Bio

Robert Paul Long worked as a fruit picker. He moved into the Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel on 24 March 2000.

He was evicted from the hostel on 14 June 2000 over about $200 in rent arrears. ATM records showed he remained in the local area in the week before the incident.

Long had expressed a hatred of backpackers and had earlier threatened to burn down the hostel. Two guests later recalled seeing him in the hostel backyard around midnight and that he told them he still had a key when they would not leave the door open.

Murder Story

The Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel fire on 23 June 2000 killed 15 backpackers at the former Palace Hotel in Childers, Queensland. The hostel had been converted into a backpacker hostel. Fifteen people died and many others survived.

The fire started shortly before 12:30 am in the downstairs recreation room. It quickly spread up the walls and into the stairwell. Survivors said smoke filled the area and the building lost power. There were no working alarms or emergency lighting in the building that night. Some guests tried to wake and rescue others in the dark.

The first emergency call was logged at 12:31 from a pay phone across the street. Emergency services arrived at 12:38 and spent about four hours fighting the fire. The Isis Shire Mayor said the hostel was not razed to the ground and that victims either got out or did not get out at all.

There were 88 people staying in the building at the time. Seventy guests survived. Ten survivors had minor burns or injuries after trying to escape from the upper level and from jumping onto the roofs of neighbouring buildings. Most of the people who died were on the first floor.

Of the 15 who died, seven were British, three were Australian, two were from the Netherlands, and one was from each of Ireland, Japan, and South Korea. Identification was difficult because the hostel register was incomplete and many passports were destroyed or damaged by the fire. DNA samples were also hard to obtain for some victims.

In one upper room, 10 victims were found. An inquest found a bunk bed had blocked a fastened exit door and the windows were barred in that room. The coronial inquest report in 2006 said the 98-year-old, two-storey timber building did not have working smoke detectors or fire alarms. It was reported that alarms had been disabled weeks before the fire because they regularly malfunctioned.

Robert Paul Long moved into the hostel on 24 March 2000 and was evicted on 14 June for rent arrears. He had expressed a hatred of backpackers and had threatened to burn down the hostel. Around midnight two guests saw him in the back yard asking them to leave a door open. Another guest later saw him downstairs near a burning rubbish bin and heard him remove an alarm.

Five days after the fire Long was spotted in cane fields and then arrested in bushland near Howard, less than 32 kilometres from Childers. During the arrest he stabbed a police dog after being bitten, stabbed one officer in the jaw, and was shot in the shoulder by a second officer. He was charged with lighting the fire, two counts of murder and one count of arson.

In March 2002 Long was found guilty of two charges of murder related to the deaths of Australian twins Kelly and Stacey Slarke, and one charge of arson. He was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 20 years. He was only charged over two of the deaths to speed the court process and to allow other charges if needed. His appeal in 2002 was denied.

Long became eligible to apply for parole in June 2020. His parole application was rejected in February 2021. In 2025 he submitted another parole application ahead of the 25th anniversary of the blaze. He has been classified as a restricted prisoner under Queensland law while the President of Parole Board Queensland considers whether to make a restricted prisoner declaration. Long remains incarcerated at Wolston Correctional Centre.

Many survivors were temporarily housed at the Isis Cultural Centre. Five Japanese nationals were evacuated by embassy officials. Local residents donated food, clothing, and blankets and invited survivors for meals and showers. Princess Anne visited on 2 July to meet surviving backpackers and others involved in the disaster.

A memorial was created at the site. A picnic bench in front of the building became a shrine with flowers and notes. The Palace was rebuilt and reopened on 26 October 2002 as the Palace Memorial Building. The building includes a glass memorial wall and a portrait of the victims. A large glass memorial wall with 15 light boxes and a painted portrait were installed to honour those who died.