Every great city has a place where heaven and hell collide; where the dark and light run in parallel but occasionally intersect, providing refuge for all manner of social outcasts and sexual outlaws; a place where the party stops only for a fast freshen up then back into it.  

For Australia, that place was Kings Cross - a drawcard for anyone wanting a walk on the wildest of sides, if only briefly.

Fortunes were made in Kings Cross by giving the public what they wanted - but in the wake of the Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police and the rise of belligerent crime gangs viewing the Cross as gold mine, the lustre was fading fast. The streets, once rowdy but relatively safe, were taking on a dangerous edge thanks to party crowds full of booze and drugs. In 2012, Thomas Kelly was attacked in the Cross, and in 2014, just metres from where Thomas fell, Daniel Christie was attacked. Both were 18years old and died as a result of these violent, unprovoked, random attacks.

The response by the NSW Government was the lock-out laws. The Cross’s globally famous nightlife came to swift end. But the Cross has always been about change and is slowly rebounding after the lifting of the lockout laws and the pandemic.

Join Brandon and Duncan about the lead up to these two terrible crimes, the impact, the key players and the recovery and future of Kings Cross.

Tickets are $25 and include a cocktail on arrival.