Who Killed Dr Bogle & Mrs Chandler Teachers Notes

Teachers Notes

FILM AUSTRALIA TEACHERS NOTES WHO KILLED DR BOGLE & MRS CHANDLER? 2SYNOPSISAt last, an answer to one of the great unsolved cases incrime history.When the half-naked bodies of brilliant physicist,Dr Gilbert Bogle, and his lover, Mrs Margaret Chandler,were found in bizarre circumstances on a Sydneyriverbank in 1963, it set into play an unprecedentedforensic investigation.Autopsies offered little clue as to how the couple died,only that there were signs of a rapidly acting poison.Despite assistance from the FBI and Scotland Yard, thepoison was never identified. At the end of a long andcontroversial coronial inquest, no cause of death, killer ormotive could be identified.In the ensuing years, scores of tabloid theories have beenput forward, from LSD to Cold War assassinations. But inthe minds of many, including the police, MargaretChandler’s husband, Geoffrey, was the likely culprit.Four decades later, this explosive documentary revealsstartling new scientific evidence - evidence so powerfulthe police gave filmmaker Peter Butt unprecedentedaccess to their forensic records.It provides a stunning solution to one of crime's mostbaffling riddles: who killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler?CURRICULUM LINKSCurriculum links include SOSE/HSIE, English, Media,Science (environmental studies, ecology).The film has received a PG classification from the OFLCwith the consumer advice: mild themes.AFTER VIEWING1. What date did Dr Gilbert Bogle and Mrs MargaretChandler die, and where were their bodies found?2. What two observations did detectives make thatimmediately ‘intrigued’ and ‘baffled’ them about thetwo bodies?3. Who was the initial prime suspect for the deaths, andwhy?4. What reason does Geoffrey Chandler give for why heand Margaret were invited to Ken Nash’s party?5. Why did Geoffrey Chandler leave the party early?6. Geoffrey returned to the party later, then left again,alone. What did he assume Margaret would do?7. In Geoffrey’s view, what did the police hope wouldhappen when he visited the morgue? What actuallydid happen?8. Without obvious evidence found from an autopsy,what was considered the only possible cause ofDr Bogle and Mrs Chandler’s deaths?9. How did the media report the ‘crime’, and in whatway did they link it to the Cold War?10. Why were a one-armed man and a greyhound trainerquestioned by the police?11. What were the coroner’s findings as to how Bogle andChandler died?12. In 1948, what gas did maritime scientist Maurice Frydiscover coming from the river? What is the commonname given to this gas? Describe its dangers.13. What was the condition of the river at the time Bogleand Chandler died?14. Why were Bogle and Chandler unable to smell thegas, and why was there probably a large build-up of itvery close to where they were on the river bank?15. What evidence was suppressed at the inquest, andwhy?16. Why was this evidence vitally important?17. Why does Vivian Mahoney, who was the government’schief toxicologist at the time of the inquest, nowexpress annoyance about the Bogle-Chandler case?18. What did Mahoney find in Bogle and Chandlers’sblood that could have alerted him to the true cause oftheir deaths, had he been provided with moreinformation about the case?19. Describe the combination of circumstances thatbegan in the late 1930s that are now claimed to havecontributed to the deaths of Gilbert Bogle andMargaret Chandler decades later.20. How does Geoffrey Chandler now sum up the eventsthat probably caused his wife’s death?VOCABULARYWrite a definition for each of the following words in theprogram, and use each one in a sentence to show that youknow what it means.Anaesthetise, Autopsy, Coroner, Forensic, Haemoglobin,Hallucinogen, Hypothesis, Inquest, Noxious, ToxicologistWHAT HAPPENED IN 1963?The mysterious and sensational deaths in Sydney of DrGilbert Bogle and Mrs Margaret Chandler early in 1963came during the era called the Cold War, when it seemedthe world was on the brink of nuclear war andannihilation. In politically and socially conservativeAustralia the deaths created a huge media and socialscandal, for they indicated that the principal players in thedrama had been living somewhat shocking ‘alternative’lifestyles to the commonly accepted standards of moralbehaviour. It also indicated, in the words of Bob Dylanonly one year later, that the times were changing.• What was the Cold War? In order to gain an overviewof the prevailing world mood at the time of theBogle-Chandler deaths, research and write a 500-word description of the main characteristics of theCold War from the 1940s to 1963. Include in thisdescription an explanation of the events surroundingthe ‘Cuban missile crisis’, which had occurred only a

