Original source (on modern site)
It's feeding time for Sneaky Sam, the resident 3.8 metre saltwater crocodile at the Larrimah Pink Panther Hotel. "Sam's for sale," says publican Steve Baldwin, as the croc lunges out of his pond and snaps up a chicken dangling from a line. "Buy Sam and you get the pub thrown in!" Loading... But it's a different sale that has thrown Larrimah back into the national spotlight. Larrimah is a small stop on the Stuart Highway, nearly 500 kilometres drive south of Darwin.(ABC News: Michael Franchi) The home at the centre of one of the country's most famous cold cases is going under the hammer within days. Former owner Paddy Moriarty and his dog Kellie mysteriously vanished on the night of December 16, 2017. No body has even been found. Neither Paddy Moriarty nor his kelpie Kellie have been since since December 2017.(Supplied) When Paddy disappeared, only 12 people lived in Larrimah. Steve estimates the population of Larrimah is about seven now, depending on whether you count his staff at the hotel. Just up the road from the hotel, two signs are fixed to a barbed wire fence outside Paddy's house. One, a glossy real estate sign advertising an upcoming auction. The other, a faded and cracked missing person's sign that reads: "What happened to Paddy?" The home of missing man Patrick Moriarty is being sold at auction.(ABC News: James Elton ) The house has sat empty since Mr Moriarty's disappearance.(ABC News: James Elton) The grass is overgrown and outdoor furniture is strewn around the property. Two years ago, the NT coroner concluded Paddy was killed in the "context of, and likely due, to the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbours". His disappearance has been the subject of a podcast, a book and a documentary. On behalf of the public trustee, Real Estate Central is selling the house "as is" at an on-site auction at 11am this Tuesday. Back at the Pink Panther Hotel, the effect of the case on tourism is clear. Visitors from around the world have signed the guest book with comments about "looking for Paddy". The mystery around Paddy Moriarty has brought more tourists to Larrimah's Pink Panther Hotel.(ABC News: Michael Franchi) Larrimah is best known for its Pink Panther themed pub and hotel.(ABC News: Kristy O'Brien) Caravans pull up outside Paddy's house and the now-closed pie shop next door to peer over the fence. "They always come and want to know what's in the pies," Steve says. The guest book at the Pink Panther. Many guests make reference to Netflix, Paddy, or finding fingers in their pie.(ABC News: James Elton) Rumours about Paddy ending up in pies or in the belly of Sneaky Sam have become part of the dark mythology of the case. Steve has plans for new merchandise for the pub inspired by some of these wilder theories. Steve Baldwin holds up a design he wants to sell on merch, adding a local twist to a new iced coffee ad. (ABC News: James Elton) The question now is whether Larrimah can make the most of its infamy and continue to attract visitors in the future. The tiny town of Larrimah was the site of one of Australia's biggest bases during World War II. It was a critical staging post, just outside the range of Japanese bombers. About 6,500 men worked on plane repairs at the Gorrie Airfield 10 kilometres north of Larrimah. Soldiers and supplies were put on cattle trains that shuttled them up to Darwin. Concrete slabs are all that remains of most of this, except for a heritage listed signals station that now houses the Larrimah Museum. Journalist and author Kylie Stevenson, whose reporting on Larrimah was instrumental in putting the town and Paddy's case on the map, says there is untapped potential in town's history. "The history of Larrimah is one of the things that attracted me to the place and got me interested in writing about it even before Paddy went missing," she says. "That museum is just brimming with extraordinary information." Steve is hopeful that the auction of Paddy's place will bring "new blood" to town. "New vision, new energy, maybe [someone] looking for a job or investing," he said. He is optimistic the town's population will "explode" in coming years due to its proximity to the Beetaloo Basin gas fields. He too is seeking "expressions of interest" for someone to buy his hotel. "You probably need somebody a bit younger, with a bit more energy to run with it," he says. Publican Steve Baldwin hopes the town will see an influx of newcomers in years to come.(ABC News: James Elton) Steve has already put another block of land in Larrimah called the "green park" up for auction on the same day as Paddy's place. Other residents in the town are watching on with interest and considering selling too, he says. "The population is quite elderly, and regularly dying, as happens everywhere," Steve says. Twelve people lived in the town of Larrimah when Patrick Moriarty went missing.(ABC News: Michael Franchi) For Kylie, the upcoming action will bring an imperfect sense of closure. Paddy's house is on the edge of a major road and has been essentially frozen in the state he left it, which she says has been "unsettling" for his friends. "The fact that there is a large sign out the front with the reward for any information and the missing poster, that's also a source of pain for those people who loved Paddy, and a lot of those people drive up and down the Stuart Highway for various things," she says. A missing sign for Patrick Moriarty is still out the front of his house.(ABC News: Michael Franchi) But Kylie also points out that the case is yet to be solved. "A lot of his friends aren't going to have closure until there is an answer as to what happened to him," she says. The findings from the coroner in April 2022 came with a referral back to law enforcement over the suspected murder. The macabre fascination with the case is something that Kyle says she feels "strangely uncomfortable" about. "It's more than just a story to us," she says. "That sometimes is a little bit difficult to swallow, that people just see it as this really wild story that they want to get involved in and have a say on."Paddy's home under the hammer
The Paddy effect
Lost wartime past
'New blood'
'More than a story'