The Party

Ken and Ruth Nash's New Year's Eve party at their home, at 12 Waratah Street Chatswood, was not the first to be held by them at that address. Since moving there in 1956, they'd had several parties, sometimes with a gimmick to add entertainment to the evening -- for instance, one year partygoers wore fancy dress. The gimmick of the 1962-1963 party was of the "Nash Galleries". Each guest was invited to bring along a piece of "art", created by themselves. If nothing else, these creations could provide a talking point.

The first of the 20 guests was Dr Gilbert Bogle, aged 38. His piece of "art" was a Picasso-like drawing, which he took with him when he left the party, intending to show it to his children. A former Rhodes Scholar, Dr Bogle was acknowledged as a brilliant scientist, and worked at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). He arrived just after 9pm.

Several other guests arrived at short intervals thereafter. Then probably half an hour after Dr Bogle, Mr and Mrs Chandler arrived.

The party was considered a jacket and tie affair. Geoffrey Chandler wore a Hawaiian shirt, slacks and sandals. His arrival was highly noticeable, for in addition to his casual dress, he was tall, well-built, and possessed a red beard. Margaret Chandler, on the other hand, wore a rose-patterned floral dress, and could easily have passed unnoticed.

It was a small party. Twenty guests¹, plus Ken and Ruth Nash, made up the total number present. Mr Chandler said afterward that it was not the sort of party that he or his wife would enjoy. Whatever the description -- some called it a success, others thought that it never really got going -- in ten hours, total alcohol consumption was 12 bottles of beer, 2 bottles of whisky, one bottle of gin and one of vodka, and certainly not enough to have any effect.

Dr Bogle chatted with the Chandlers. Dr Bogle and Mr Chandler knew each other as fellow workers at the CSIRO, where Ken Nash also worked. Mrs Chandler and Bogle had only met once before, at the CSIRO staff barbeque² ten days previously. She had rather hit it off with Bogle, and confessed later that the idea of having an affair with him quite appealed to her. Her husband told her: "If you want to have Gib as a lover, if it would make you happy, you do it."

The Chandlers had ideas about marriage that were considered quite unusual in 1962. So long as their marriage was a happy one -- and it was -- there was no reason why each should not have partners outside the relationship. Geoffrey Chandler had had affairs, and not being a hypocrite, considered Margaret free to do the same.

At around 11:30pm, Geoffrey Chandler slipped out on the pretext of buying cigarettes. It was certainly later than he thought, but whereas his arrival had been well noted, nobody seemed to realise he'd left.

At midnight, those at the party (19 people at that time) linked hands and sang "Auld Lang Syne". Ken Nash noted shortly after midnight that Mr Chandler was no longer at the party. Ruth Nash looked for Mr Chandler, and, not finding him, looked for Mrs Chandler. Then Ken Nash, standing in the kitchen, saw Mrs Chandler and Gib Bogle standing outside, a small distance apart, staring at one another. "Partly in jest, from a point of puckish humour, I switched off the light which spilt onto the lawn." The pair immediately returned indoors.

Ken Nash announced that he was no longer acting as bartender. He and Jack Johnson left to drive to Forestville, where they picked up Nanna Day-Hakker. James Day-Hakker would come later to the party.

Meanwhile, the spell of talk which had previously dominated the party had been broken by the midnight tradition. Somebody put on the record 'In A Little Spanish Town'.

Bogle, who has been described as the ideal party guest, began to dance a mock-flamenco to the music, making up in enthusiasm what he lacked in technique. The other guests gathered around and applauded. In typical Bogle style, he then shattered this image by launching into the Twist.

Nash and Johnson arrived back at the party, with Nanna Day-Hakker, at around 12:30am. The movements of the next few hours have only been sketchily recorded, but the impression is that they were like those of any normal party.

Mr Chandler returned to the Chatswood party at around 2:30am. Leicester and Frances Cotton, two of the guests, were leaving, the first to do so, at about this time. Mrs Nash handed them a chicken leg each to chew on on the way home, as supper was yet to be served. The Cottons finally left between 2:30am and 2:45am. Those brief few minutes between Chandler arriving and the Cottons leaving would see the party at its most populated, with 21 of the 22 partygoers present. James Day-Hakker was still working as a pianist in a Kings Cross nightclub, due to arrive at the party after 3am. At no time during the evening were all 22 people present.

Ruth Nash returned to the house from seeing off the Cottons, and noticed Geoffrey Chandler for the first time since he'd left earlier in the evening. Supper was not yet served, but was, as Mr Chandler put it, "on the move." Supper was served at 3am. This, and the departure of the Cottons, enabled the time of Mr Chandler's return to the party to be established as 2:30am. Mr Chandler himself was confused about the time, being out by an hour. His confusion was understandable. The timing of certain events at the party, on which much might have later depended, was often confused.

James Day-Hakker finally arrived after 3am, and coffee was served at 3:30am. Both Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler consumed some. Mrs Chandler mentioned to her husband that Bogle had offered to take her home. Mr Chandler let it be known that he had no objection, and so it was agreed that Margaret Chandler would go with Dr Bogle.

At 3:45am, the Nashs saw Mr and Mrs O'Donnell off. Returning inside, Ken Nash noticed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler sitting together. Mr Chandler was not there. This matches with Chandler's evidence that he left a little before 4am.

Mr John Martin, a milk vendor, entered Waratah Street at 4:15am, and Mr Chandler's car was no longer there. At 4:20am, Dr Bogle asked Mr Nash for his drawing, then immediately left. He was alone. About 5 minutes later Margaret Beavis left. The Nashs were standing on the verandah to see her off. Moments after Beavis left, Mrs Chandler, who was standing at the bottom of the steps, did the same. She looked at the Nashs, then turned slowly, and walked down the garden path and out the gate, and then took 10 or 12 paces to the left.

After the departure of Mrs Chandler, it was more than an hour before anybody else left the party. At around 7:00am, Mrs Bogle rang the Nashs to ask where Gib was. Ruth Nash replied that he had left a little while before. The Johnsons, the last guests to leave, did so at about 7:10am. The Nashs went to bed. The party was over.