THE SOMERTON MAN STORY...
A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING
THE FINDING OF THE BODY OF A MAN ON SOMERTON BEACH
DECEMBER 1st 1948...
....This image is believed to be from SA Police Files. It purports to show the location of where the body of a man was found on the morning of Wednesday, December 1st, 1948.
CHAPTER 1.
Around 6.30 am on the morning of Wednesday, December 1st, 1948 on a South Australian beach, the body of a man was found near to some steps that led up from the beach to an adjacent roadway. He had no identification on him and tags on his clothing had been torn away. With just a few meager possessions in his pockets, it became obvious from the outset, that there was something out of the ordinary about this death.
Sunrise that day was at 4.55 am, and the weather forecast was for 76 F after an overnight low of 52 F. There was a Spring tide which reached a height of 9 feet at 4.34 am, it was the highest tide of the year.
But our story begins the day before the discovery of this body, at least for now...
PART 1. THE ADELAIDE RAILWAY STATION
30th November 1948
Another fine day greeted Adelaidians and visitors alike on this date, the daytime temperature was in the upper 60s F and there was little in the way of wind. The front page of the Advertiser featured stories about early talks on the formation of an Atlantice Treaty organisation, the beginnings of NATO. And a most interesting article on the arrival of the 15 strong Russian delegation into Darwin to attend the impending ECAFE Conference to be held at the Lapstone Hotel in the Blue Mountains. More on this event in a later chapter, one Australian based Russian delegate to the conference turned out to be an assassin.
Elsewhere in the pages of the days Advertiser was an article regarding the visit to Adelaide of Sir Henry Tizard, he spoke at length at a number of venues on the subject on future uses of Atomic Energy and held a meeting with Sir Thomas Playford, Governor of South Australia.
In a local picture theatre, The Mayfair, a Thriller entitled 'I Met A Murderer' starring James Mason was playing that week.
Adelaide Railway Station 1948
A number of interstate trains arrived that day, 30th November, commencing their journeys in Melbourne, Sydney, and via Port Augusta, from Perth.
It was somertime between 11 am and Midday on November 30th 1948, that someone deposited a smart brown fibre suitcase at the left Luggage Department of the station. It was later established that a bus ticket found on the man had been issued at 11.15 am at a bus stop outisde the Grosvenor Hotel
The photograph above, showing the left luggage counter, was taken in the late 20s early 1930s after the completion of extensive alterations and upgrades to what is now an iconic building that houses amongst other things a very modern Casino. In its time it has served as a movie set for many well known Australian movies including Breaker Morant. It was here that a suitcase that was later associated with the man found on Somerton Beach, was deposited.
Below is a photograph of the actual left luggage ticket that was attached to that suitcase by one of the employees:
The Supervisor for that area was a Mr.North, in a later statement made at the Coroners Court, Mr. North nominated an employee, believed to be a Mr.Alec Craig as the person who in fact took in the suitcase and made out the ticket you see above. When we reach the chapter on the Inquest, you will read that Mr. Craig did not attend the court as he was on holidays. This fact is possibly one of the most crucial aspects of the case.
There were two other Craigs employed by SAR at the time, both of whom were much younger than Alec Craig and and this was the indicator
In 1948, there was a builkding adjacent to the Railway Station it was known as the Elder Park Hostel, it is a place where mostly British immigrants were housed at least temporarily.
There is no record or mention of this building or its residents being questioned about the events at Somerton.
SAR Employee Record showing the details of those who have the surname Craig...
And so, at the end of this first, shorr section, we are left with two burning questions, Why was Mr. Craig not interviewed by Police and Why was no mention made of the immigrant hostel right next door to the Railway Station?
PART 2: THE BUS AND TRAIN TICKETS
30th NOVEMBER 1948
On Tuesday November 30th, it was found that two tickets were issued and later were amongst the contents of a trouser pocket of the man on Somerton Beach.
The first ticket was an unused second class train ticket to Henley Beach and the other was a 7pence bus ticket number 88708 issued by a bus conductor, Arthus Anzac Holderness. 7 pence was the full fare for the bus route that started at the Grosvenor Hotel, 125 North Terrace just a 3 minute walk across the road from the Railway Station, to St Leonards (Later known as North Glenelg)
That particular bus had 9, 7penny ticket passengers on board on that first part or section of the trip. The fare of 7 pence changed to 6 pence when the bus reached the end of that first part or 'section'. which ended at the junction of West Terrace and South Terrace.
