Four men. Eight minutes. One quiet Monday morning.
In nineteen seventy-six Melbourne, a small bookmakers' counting room followed the same routine it always had. Cash from weekend betting was stacked, counted, and prepared for deposit. No guards. No alarms. Just habit.
Then the door opened.
In less than ten minutes, the largest bookmaking robbery in Australian history was complete. No shots fired. No chaos. Just precision.
But the perfect job didn’t end when the robbers walked out. As the money disappeared, pressure built, alliances fractured, and violence followed. Within days, the mastermind, Ray “Chuck” Bennett, was dead.
Eight Minutes on a Monday is the gripping true story of a robbery executed with surgical calm — and the violent unraveling that followed.
Marjorie Ellsworth is a practicing accountant and independent writer based in upstate New York. With more than three decades of experience balancing ledgers, she is known for clarity, precision, and patience. Her instructional accounting tutorials break complex ideas into steady, practical steps, helping readers build confidence and skill. She believes financial literacy belongs to anyone willing to learn it. Marjorie lives in a quiet home with three cats and a beagle, where she writes near a window, a pot of tea close at hand.View all by Marjorie Ellsworth