FILM AUSTRALIA TEACHERS NOTES WHO KILLED DR BOGLE & MRS CHANDLER? 5physical clues are present in it. Other members of theclass are then to read or listen to the interviews,examine the crime scene, and from all the availableevidence, unmask the murderer, and provide reasonsfor their decision. This may then be compared to theinspector’s findings, which must be withheld until theclassroom detectives have compiled their ownanswers.THE ROLE OF THE NEWS MEDIAWe are informed during the program that the newspapersof the day took an avid interest in the deaths of Dr GilbertBogle and Mrs Margaret Chandler, sensationalising thestory and attempting to outdo each other during a ratings‘war’ in reporting ‘scoops’ and offering unsubstantiatedspeculations about the case. Sometimes this results in‘trial by media’, where people presumed innocent untilfound guilty in a court of law may suffer unduly.• In pairs, use desktop publishing software to plan andpresent two different newspaper versions reportingthe initial deaths of Bogle and Chandler. One shouldbe presented in sensational ‘tabloid’ style to thrill andtitillate readers, speculating about the case andoffering hints about who the culprit may be withoutactually naming anyone outright (to avoid theaccusation of libel); the other should be presented ina more subdued, ‘serious’ and responsible manner,avoiding unproven claims.• Imagine you are the centre of police investigationand media speculation in a case of suspected murder.You are chased by reporters, photographers andcamera operators whenever you show yourself inpublic; they wait outside your door, and aim camerasat your front windows. The phone keeps ringing;journalists are asking you to comment. Write anemail to a friend or relative about this, and about theeffect it is having on you.• In pairs, prepare a radio news report announcing thelatest findings of the Bogle-Chandler case, as derivedfrom the documentary. The report may include ashort interview with someone either involved in thecase, or a present-day politician or policecommissioner. You may require at least one otherclass member to take part. Consider the audience youare aiming at, and project the report accordingly. Forexample, if your audience is predominantly young,they may never have previously heard of the case, soyou may have to provide some historical detail.Record the report for playback. (You may need torehearse and re-tape until achieving the desiredeffect.)• As a class, examine contemporary newspaper and TVnews and current affairs reports where the innocenceor behaviour of people is held in question, leading tomoralising about their character, and speculationabout their activities and lives. (Examples may beallegedly drunken or hit-and-run drivers, businessmenaccused of cheating poor clients, ‘heartless’bureaucrats and possible suspects in cases involving adeath etc.)Select and write your own argumentative critique ofone such news story, looking at the way it ispresented, and the messages, both intended andunintended, it is sending the public about the personsinvolved. If it is a continuing news story, this mayinvolve examining reports published or presentedover a number of days. Decide in your critiquewhether these news reports are fair and ethical ornot, in the ‘court of public opinion’. (As preparationyou may wish to view episodes of Media Watch —see Film/TV references.)POLLUTION, THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAND URBAN LIVINGThe program’s explanation as to the likely historical andecological cause of death of Dr Gilbert Bogle and MrsMargaret Chandler draws attention not only to therelationship between nature and urban development, butto the necessity to put into place, monitor and enforcecontrols and standards that safeguard the environment,our natural resources and life itself.