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In early autumn, Dezi Freeman’s landlord, Rebecca Swift, sat smiling under a banner that pictured her rural alpine valley property, dubbed Four Gully Farm.
Swift, an anti-government conspiracy theorist, was running a stall at the Off-Grid Living Festival, selling organic produce harvested from the Porepunkah farm.
Illustrated on the banner is the property’s red-roofed farmhouse, its chestnut and feijoa trees, and happy farmers, all set against the towering backdrop of Mount Buffalo.
Andrew and Rebecca Swift pictured in a documentary produced by Andrew, an alpine region expert.
It was impossible for Swift – who is actively involved in the anti-government movement and deeply mistrusts authorities – to even imagine that just months later, that very scene would be projected across the country as the centre of the biggest manhunt in Victoria’s recent history.
Her tenant, Freeman, is alleged to have murdered Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart with a home-made shotgun at the bus he was living in not far from the farm’s main red-roofed residence.
Another detective wounded in the attack hid under the bus for up to an hour until paramedics arrived, police sources say.
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The Swifts, well-liked “greenies” in the alpine community, are said to have run an off-grid type of community on their farmland, which they bought in 2016, though little is known about who else was living on the property at the time of the alleged ambush.
“There’s a lot of people living there. It’s like a little community. You see a lot of cars driving in and out,” one neighbour said.
Bruce Evans, a friend of Freeman who visited the Porepunkah property several times, said Dezi had built the bus himself while his family was living in a house in Porepunkah, before they moved to the Swifts’ property.
“Dezi was actually building the bus and making it off-grid. He did it all himself,” Evans said. “It was a great little farm and very well laid out and very well looked after.”
One visitor who camped under the property’s chestnut trees described her time on the 20-hectare farm as “magical”. “Love what the Swift family have created and the community they have built,” she shared on social media.
The Swifts and the other tenants were forced from their gated community after Freeman – who is said to be heavily armed – fled into dense bushland shortly after the August 26 shooting, and police launched the massive manhunt that is in its second week.
Crime Command Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly has confirmed that Freeman’s wife, Mali, and at least one of his children, were home when the officers arrived to execute a warrant.
It’s not clear whether other tenants or the Swifts were also on the property at the time of the shooting. The Swifts have gone even further off the grid since the incident, and locals say they haven’t seen the couple.
Freeman, a self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” with a history of police hatred, moved onto Four Gully Farm with his family after a string of bad fallings-out with former landlords, who have made claims about his violent temper and disturbing obsession with guns.
But the trio shared some common interests – the Swifts and Freeman have a deep knowledge and love for the land they lived on; Freeman moved up from Melbourne to the nearby Victorian border town of Wodonga when he was a young boy, while the Swifts grew up in the alpine valley.
As Rebecca’s online activity would suggest, she and Freeman were both believers in COVID-19 conspiracies, and were aligned in their view that the government was corrupt and could not be trusted.
There is no suggestion, however, that Rebecca or anyone else living on Four Gully Farm held any of the extremist or violent behaviour allegedly displayed by Freeman.
In fact, locals in Porepunkah and Bright speak highly of the Swifts, dubbing them “highly intelligent” people who are known for organic farming. Their chestnut hummus and feijoa cordial are favourites at the Myrtleford and Bright farmers’ markets.
“They would have had nothing to do with what happened. They are very nice, friendly people, and I’m not really aware of any of their political views,” said an employee of a Porepunkah business, who insisted she not be identified.
Bruce Evans, a friend of Freeman, says no one else living on the property had anything to do with Freeman’s alleged crimes.Credit: Jason South
Evans said no one else living on the property had anything to do with Freeman’s alleged crimes.
“I’ve met a tonne of people there during various times. I’d like to point out that the people living there are now having a real hard time because of what’s happening at the moment [police searching the area],” he said.
“I’ve been told that they’re suffering big time because of this, they can’t get on with their lives.”
This masthead spoke to more than 20 people and conducted extensive research on the online profiles of the Swifts to paint a picture of their life in Porepunkah. Those interviewed asked not to be identified while a double murder probe was under way and Freeman is on the run.
This masthead made several attempts to contact the Swifts, who did not respond to phone calls or text messages.
