Planet Perth: Jack van Tongeren and the Chinese Restaurant Firebombing

Crispian Chan was just eight years old when his family’s Chinese restaurant, The Man Lin, was firebombed in a series of coordinated attacks targeting the Asian community.

The damage decimated the business but Crispian’s parents didn’t have time to think about who could have been behind it. 

Today, Jeff unpacks the dark political history behind this incident; a spree of terrorism, thuggery and racist propaganda by the Australian Nationalist Movement led by Jack Van Tongeren.

Join Jeff Bullen for a deep dive into the weird, wacky and unexplained history of our eccentric city on Planet Perth.

From cults, to abandoned theme parks and tank rampages across the CBD, Planet Perth is your guide to the events, personalities and bygone icons that have shaped one of the most isolated cities in the world.