One of the riders was Malcolm Domaille. Riding his 2005 Harley-Davidson,he veered to the wrong side of the road to pass the pack. The road was straight for six kilometres.

As he approached Goodwin,Domaille had nowhere to go as he hadn’t passed the pack. He ploughed into the Norton at nearly 120km/h. With a combined speed of more than 200km/h,the result was catastrophic. Goodwin was thrown back eight metres and killed instantly.

Domaille’s bike burst into flames and veered into a bike and side-car that also exploded,seriously injuring the driver and passenger. Domaille landed 16.5 metres from the crash point. His mates carried him off the road,where he died at the scene.

When paramedics arrived,the bikies urged them to help the two injured victims. It would be the gang’s only moment of compassion. Some left the scene and from that moment they put up the shutters,hiding behind a pathetic code of non-cooperation with police.

This wasn’t about snitching to the cops but telling the truth about the death of an innocent man,so the victim’s family could have some answers. The killer was dead and so there could be no ramifications.

It is not a code of honour but one of cowardice.

Domaille was full of cannabis and amphetamines when he took Goodwin’s life. Coroner Stella Stuthridge found:“Leading Senior Constable Jarrett investigated the collision. Jarrett’s investigation was difficult due to the refusal of members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club to provide statements or co-operate.”

There were few answers at the crash scene. The coroner found,“due to the extensive damage to both motorcycles,the Mechanical Investigation Unit was unable to undertake a mechanical assessment of either motorcycle.

“Mr Domaille’s toxicology results indicate he had consumed cannabis and methylamphetamine. Police also found a bag of cannabis and several small bags of amphetamine on Mr Domaille at the time of the collision.

“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that a combination of factors caused the collision and death of Mr Goodwin,including (a) the speed at which Mr Domaille was travelling;(b) the effects of cannabis and amphetamine on Mr Domaille’s judgement and reaction speed.”

There was talk at the time of the gang running a peloton move,with bikies moving from last to first,driving on the wrong side of the road,but with the gang’s silence,that was where it remained – talk.

This wasn’t about snitching to the cops but telling the truth about the death of an innocent man.

The Goodwins left their family home in Yackandandah for the 256-kilometre trip about 12.15pm on Good Friday. They agreed to meet at the Shepparton “cows”,a well-known outdoor art display before travelling the last 100 kilometres to Pine Grove.

When Dave didn’t arrive,the family headed to their destination with Tess’ mother trying to assure her daughter that he was fine. They were still driving when the ABC radio news reported the accident. “I turned it off,so the kids wouldn’t hear,” Tess says.

Gripped with dread,Tess rang the local hospital and police. Even though she was a doctor,staff told her they couldn’t confirm anything.

“Then the poor old policeman from Rochester turned up to deliver the news. I really felt for him,” she says. “The bikies would not co-operate. Not one of them said a word and no one has been held to account. I had four little kids. I was petrified.”

Dave and Tess met at the University of Melbourne while studying forestry.

She would work in land care and salinity while his mission was to ensure native forests could be sustainably logged.

Later he became an Alpine National Park ranger. “He loved it and knew the High Country like the back of his hand. He would camp out for a week at a time,” she says.

Tess says he was laid-back and easy going. “He would take guns off deer hunters that didn’t have the right licence. He was able to do it in a way that they wouldn’t get stroppy.”

He worked in fire management,reducing risks,locating the point and cause of fires. He was also a volunteer firefighter. When Tess returned to study to become a doctor,he supported the family and eventually worked part-time,becoming the children’s principal carer. “He was Mr Dad.”

After the investigation into the fatal crash was completed,effectively sabotaged by the bikies’ silence,a friend of Dave’s from his forestry days couldn’t bear the thought of his mate’s loved Norton being sold for scrap. He had it shipped to his farm in Gippsland,where it has been placed under a tree as a memorial.

It is so mangled he won’t let Dave’s family see it.

Tess found some comfort that the year after the crash,police finally took some action against outlaw motorcycle gangs,forming the Echo taskforce that targeted the organised crime groups and would attempt to control their “runs”,making sure the riders obeyed the road rules and wore helmets. As part of a policy of disruption,Echo police would stop and search riders on a run and carry out roadworthy checks on their bikes.

It was to show the gangs they could not dominate the roads.

For the past 15 years,Tess has concentrated on raising her four children and working in country health. She is a GP specialising in obstetrics,works shifts in an emergency ward and volunteers for equestrian events.

After years of police lobbying,the state government passed laws designed to stop “outlaw motorcycle gang members wearing and displaying their colours,such as patches,logos or other insignia to represent their gang membership,intimidate others and to attract and recruit new members”.

It is the latest allegations of outlaw bikies being paid on government construction sites as part of the CFMEU scandal that have prompted Tess to speak out.

“I am no longer scared. The year after Dave was killed they started to crack down on bikies,but I feel a complacency setting in. People say bikies raise money for charity and many of them are good guys – that is a lie.”

On the Outlaws’ website is the claim,“To say that One Percenters are criminals or people of a lesser moral code than the rest of society is a tainted opinion. The Outlaws Motorcycle Club is not a criminal organisation.”

Tess says governments and the public need to recognise the truth. “We have to ask ourselves,what sort of society do we want? We are turning a blind eye to organised crimes. Is that what we want?”

As a country doctor Tess has been told bikies provide young Indigenous people with free drugs at nightclubs to hook them as customers. “Ice is a terrible problem here. It is well known the Melbourne-to-Sydney train is a place to traffic drugs.”

She says the government must fund Echo to remain a powerful investigative force.

On Wednesday,police in Australia and New Zealand conducted multiple coordinated raids against members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle gang. Echo police seized drugs including steroids,four gel blaster firearms,ammunition,knuckle dusters and stolen vehicles and made a number of arrests.

I saw first-hand the power of a bikie run – when gang members massed for a member’s funeral (he died of natural causes,crushed under a tree on his property).

Hundreds rode,most without helmets,with the police keeping a discreet distance,the police helicopter hovering above to film the procession.

I wrote the story – one of little significance.

That night the editor rang me. Our photographer had been confronted by the gang,and their leader,a man known to burn down buildings,had demanded his wallet. He had grabbed the photographer’s licence,taken down the details and made the threat that if Silvester writes anything we don’t like,we will come for you.

The story did not appear. The gang boss was later jailed for extortion.

It took years,but eventually,his victims stood up to him and testified.

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