REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Wednesday April 19, 1989

A YOUNG family was left terrified in their beds after a gunman riddled their Burleigh Heads house with bullets from a high-powered rifle.

More than 21 bullets hit the house at 1am, penetrating at least four walls in the lounge room, shower, a bedroom and the kitchen where the home’s owner had been having a drink just moments earlier.

The bedroom was unoccupied at the time, with an elderly member of the family in hospital after suffering a stroke.

The head of the East St family, which included three sons, refused to allow his name to be printed for fear of being attacked again by the gunman.

The man spoke to the Bulletin and said he could not understand why anyone would want to kill him or the family.

“I do not know if anyone has a personal vendetta against us for any reason and it is senseless to do this when there is no motive,” he said.

“It really concerns us it will happen again and it really scared us but the point is not taken because we still do not know the motive.”

The drive-by shooting involved a .223 calibre rifle, with 15 spent cartridges found in the street.

Meanwhile, major home lenders ruled out any immediate increase in mortgage rates despite worse-than-expected balance of payment figures.

It came as the then-state finance minister Brian Austin and Liberal Party leader Angus Innes both warned that home loan rates would increase.

As of March 1989 Australia’s account deficit was $1.6 billion, with imports up.