Cold Case Files: Patricia ‘Susi’ Schmidt

 

At 2 a.m. on Saturday, December 18, 1971, Patricia ‘Susi’ Schmidt finished a double shift at the Darlington Burger King on the corner of South Road and Marion Road.[1] Susi went outside to wait for her dad to pick her up. According to the Canberra Times newspaper of 1971, Susi was a 16-year-old girl who had taken a job at Burger King to save money so she could buy Christmas presents.[2] Driving from their Seacliff home, Mr Schmidt ran 10 minutes late and never saw his daughter alive again.[3]

4 days before her murder, Susi had worked the night shift at Burger King. She told her girlfriend that after she finished her shift, she had started walking home when an older man, probably in his 30s, with a flash car, pulled over and asked if she needed a lift. Susi had accepted the lift and made it home safely to Seacliff. [4]

Susi’s body was found dumped near Adams Street, at Hallet Cove, she had been raped and strangled.[5] Traces of weathered pink and white paint were found on her body. There were also traces of nickel and nickel-silver on her body, which led police to believe at the time, she may have been in an engraver or key cutter workshop. Susi’s kangaroo skin purse was never found.

Darlington Burger King  Adrienne Peele photo

In December 2021, marking 50 years since Susi’s murder, South Australian Police released a news article via ABC News that 8 listed key points about the case:

• Gold, brass, nickel, and other metal filings from key cutting.
• Microscopic particles from a shoe repair business. 
• Welding slag (by-product left from the welding process).
• Particles of electrical waste from Phillips Industries (at Henley Beach at the time).
• Iridescent blue paint from a 1971 blue Holden Monaro. 
• Small paint flakes — pink on one side and white on the other. 
• Missing necklet with "Susi" engraved on the back. 
• DNA from unknown men.

 

Police believe there may have been more than one person involved in Susi’s abduction, rape, and murder. The culprits, they believe, would be in their 60s today, if still alive. There is a reward of up to $1 million for anyone who provides information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of the person or people responsible for Susi's death.[6]

Anyone with information about her murder is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au/ . You can report anonymously.

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2024.

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[1] ‘Remembering Burger King in Adelaide,’ The Advertiser, (2023),  (Remembering Burger King in Adelaide | The Advertiser (adelaidenow.com.au).

[2] 'Murdered', The Canberra Times, (20 December 1971), p. 3.

[3] Rebecca Opie, ‘DNA breakthrough and eight clues could solve 1971 murder of Seacliff teen Susi Schmidt,’ ABC News, DNA breakthrough and eight clues could solve 1971 murder of Seacliff teen Susi Schmidt - ABC News

[4] Meagan Dillion, ‘The 45-year-old murder of Patricia Schmidt will head across the Tasman Sea as SA Police remain determined to solve the mystery,’ The Advertiser, (2016).

[5] 'Murdered', The Canberra Times, (20 December 1971), p. 3.; Nigel Hunt, ‘The cold case files – unsolved SA murders reopened,’ Sunday Mail, (2025), The cold case files — unsolved SA murders reopened | The Advertiser (adelaidenow.com.au).

[6] Hunt, ‘The cold case files,’ Sunday Mail, (2025).; Opie, ‘DNA breakthrough,’ ABC News.

Gawler's Dark History Presentation - 11 May 2024.

Gawler's Dark History Presentation 

- 11 May 2024.

Join Me on Saturday 11th of May for a late afternoon talk about Gawler's Dark History!

I'll be detailing some shocking local murders, suicides, nasty accidents, and maybe a ghost or two! This event is strictly 18+ as some of the details are rather gruesome!

This is a fundraiser event for the Gawler National Trust Museum to help raise some much-needed money for the upkeep of Gawler's historical museum.

I'll also have books available for sale and signing (EFTPOS available).

$15 per person, 11 May 2024 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM.


Tickets are almost sold out so get in while you still can!

Gawler National Trust Museum - 59 Murray Street Gawler, SA 5118


https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/gawlers-dark-history-address-by-award-winning-historian-allen-tiller-tickets-831684349277?

#history #allentiller #gawler #truecrime

 The Execution of Joseph Stagg

 

Joseph Stagg was executed at the Old Adelaide Gaol on 19 November 1840. Portable gallows were erected at the front gates of the gaol, and at 8 am, Stagg was hung in front of 700 spectators. Stagg was found guilty of murdering John Gafton at what is now Port Gawler.


Mrs Robertson, a resident near the Gawler River was approached by a man asking for a loaf of bread. He and his friends had not eaten for three days, and they were hoping for some charity. He offered her half a sovereign for the loaf. Robertson grew suspicious of Gafton and his cohorts, and at her first available opportunity, reported him and his friends to the local police constable.
Mounted police were sent to the area. They had been searching for three wanted cattle rustlers; Gafton, Fenton and Best. 
Aboriginal trackers were employed who were able to track down the men’s campsite.
The trackers had led police to a small, recently constructed hut. Inside lay the lifeless body of John Gafton. Well known to police, Gafton had recently escaped gaol. He was found to have a gunshot wound behind one of his ears. In his pocket were 11 sovereigns, but no pistol could be found in the hut.

The Coroner and two jurymen were called to the murder site to collect the body and gather evidence. A known accomplice of Gafton, Joseph Stagg was accused of the crime and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Stagg was apprehended by Constable Lomas and taken to the local police station where he was searched. In his possession were 16 pounds, several percussion caps, and paperwork that related to transactions between Stagg and Gafton regarding their recent cattle rustling.
Also in Stagg’s possession was a pistol, which was identified by Mrs Robertson as the one being in the possession of Gafton, the young man who had first begged her for the loaf of bread.

Stagg declared his innocence. All the evidence was circumstantial, but still, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to execution.
His final days were taken up with him reading the bible.
The night before his execution, he was taken to the Police Horse Barracks, to be separated from the general population, and returned the morning of his execution.

He flatly refused to confess to the crime.

The Sundown Murders: Part II: Execution or Exoneration?

 The Sundown Murders: Part II:

 Execution or Exoneration?

In December 1957, the bodies of Thyra Bowman, her daughter Wendy, and family friend, Thomas Whelan were found at the Sundown Station in South Australia’s outback.

Raymond Bailey had been arrested and charged for the murders, claiming he, “had gone mad”.

The case against Bailey was overseen by Justice Reed. It took a jury 96 minutes to decide that Bailey was guilty. Evidence was not overwhelming against Bailey, but a statement he alleged to have given to police was enough to convict.[1] Police also found gunshot casings at the murder site that matched casings found in Bailey’s car.
Bailey was found guilty and sentenced to hang.

  It was announced in newspapers that Raymond John Bailey would be hanged at the Adelaide Gaol on 17 June 1958.[2] He received a reprieve from hanging for one week after claiming there was a fourth body, he had buried. Bailey claimed he had witnessed a man burying the body of Mrs Bowman, and that he killed the man in self-defence. He also claimed to have buried the knife near where Mrs Bowman's car was found. Police took Bailey back to the Station, but he could not produce evidence of the buried body.

Bailey was hanged at 8am, Tuesday, June 24, 1958, in Her Majesty’s Adelaide Gaol.[3]

 

As an interesting footnote to this case.  Stephen Bishop, an investigative journalist has pushed for an exoneration for Bailey. Bishop believes his confession was coerced under duress, and that Detective Glen Hallahan forced Bailey’s confession. Bishop also claims that evidence was overlooked, or ignored, such as footprints that were too large to be Bailey’s, being found at the murder location.

© 2022 Allen Tiller

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[1] 'Bailey Found Guilty Of Sundown Murder', The Canberra Times, (21 May 1958), p. 8., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91250953.
[2] 'Bailey to Hang on Tuesday', The Canberra Times, (21 June 1958), p. 3., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136300645.
[3] 'Bailey Hanged For Murder Of Mrs. Bowman', The Canberra Times, (25 June 1958), p. 12., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136301002.

The Sundown Murders:  Part One – Confession

Raymond Bailey (center)

December 1957, the bodies of Thyra Bowman, aged 44, her daughter Wendy, aged 14 and their family friend, Thomas Whelan aged 22 were found at a deserted outback property known as Sundown Station.

The trio was travelling from Glen Helen Station, via Alice Springs to Adelaide.

Each of them had fractured skulls and bullet wounds. Newspaper reports described them as being ‘clubbed to death', and their bodies hidden under 'blankets and canvas'.[1]

  Raymond Bailey aged 24, was arrested by Mount Isa (Queensland) police on a provisional warrant for the murders. Police in Queensland wanted the RAAF to fly Bailey’s car to Adelaide for forensic testing.[2] Bailey was a married man and worked as a carpenter. He had one son. The family lived in Dubbo, New South Wales.
Bailey told police he was driving north to Alice Springs towing a caravan. He saw a Vanguard motor car parked on the side of the road, with three people sitting around the campfire. Bailey stopped further up the road, where his wife went to bed.

 Raymond Bailey had been arrested at Mount Isa in Queensland under suspicion of murder in outback South Australia. In court, Prosecutor, Mr E.B. Scarfe, read to the Judge and Jury a statement allegedly from Bailey, confessing to the crime.

It read,

"I saw the three people lying down. I heard a noise behind me when I was passing through the camp and was just about through it and I turned around and fired. I did not see if it was, but it sounded like a dog growling.
  When I fired, a chap jumped up and made a noise and fell down again. I thought I had killed him and I just went mad after that. When I did this I thought I would have to kill the lot and cover up.
 The young girl and the woman rushed towards, me. That was when I moved over to see if the chap was dead.
  I loaded my rifle again and aimed it at the older woman who was rushing towards me and fired. She fell down straight away. "The young girl ran at me too, so I loaded again, aimed it and shot her. She fell down, too. "I don't know how many times I shot them. I just went mad.”

I put the three bodies in the Vanguard car together in the back and put all the canvas and blankets and other stuff that I could find around the camp with them. Then I drove the Vanguard car into the scrub on the other side of the road and went in a fair way and emptied the back of all the bodies and blankets and canvas. I laid the bodies out and put the canvas and blanket over them as well as everything else that was there.”[3]

 After walking back to his caravan, Bailey washed and went to bed. His wife asked where he had been, and he lied, telling her he had been sick. The next morning, he awoke early and headed back to where he had killed the trio. He found two dogs tied to a tree and shot them.

 He then told police, as he neared Alice Springs, he threw the rifle away into the scrub. Somewhere between Tennant Creek and Mount Isa, he had thrown Whelan’s now empty wallet from the car.

 

Next Week: The Sundown Murders: Part Two: Execution

© 2022 Allen Tiller

---

[1] 'Science May Solve Sundown Murder', The Canberra Times, (9 Jan 1958), p. 15., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91254845.
[2] 'Charge Follows Arrest Of Murder Suspect', The Canberra Times, (24 Jan 1958), p. 3., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91256049.
[3] 'Man Shot Accidentally, Baily Told Detectives', The Canberra Times, (14 May 1958), p. 7., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91250300.

 ANDREW MORDOWICZ – Cold Case 1996

 At 3:47am on Sunday the 29th of September 1996, Yellow Taxis received a request call for a 4:30am pickup from Klemzig to Adelaide. It was unusual for someone to want to be travelling into the city at this time of the morning as most of the clubs were starting to close.^[1]
43-year-old taxi driver, Andrew Mordowicz hit the little red button that accepts the fare on the taxi CB radio and headed to Klemzig.
 

Mordowicz arrived at Fife Street, Klemzig, a quiet cul-de-sac, only to discover number 79 didn’t exist. He spoke briefly to the dispatch officer over the radio, then decided to go knock on the door of number 78.

 Moments later neighbours were woken by the sounds of gunshots. The neighbours investigated and found Mordowicz lying in the driveway with two gunshot wounds. An ambulance was called, and Mordowicz was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he died a short time later.

 

 Police investigators never found the suspect, the gun or a motive. Mordowicz’s coin dispenser was still in his taxi, untouched. He also had cash in his wallet, so robbery does not seem like the motive. In a 2019 interview with the ABC, Detective Sergeant Ann Schaefer stated, “It appears to be a robbery gone wrong, but we keep an open mind and we can't rule out the possibility that Andrew was deliberately targeted."^[2]

 

If you know something about this case, police are still investigating. There is a reward of up to $200,000 for anyone who provides information that leads to a conviction for this crime. You can contact Crime Stoppers on 1 800 333 000 or email at Sapol.Coldcase@police.sa.gov.au

---

[1] Can You Help Solve the Murder of Taxi Driver Andrew Mordowicz?, Crime Stoppers, (2019), https://crimestopperssa.com.au/media-releases/can-you-help-solve-the-murder-of-taxi-driver-andrew-mordowicz/

[2] Taxi driver shot dead in Adelaide driveway was lured, police say, but motive remains unclear, ABC News, (2019). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-26/taxi-driver-cold-case-killing-remains-a-mystery/11150618

  The Murder of James Curran.

 

Grave of James Curran - SLSA [B 28120]

  James Curran worked at Minnipa on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. He was employed by the Hydraulic Engineers Department, working on constructing a holding tank for the Tod River water scheme in 1927.
 On Sunday morning, 30 January 1927, Curran had a drink of coffee before breakfast and became ill.
 Before he died and in throes of agony, Curran spoke to the foreman, H.E. Scott. He gave the address of his daughter at Warrnambool, but before he got to speak his son’s address, he died.^[1]

  It was believed that poison had been put with sugar that Curran had used to sweeten his coffee. Police constables Hann and Cain investigated. They found that a cook from the construction camp had suicided six months earlier and that recently two pigs, who had eaten scraps from the camp dinner, had also died. Further investigation was sought.

