The Star Hotel Riot
Told through Novocastrian eyes
A new documentary about the riot can be seen on YouTube
The Star Hotel riot made headlines around the world
This year marks 40 years since The Star Hotel was the site of a riot that saw police clash with crowds of young people, who had gathered to mark the hotel’s then-closure.
The clash led to many arrests, made headlines around the world and was the subject of a song by Cold Chisel’s, Don Walker.
But, what exactly happened on the night has been the subject of furious debate on the Lost Newcastle Facebook Group.
One person watching the debate rage, is filmmaker Glenn Dormand – aka ‘Chit Chat Von-Loopin Stab’ from Australian group, Machine Gun Fellatio.
There’s few people in Australia better qualified to produce a documentary about a rock’n’roll riot than Chit Chat.
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From the first meeting through to the launch of our campaign, we appreciated their hands-on approach and attitude.
Jeff Warren
Punter there on the night of the riot
A new documentary about the riot can be seen on YouTube
Star Hotel Riot - Unseen Footage
Here is the original unedited 22 minute of footage shot by the astonishing Barry Nancarrow on the night of the riot. Only 6 min went to air and then the rest has been lost for almost 40 years. After an extensive search we found a copy with archivist Trevor Dare who had got his copy from the police who had used the complete footage back in the day, to make there arrests.