That particular bus had 9, 7penny ticket passengers on board on that first part or section of the trip. The fare of 7 pence changed to 6 pence when the bus reached the end of that first part or 'section'. which ended at the junction of West Terrace and South Terrace.
The bus route went from the Grosvenor Hotel, travelled along North Terrace to West Terrace where it turned left and drove to the junction of West Terace and South Terrace where it turned right and headed down Anzac highway to St Leonards. It was at that West Terrace and South Terrace junction that the fare dropped to 6 pence.
Given the time shown on the Left Luggage ticket of between 11 am and 12 midday, and the time of the issue of the bus ticket of 11.15 am then it is reasonable to assume that, including the short walk distance of an estimated 3 minutes plus a little time to purchase the second class rail ticket to Henley Beach then the suitcase must have been deposited closer to 11 am. Another assumption is that the Henley Beach ticket was purchased after the suitcase was deposited.
Mr. Holderness could not recall seeing the man on his bus.
PART 3: AN EVENING WALK ON THE BEACH
30th NOVEMBER 1948
JOHN BAINS LYONS
At around 6.40 pm in the evening of Tuesday November 30th, John Bains Lyons, a local jeweler, and his wife went for their regular stroll along the beach from their home in Whyte Street, Somerton towards Glenelg. They went as far as the Broadway, about a 15 minute walk before returning along the same route along the beach.
It was during that return leg of their stroll that they noticed a man on the sand lying on his back with his head propped up against the low sea wall at a point close to the Crippled Childrens Home. Mr Lyons estimted in his later statement to the Coroner, that he was about 60feet (20 metres) away from the man as they walked past and that the mans position was about 3 feet (1metre) from the steps that led down from the Esplanade roadway to the beach. They saw that the mans left hand was by his side and that his feet were crossed and pointing towards the sea. Mr Lyons made a half joking remark to his wife that operhaps they should call the police at which pijnt the mans right arm shot upwards to its full extent and then it fell back down. Mr Lyons formed the view that the man was probably drunk. After first checking his watch and noting it was 7 pm. John and his wife walked on home.
Mr Lyons was not asked why he had not seen the man on his outward walk to the Broadway. Could it be that the man arrived there on the beach within the 15 minutes or so it would have taken for the couple to complete that part of their walk? If this was the case then it raises the question, how would a man supposedly drunk stagger along the beach or the Esplanade without being noticed? At 7 pm the sun was still up, he would have been in full view.
We will learn more of their walk when we get to the Chapter covering the inquest.
GORDON STRAPPS AND OLIVE NEAL
At 7.30 pm that same evening, Gordon Strapps and his young lady, Olive Neal had driven on Gordon's motorcycle from the city to Somerton Beach to take in the view and refresh themselves. They parked the motorcycle on the Esplanade and sat down on a bench just South of the Crippled Childrens Home. They both saw a man lying on his back on the sand, Olive noted that his left hand seemed in an odd position. According to the account recorded in Gerry Feltus's book, The Unknown Man, the coupole said that the man was about 9 metres below them and about 2 metres South of the steps. Olive noticed that his legs were crossed and that he appeared to be wearing brown trousers, he appeared to be well built. Olive also noticed that another man aged in his fifties in a blue suit and with a grey hat was standing at the top of the steps that led down to the beach and appeared to be watching the man for about 5 minutes. The man was stocky build and not tall. For Grodons part he noted the presence of mosquito's and how the man on the beach wasn't bothered by them. He thought he must have been dead to the world. He thought that the man was wearing brown striped trousers.
At 8pm, Gordon and Olive walked up the steps and drove away.
It is probable that the '9 metres below them' comment was meant to be 9 metres distant from them and slightly below them. That would tie in with the approximate distances shown in the images below:
What we have learnt here is that there was a man wearing a navy suit and grey hat of stocky build and not very tall was apparently watching the man on the sand. This is a previously known fact and much of what we know today is courtesy of the great work done by ex Detective Sergeant Gerry Feltus, the author of the Unknown Man book, often referred to as the Bible for serious researchers of the Somerton Man case.
The questions carried forward are:
1. Why Mr Lyons did not notice the man on the sand when they first walked past the steps...
2. How was Gordon Strapps able to see that the man was wearing striped brown trousers in fading light , it was dusk, and at a distance of some 9 metres?
ANOTHER CHAPTER FOLLOWS