  An inquest was held under the watch of Dr McCarthy of Wudinna, ordered by Coroner A.G. Collyer-Braham.
 At the inquest, Charles Jones, the assistant cook gave evidence of the morning of Curran’s death. He said that at 7:30 am Curran came into the kitchen with a pannikin. Jones put coffee and sugar in it. Curran remarked to Jones, “What did you out in this? You are always putting jokes upon me.”
 Jones replied that he hadn’t put anything in it. Curran asked him to taste it, so he took a teaspoon full, which Jones thought tasted bitter.
 Curran threw out his coffee and was poured a new one. A short while after drinking it, he shouted “I am poisoned!”^[2]

 Another witness, Walter Rowe, a Deputy Government Analyst, stated that he examined the 3 oz. of sugar in the container. In it, he found a ½ grain of strychnine. There was no poison in the sugar bag in the storeroom. He also examined Curran’s liver and kidneys and found enough of the poison present to deliver the fatal blow.

More witnesses were called, and a suspect pointed at. Frank Styrmin recalled that he had handed a bottle of strychnine to a man named Schultz who was with Carl Bystedt. A suspect had been found.

 

Based on circumstantial evidence, Carl Eugene Elwing Bystedt was committed for murder.^[3] Coroner A.G. Collyer-Braham stated that the evidence against Bystedt was strong. He commended Detectives Slade and Golds on their investigation into the case and their collection of evidence, which met with difficult circumstances due to a large portion of the workers at the camp being foreigners whose first language was not English.
Coroner Collyer-Braham stated,

“That James Curran came to his death on January 30 at mess camp at Minnipa through strychnine poisoning, after having drunk a cup of coffee, in which was mixed sugar containing strychnine.' He stated that the evidence against Bystedt was so strong that he must face the jury at the next sitting of the Criminal Court.”^[4]

 Bystedt was taken to Adelaide to face charges. The South Australian Crown Solicitor, A.J. Hannan, investigated the case and decided that there was barely any evidence that pointed toward Bystedt being the murderer.^[5] As there was no case, Bysted walked a free man.^[6]

 

James Curran is buried in the Minnipa cemetery.

© 2021 Allen Tiller.

[1] 'Poisoning Case at Minnipa.', West Coast Sentinel, (4 February 1927), p. 1., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168243416.

[2] 'Minnipa Inquest.', The Register, (23 February 1927), p. 15., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article54886406.

[3] 'Minnipa Tragedy', Barrier Miner, (24 February 1927), p. 4., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45981347.

[4] 'Minnipa Tragedy.', The Register, (25 February 1927), p. 9. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article54884520.

[5] 'No Indictment.', The Armidale Chronicle, (9 April 1927), p. 6., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188070777.

[6] 'Minippa Tragedy.', Recorder, (8 April 1927), p. 1., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article95872984.

 The 1855 Macclesfield Murder.

 

Davenport Arms Hotel 1921 – SLSA [B 34161] 

 On Monday 24 September 1885, an inquest was held at the Davenport Arms, Macclesfield after the murder of a local man named James Spencer.
 On the Friday prior, locals witnessed Spencer dressed in his best clothing at about 7pm in the evening, after he voted in a local election. He was seen to return to his small home about three-quarters of a mile from the town.

Spencer lived by himself. A neighbour, Mr Crick, noted that no smoke left his chimney on Saturday and Sunday; something that in 1855, would have been a regular occurrence anytime someone cooked, or even wanted to boil the kettle, being as there was no electricity or modern conveniences.
  Crick went over to check on his neighbour and found the old man had been murdered.

The police were called immediately, and upon inspection, locked the door of the house so any potential evidence would not be corrupted. The police then informed the local magistrate and then investigated the home.

At the inquest, it was revealed that Spencer had been stabbed twice in the chest, and three times in his side. He had been left to bleed out. Spencer’s blood covered his body and much of the interior of the hut. Near his body was a washbasin filled with water, where the murderer had washed his hands.^[1]

 

  After the announcement of his murder in local media, a story was published in the South Australian Register about Spencer’s life by his former employer. It was revealed that Spencer was a ‘ticket-of-leave’ man, a former prisoner at Tasmania, sent from Oxfordshire, England.
 Spencer had lived in poverty in his younger days, and worked as a chimney sweep.
Spencer had a grand idea one day. He decided to descend into a house through the chimney and rob it. On his way back up he got stuck in the chimney. He tried to escape but wedged himself tighter, he had no choice but to call for help. When help did arrive, a large section of the brickwork had to be removed to free him. His loot was discovered, and he was arrested, sentenced, and sent to Van Diemen’s Land.

