
December 31, 2020
Confusing at the start due to the huge cast of characters. I found it hard to keep who was who straight in my mind. some interesting stories and some parts that dragged. I did actually think about giving it up about halfway through. Very informational. Perhaps a more fictionalised drama might have held my attention better? Obviously the author has done a lot of research and it did have the local connection. Overall, not bad, but not the best true crime I've ever read. Probably two and a half stars really...
June 10, 2021
Raymond John Denning & Russell Cox
This is a very interesting book. It highlights the brutality which ran rife in NSW prisons and boys home. No wonder these men hated authorities like they did. Verbalising was the “norm” for police like Tees, Rogerson, Ray Kelly,etc. I remember many of the incidents involving Denning especially the statement from ISP Noel Golledge “we will have him by morning”. I new Golledge very well he couldn’t track a bleeding elephant thru snow.
This is a very interesting book. It highlights the brutality which ran rife in NSW prisons and boys home. No wonder these men hated authorities like they did. Verbalising was the “norm” for police like Tees, Rogerson, Ray Kelly,etc. I remember many of the incidents involving Denning especially the statement from ISP Noel Golledge “we will have him by morning”. I new Golledge very well he couldn’t track a bleeding elephant thru snow.
October 4, 2020
Unusual book, ostensibly a story of two of the most famous bank robbers in Australia, Russell Cox and Ray Denning. I found it a bit disjointed with diversions that didn't seem to stick with the main narrative and proved to be distracting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2020
I enjoyed this engrossing book. Dapin has a refreshing way of writing compared to the usual true crime book - he doesn't mind expressing an opinion with some profanity and he inserts some sly, subtle humour every now and then.
May 1, 2025
I liked that it talked about many different armed robberies to show how big it was. However there was to many different stories and just got confusing trying to remember who is who and who did what. I liked the end when it focused on manly cox and denning.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2025
The book isn't quite what I expected. 100 pages in and we only just got to Denning and I don't think we encountered Russell Cox yet. There is a lot of focus on the police brutality and in the juvenile detention system which is a little too graphic for my taste. I decided to abandon reading
August 30, 2021
The golden age of armed robbery may have died. But Ray Dennings story one of Australia's most wanted fugitives, is interesting reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews