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23-year-old Paul Lungian, who arrived in Australia from his hometown of Birmingham, England on December 22, 1989.

Like many international backpackers before him, Paul had heard great things about the land down under and was looking forward to a summer of travel and adventure before embarking on a six month working holiday.

He spent the first six weeks of his trip staying at a hostel in Sydney where he visited the sites of the city and hung out with fellow travellers before deciding to head south to Victoria to see if he could find a job fruit picking.

Paul considered catching a bus for the near 1,000 km journey. The several other backpackers advised him that hitchhiking was easier and a great way to save money.

They recommended he take the tried and tested route. Catch a train to Liverpool in Sydney's south-west, walk to the Hume Highway, then hitch a ride south to Melbourne.

Following this advice on January 25, 1990, Paul Lungian's boarded the train to Liverpool arriving at approximately 1pm.

He set off for the Hume Highway on foot, carrying all of his possessions in an old green-colored army rucksack.

Although traffic was busy, Paul wasn't having any luck hailing a ride and after an hour of wandering along in the oppressive afternoon sun, he veered off the highway at the town of Kasula to refresh with a drink and a chocolate bar.

Lost resting at Lombardo's news agency, Paul was approached by a stocky-teamed skin man with dark hair and light eyes.

He had a bushy horseshoe-shaped moustache to Paul likened to famous Australian cricket player Merve Hughes.

The man introduced himself as Bill and asked the British backpacker if he needed a lift, offering to drive him as far as Canberra, a 280 km drive south.

Paul gravely accepted the ride.

The two men climbed into Bill's silver nissen patrol four-wheel drive vehicle, which had a red stripe down the side, chrome plated sidesteps, a bull bar, curtains on the rear door windows and a lambs wool seat covers.

Bill threw Paul's rucksack onto the back seat, before getting behind the wheel and heading south along the Hume Highway.

The pair engaged in small talk about the hot weather and Paul's upcoming travel plans.

Bill was friendly and easy to talk to, explaining his family was from Yugoslavia and that he lived locally where he worked for the Rhodes and Traffic Authority in Liverpool.

He was recently divorced and currently on a break from work, taking the opportunity to head to Canberra for a holiday with friends.

Paul politely responded to Bill's questions, advising that he had no family in Australia and that up until recently he had been in the British Navy.

Bill asked Paul if he had any special forces training in the military to which he responded, no. He worked as an air conditioning engineer.

Bill's demeanor then started to shift. A conversation about immigration ensued, during which Bill started to get agitated as he made several anti-British and anti-Asian remarks.

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