• The following activity may be carried out first byresearching the ways in which newspapers presentnews details in illustrated, captioned and labelledform, such as when explaining pictorially how a caraccident occurred, or the movements of troops duringa battle. From the causal reasons presented in theprogram, draw a set of similar diagrams illustratinghow Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler are likely to havedied. Begin with the construction of factories alongthe river bank in the 19th Century, then show eachstep in the process.• Working in groups, build up a fictional dossier on thesurvival of a rare species of frog. This species lives inan environment of marshy land near a newlydeveloping outer city suburb. It has been observedthat yearly population numbers have been decliningfor the past three years, whereas previously thenumbers have been steady. It is your job to presentstatistics, graphs, charts and other material such aswritten reports and photographs that may be used asevidence to demonstrate the decline in population,the reasons or hypothesis for the decline, andrecommendations as to how the problem may beattacked and even solved. Look at environmentalissues, climate change, water and air temperature,seasonal rainfall, various types of pollution,encroachment of human populations, construction ofresidences, factories, roads, alterations to river flow,sewerage issues etc. The dossier may be developed ina variety of multimedia presentations, includingposters, written documentation, video and websitepages.• Draft a fiction short story for children eight to 10years old from the viewpoint of a fish, frog, eel orwater bird living in a natural environment under

FILM AUSTRALIA TEACHERS NOTES WHO KILLED DR BOGLE & MRS CHANDLER? 6threat of change by human development, such as thatpresented in Who Killed Dr Bogle & Mrs Chandler?As it is for children, you may wish to illustrate it. Itcould be presented in any form, such as a fairy tale,or even as a comic strip.• Write a 400-word review of a movie that looks at thereasons and/or the consequences of ecologicalchange. Aim your review at subscribers to anewsletter or website devoted to environmentalissues. An example may be The Day After Tomorrow.(See the website references for a list of other films.)DOCUMENTARY AND NARRATIVEWho Killed Dr Bogle & Mrs Chandler? is a documentary filmthat draws on a variety of techniques to present its story.These include a voice-over narrator, on-camera inteviews,re-enactments of scenes using professional actors deliveringdialogue extracted or recalled from public and privatesources, close-up shots of authentic newspaper reports ofthe day, accompanied throughout by soundtrack music andvarious camera visual effects.• Discuss in class and take notes on the meaning of theterm, denouement, then on how the program’s overallnarrative is constructed in a similar way to a murdermystery detective investigation. Discuss whether theprogram features a denouement.• Discuss the following in groups, then write your ownmedia analysis of the program, looking at specificexamples where relevant:o The general ways in which the program is differentfrom, and similar to, a fiction story about Dr Bogleand Mrs Chandlero The wording and presentation of the voice-overnarrationo The mood, style and influence on the audience ofthe background soundtrack musico The purpose of special camera effects during someon-location and re-enactment sceneso Whether the program is presented in chronologicalorder or not, and the reasons for thiso The purposes, strengths and dangers ofre-enactment (including the ‘home movie’ scenes),whether it influences our reactions to the real-lifecharacters being portrayed, and whether thegeneral scene-setting and presentation of thefashions and general ‘look’ of 1963 seem authenticand fulfil a purposeo The purpose and effect on the viewing audience ofcontemporary ‘talking head’ interviews inserted atparticular points in the program.• Imagine you are a documentary filmmaker who hasunearthed new evidence about a ‘cold case’ involvingan unsolved and mysterious death. You decide totrack down someone who has always been suspectedby the police of being involved in that death. Write aseries of personal diary extracts about your attemptsto find this person, to make contact with them, tovisit them and to show them your evidence. As youdon’t know in advance how the former suspect willreact and behave, what are your feelings about theentire situation? Will you be regarded as unwelcome?What will be the outcome?