It’s 50 years since the Faraday school kidnapping, an incident which had the whole of Victoria on-edge when it happened.

Neil Mitchell was a baby-faced junior reporter at The Age in 1972, recalling how he got back to the office from dinner to be told to pack his bags.

“I didn’t sleep for another 30-odd hours,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear Neil Mitchell’s recollection

Picture: The Age archives