Political ‘predator class’
Rebecca has always been active in the alpine valley community; before the COVID-19 lockdowns, she was organising climate action strikes and helped raise money for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
But as the spread of COVID-19 and resulting lockdowns spurred an anti-government ideology underscored by conspiracy theories and a deep mistrust of authorities, Rebecca turned her activism efforts to the “freedom” movement.
She helped organise anti-government rallies and urged people to get involved with various events, fielding volunteers for an anti-vaxxer group and posting event links into community noticeboards.
Rebecca Swift (second from right) has long been politically active.
In May, in an online discussion about the state government’s highly criticised fire levy tax hike, Rebecca wrote: “It was a tough job trying to raise awareness of the corruption and lawlessness being perpetrated by the government and their mouthpieces, while being portrayed as selfish, stupid ‘conspiracy theorist, far-right’ granny killers.
“I’m sure this latest attempted wealth transfer (in the guise of a fund to help our volunteers) will not succeed, as in the post-COVID war period many more people have woken up to the trickery these servants of the elites are capable of.”
In various social media posts, the mother of two has called the media “corrupt”, police “uniformed thugs” and major political parties, including the Greens and Labor, and independent teals the “predator class”.
She has shown support for Monica Smit, the founder of Reignite Democracy Australia, an anti-lockdown and COVID-19 conspiracy group; Topher Field, a right-wing Christian YouTuber; and Wade Northausen, a farmer who has labelled the United Nations and the World Health Organisation as terrorist groups.
Rebecca Swift is also a member of My Place Australia, another conspiracy fringe group that gained popularity during the pandemic era.
Dezi Freeman’s landlord, whose profile picture displays an anti-World Health Organisation message, often posts anti-government content.
Rebecca, like Freeman and his family, also appears to hold Christian beliefs that are interwoven into her anti-government ideology. Under a post declaring the Iran-Israel war a “deep state” conspiracy, Rebecca questioned whether the conflict was necessary to fulfil a biblical prophecy.
“All war is simply sickening and always has fingerprints of deep state, but is this what ‘had to’ happen to fulfil the 2500 year old prophesy (SIC)?,” she wrote.
‘Swifty’
There are few people more qualified than Freeman’s recent landlord, Andrew Swift, to speak about Victoria’s remote High Country.
Swifty, as he is known in the community, is renowned for his interest and knowledge of the region’s history, mining, gold rush and bushland. He is a historian, filmmaker, author and consultant for several government departments specialising in the region’s historic archaeological sites.
Fallen officers Vadim de Waart-Hottart (left) and Neal Thompson.
He has prepared reports for Heritage Victoria, Parks Victoria and the Department of Environment and Sustainability, including a research paper last year on the use of light detection and ranging technology to identify historic infrastructure.
One of Andrew’s lifelong friends, who declined to give his name, described him as a naturally gifted student at school who had encyclopaedic knowledge of the area’s history and was popular in the community.
“He is just a lovely guy, very community-minded,” he said. “I reckon he would be absolutely devastated by what’s gone on.”
This masthead does not know if Rebecca’s husband, Andrew, shares in her worldview.
The property where two officers were killed is near the base of Mount Buffalo.Credit: Google Earth
Rebecca is hardly alone in her anti-government beliefs – Porepunkah and its surrounding towns have a small but vocal community that follow the conspiracy movement.
The town’s organic shop displays several anti-vaxxer books, including one that amplifies the debunked myth connecting vaccines to autism, claiming the neurodevelopmental condition can be cured by “natural remedies”.
The extensive manhunt for Freeman also exposed an alternative undercurrent of sympathy among a few High Country residents for Freeman’s extreme “sovereign citizen” views.
While Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush denied the ideology was a focus for officers during their search for Freeman, he acknowledged that people sharing in the conspiracy movement tended to live remotely and off the grid.
Fabio Zambelli outside the Porepunkah property on August 27.Credit: Joe Armao
Police have also executed raids on the homes of anti-government believers, some of who are now sharing sympathetic messages about Freeman online.
Rebecca has been pictured with one of these people, though there is no suggestion that she shares any sympathy towards Freeman.
Those who lived on the sprawling Four Gully Farm are protective of the Swifts, who have not been seen by locals since police descended on the High Country region.
Fabio Zambelli, an Italian migrant who lived on the property, guarded the entry to the farm hours after the alleged double murder, parking his car across the driveway to stop anyone from entering.
“I am here to protect the owners,” he told reporters at the time. “I live here. You have to know you are trespassing.”
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