• Assume that Who Killed Dr Bogle & Mrs Chandler?is to be screened on television for the first time in thenear future. In pairs, prepare, write a script andpresent a storyboard promoting the program on TVwithin a 30-second time-slot. Decide the best wayyou could advertise the program in order to attract alarge viewing audience.DVD EXTRAS FOR WHO KILLED DR BOGLE& MRS CHANDLER?Synopses• The Investigation charts filmmaker Peter Butt'sdiscovery of new evidence that led to the film'sstartling conclusion. (15.5 minutes)• Bizarre Theories provides new informationabout two extraordinary scenarios, which capturedthe public's imagination - the assassination theoryand the cone fish theory. (6 minutes)• What Happened To? tells the dramatic story ofthe chief toxicologist the night he ran out of Bogleand Chandler's tissue samples and the strange andtragic ends met by the couple who hosted the partythe night before the couple died. (5.5 minutes)The InvestigationThis segment allows us a behind-the-scenes look at howthe documentary filmmaker, Peter Butt, researched thedeaths of Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler.• Discuss in class and write answers to the following:o Define what you think are the job description andqualifications of an ‘environmental historian’o If mangroves had not existed on the Lane CoveRiver at the time of European colonisation, why didthey later appear on the river?o What mistaken assumption had film director PeterButt always believed about the beginnings of thestudy of environmental science in Australia, andwhat changed his mind?o How did Butt gain ‘unprecedented’ access to theoriginal police records of the Bogle-Chandler case?o What does Butt mean when he says the deaths ofDr Bogle and Mrs Chandler were caused by‘misadventure’?o Explain the filmmaker’s view that the deaths ofDr Bogle and Mrs Chandler were ‘symbolic’.• Reversing the filmmaker’s reference in the programto the ‘dying river’, discuss in class the possibilities

Film australia teachers notes who killed dr bogle & mrs chandler? 7for a short story about the relationships between twoor more people, such as a husband and wife, lovers,friends, enemies, or children and parents, in which theimage of water, as in a lake, a river, or rainfall, maybe presented as a metaphor for birth, hope, growth orrejuvenation. Draft, edit and proofread a story ofabout 500-800 words.Bizarre TheoriesOne of the theories advanced in 1963, to explain how DrBogle and Mrs Margaret Chandler may have died, relatedto the murky Cold War politics of the era. Another wasattributed to, quite simply, base human nature, the stapleof melodramatic crime fiction—the ‘eternal triangle’.• Discuss in class and write answers to the following:o Describe British spy Peter Wright’s claims aboutGilbert Bogle and the reason for his deatho Why does the filmmaker suggest that if Boglewere, in fact, murdered by MI5 spies, they killedthe ‘wrong man’?o What is the correct Latin name for the deadly conefish?o In what way is the cone fish deadly, and how didthe police connect this information to a suspicionthat Geoffrey Chandler murdered Dr Bogle andMrs Chandler?o Explain why it was too far-fetched that chemicalsextracted from a cone fish could kill a humanbeing.• In small groups, research and produce your owninternet web page (or pages) about the purpose, role,activities and history during the Cold War era of theAustralian Security and Intelligence Organisation(ASIO). Include, if possible, information as to hownew agents were, and perhaps still are, recruited tothe organisation, and the kinds of training they wererequired to do. You may also wish to include acommentary as to whether ASIO has served a usefuland important role in Australian society and politics.• Research and write a short biography, in desktoppublishing format, for a popular magazine aimed atyoung teenagers, about Peter Wright, Britishanti-espionage agent. Include details about his book,Spycatcher. Remember that because you are writingfor a specific target audience you should adapt andedit any information you find, not merely copy it fromanother source.• Taking any aspect of Wright’s career as a Cold Warespionage agent, work in pairs to write the script fora short, dramatised and fictionalised radio play of upto 10 minutes’ running time. With other students,rehearse a play reading, re-drafting the script asnecessary. You may need to provide for the use ofsound effects if the script calls for them. You may alsowish to record the play as a computer sound file,editing and re-recording where required, for playbackon your school’s intranet or on CD.