Vice City - Fortitude Valley's True Crime Tour

as someone with a passion for brisbane’s history, i was sorely disappointed by this tour for a number of reasons. it was quite plain that the research put into this tour was minimal. it sounded like a bunch of facts recited from wikipedia. there were a number of incorrect facts as well - some of them were key facts, like the names of criminals involved. i’ve done a lot of research into brisbane’s criminal history but expected a company offering tours like this to have done thorough, extensive research. i thought maybe i’d learn something new but i didn’t. there was no flow to the story telling. the stories the tour guide india told us at each spot we visited were done so in an oversimplified manner that was underwhelming and did not engage me. her folder full of tacky cartoon graphics, bad quality images and handwritten notes that spelled a criminals name wrong that she used throughout the tour was not only unprofessional looking but distracting. india tried to make a few jokes, but they were at the expense of the victims. these are real people she was talking about - brisbane’s history isn’t something to be exploited for entertainment. she made some joking comment about it being easy for drunk people to jump from high places - referring to the people who had to escape the burning whiskey au go go building. i just thought the timing was inappropriate considering we were at the spot of one of australia’s worst mass murders. she offered no sympathy to the victims, payed no homage to them whatsoever. it just felt like to her, these were characters in her script. india kept going off topic - making self deprecating comments which was uncomfortable, her political beliefs and even started talking about a girl she knew who did ‘kink work’ which just felt a bit invasive and like an overshare. we wanted to hear more about the crimes and asked plenty of questions, but india made it clear that she didn’t know anything other than the script she learned - and tidbits of information she had heard from people on tours and relayed to us, some of which was incorrect - which my mum pointed out and she seemed adamant it was correct. it’s not hard to fact check key aspects of a notorious crime. overall, i thought it was a very poor tour in delivery and in research and is a prime example of the issues i have with the popularity of true crime rising in recent years. it’s exploited for entertainment, delivered by people who are so disconnected from the real lives and history they are speaking about.

This was a fascinating and comprehensive tour about the seedy and corrupt times in Brisbane's history. I loved the stories and our guide delivered them well.