Courage under fire

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

Now, almost 60 years to the day of his daring disarming of the gunman, Mr Payne has shared the details of that January morning with his family for the first time.

Mr Payne, 84, was recently invited to Melton Police Station to tell his Valour Award story to current officers, along with his wife and daughters.

He recalled he was a 24-year-old constable at the time, working as a detective and walking through the city to start a shift at the former Russell St police headquarters just before 7am.

Near the intersection of Russell and Collins streets, Mr Payne heard the screech of car tyres from behind.

“I turned around and I saw this car do a right hand turn across Russell St, mount the footpath and try to run down and pin a male pedestrian against the bluestone wall of a church, but it missed him,” Mr Payne said.

The pedestrian started running past Mr Payne when a passenger from the car got out and fired a revolver at the pedestrian.

As the gunman fired twice more, Mr Payne ran out on to the road and then burst back toward the gunman on the footpath from an angle.

“I didn’t have much time to think – the adrenaline kicks in and you just react,” he said.

Mr Payne, who was unarmed, managed to snatch the revolver from the gunman and arrest him and his driver.

The two offenders were eventually found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to jail, while Mr Payne was hailed for his heroism.

Mr Payne originally limited his account of the incident to his family.

“I just told them I disarmed someone on my way to work,” he said.

“The reason for that is that I did not want my wife and children to worry that their husband and father very nearly got bloody shot that morning.”

Melton Senior Sergeant Simon Payne (no relation) said it was an honour for current officers to hear Mr Payne’s story.

“We didn’t actually know he hadn’t told his family the full details of that day, so it was special to be there for that,” Sen Sgt Payne said.