• On poster paper, draw and label the parts of the conefish, showing how it may be deadly and dangerous.• Write an Agatha Christie-style ‘eternal triangle’murder mystery involving death by the dreaded conefish. The plot may also include one or two ‘redherrings’.What Happened to?Following the deaths of Gilbert Bogle and MargaretChandler early in 1963, the investigating chieftoxicologist Vivian Mahoney spent 15 fruitless months onthe case. Ken and Ruth Nash, the couple who hosted theill-fated new year’s eve party, later died in unusual,perhaps even extraordinary circumstances.• Discuss in class and write answers to the following:o Explain the situation that confronted VivianMahoney one night in his testing laboratory, 15months after the deaths of Dr Bogle and MrsChandlero What similarities are there about the dates onwhich Bogle, Margaret Chandler, Ruth Nash andKen Nash died?• Write a set of personal, diary entries as though youwere the chief toxicologist in Vivian Mahoney’sposition, describing your feelings about the case, theevents that took place on the road on the way homeand the decision to resign. Are all three interrelatedin some way?• As though you were a journalist, write and present innewspaper reporting style, a speculative, fictionalisedarticle about the deaths of Ruth and Ken Nash. Usedesktop publishing to create a headline, plus the bodyof the report formatted into newspaper columns.REFERENCES AND FURTHER RESOURCESBooks and articles:Sharon Beder, Toxic Fish and Sewer Surfing: How Deceitand Collusion are Destroying Our Great Beaches, Allen &Unwin, Sydney, 1989Geoffrey Chandler, So You Think I Did It?, Sun Books,Melbourne, 1969Chronicle of the 20th Century, Chronicle Australia,Ringwood, Victoria, 1990Derek Heater, The Cold War, Wayland, 1989Judy Hindley and Donald Rumbelow, The KnowHow Book ofDetection, Tiger Books International, London, 1997Brian Innes, Bodies of Evidence: The Fascinating World ofForensic Science and How it Helped Solve More Than 100True Crimes, Reader’s Digest, with Amber Books Ltd,London, 2000Kevin T. Pickering and Lewis A. Owen, An Introduction toGlobal Environmental Issues, Routledge, London, 1994

film australia teachers notes Who killed dr bogle & mrs chandler? 8Peter Proctor, 'Cold Case: The Mystery of MargaretWilliamson' in Teaching History, Journal of the HistoryTeachers' Association of NSW, Volume 39 No 3,September 2005, pp. 73-76Film/TV:Media Watch (ABC TV, Monday, 9:20 pm)Websites:Australian Institute of Criminology:www.aic.gov.au/Bizarre theories—Cone Fishwww.animalplanet.com.au/australiauncovered/feature11.shtmlhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C007974/2_6con.htmBizarre theories—Peter Wright and the Cold War:www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SSwright.htmBogle and Chandler websites:www.boglechandler.com/www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130243b.htmCold War:www.us-aus-pfg.aph.gov.au/coldwar.htmwww.trinity.wa.edu.au/plduffyrc/subjects/sose/coop/cold.htmCrime Team—reality TV investigation game series:www.channel4.com/science/microsites/C/crime_team/previous.htmlDisaster and science fiction films about ecological change:www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/eco.htmlHow to write a murder mystery:http://normandcompany.com/STICKMAN/murder.htmlwww.murder-mystery-game.com/write-murder-mysteryarticle.html#guidelinesNational Institute of Forensic Science (NIFS):www.nifs.com.au/F_S_A/FSA_frame.html?Student_Information.asp&1Science — ecology:www.trinity.wa.edu.au/plduffyrc/subjects/science/biology/ecology/Who Killed Dr Bogle & Mrs Chandler?A Film Australia National Interest Program in associationwith Blackwattle Films. Produced in association with theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation.Writer/Producer/Director: Peter ButtProducer: Kristine WyldExecutive Producer: Anna GrieveYear: 2006Duration: 55 minsStudy guide written by Roger Stitson © Film AustraliaFor information about Film Australia’s programs, contact:Film Australia Limited,PO Box 46 Lindfield NSW 2070Tel: 02 9413 8634Fax: 02 9416 9401Email: sales@filmaust.com.auwww.filmaust.com.au