How Arthur and Helen Coghlan's magical father-daughter bond is keeping Australia's art of escapology

Mar 22, 20221 min read

In the Channel 9 car park in Melbourne, with a crane looming overhead, Arthur Coghlan lowered his slender frame into a 44-gallon steel barrel.

With superhuman powers of contortion, he wedged himself far enough in for the lid to be locked from the outside.

He would have just 90 seconds to escape before the barrel was dropped from a height of 30 metres.

It was August 6, 1979, and the millions of Australians watching at home had no idea how close Arthur came to death.

Recent Posts