 The author of the description did not know what Spencer was like, nor how long he served during his time in Tasmania’s gaols. However, he stated that Spencer had,

 “Sacred veneration for what he termed his word of honour. His word was literally his bond, and his integrity in fulfilling his encasements was unimpeachable, he was a man of a charitable disposition, and was ever ready, as far as his scanty means would admit, to assist those who were in need, while with scrupulous pertinacity he would avoid incurring an obligation himself.”^[2]

 

It was also written that Spencer was not keen on socialising. He kept few friends, never married, and kept to himself as much as possible.

 The author of the letter addressing the character of Spencer was Mr E. Holthouse, of South Terrace Adelaide. He went on to describe that he had recently employed Spencer as a log splitter. He stated that Spencer was physically strong and that he believed the person in the hut had been caught by Spencer, who tried to stop the infiltrator from robbing him, resulting in his murder.

 The police never found the murderer, and in a statement published in the Adelaide Observer, the South Australian Police Commissioner of the day said: "society is unable to avenge the death of one who had almost entirely withdrawn himself from her circle."
 A curious statement, that may hint at the possibility the police were not going to waste their time on an ex-convict’s death.^[3]

 After the inquest, the jury returned the following verdict of: “Wilful murder against some person or persons unknown.' The deceased was a single man, about 50 years of age, and followed the occupation of a splitter.”^[4]

Spencer’s belongings and property were sold in January 1856 at auction.^[5]

© 2021 Allen Tiller


[1] 'Declarations.', South Australian Register, (28 September 1855), p. 2., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49294447.

[2] 'The Macclesfield Murder.', South Australian Register, 95 October 1855), p. 3., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49298678.

[3] 'The Police Report.', Adelaide Observer, (17 November 1855), p. 6., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158100707.

[4] 'No title', South Australian Register, (26 September 1855), p. 2., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49298367.

[5] 'Advertising', Adelaide Times, (29 December 1855), p. 4., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207076731.

 

A Haunting at the Railway Hotel Peterborough

The Railway Hotel is located at 221 Main Street Peterborough, South Australia. It is the third hotel built in the town, opening on 24 December 1891.[1] The first publican was W. Britten.[2]

 

Railway Hotel 2017 - Source: Bahnfrend CC:

   Sister Beth Ashley was a much-respected nurse. She had worked at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and at St Margaret’s Rehabilitation Hospital at Semaphore. It was while at St. Margaret’s that Ashley met an orderly named William Hyson. Hyson had come to South Australia from Tamworth, New South Wales. Ashley and Hyson had started dating, but after a short while, Ashley called off their relationship.[3]

 Ashley had become a nursing sister at the Peterborough Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in South Australia’s mid-north. On March 21, 1949, Ashley received a phone call from Hyson telling her he was coming to Peterborough to visit her. Ashley became upset and told him not to come or she would tell the police he was harassing her.

 The following day, March 22, at about 11:25am, Violet Revell, a housemaid at the Railway Hotel, heard two gunshots about 30 seconds apart. Revell reported to her boss, publican Sydney Coombe at about 11:50pm that a woman in an upstairs room was calling out for help. Coombe investigated room 5 and called out to the woman to open the door. She said, “I can’t open the door. I am shot.’ Coombe asked if anyone was with her, to which the woman replied, “Bill.”
Coombe called out for Bill to open the door, to which the woman replied, “He can’t!”
Coombe phoned the police.

Mounted Constable E.H. Thom was first on the scene. He opened the door expecting to see evidence of a struggle, but there was none. Sister Ashley, lying on the bed, opened her eyes, and said to Thom, “I was here only two or three minutes when Bill shot me!”.

 Dr A.M. Myers was called. He found Hyson and Ashley both alive and had them rushed to the hospital. Hyson had taken a .22 pistol and shot Ashley, then turned the gun on himself. Hyson died of a self-inflicted wound at 2:15pm that day.[4]
 Ashley was still conscious when the doctor found her. She had a small wound in front of her right ear. Dr Myers decided to operate when her condition improved, however, her bleeding was not under control, and she died at 5:40pm.[5]

The coroner, Mr J.S. Bennett ruled at an inquest into the deaths, that it was a murder-suicide by shooting.

 

   It is alleged, ever since this terrible tragedy, that the Railway Hotel is haunted. Witnesses claim that sometimes a ghostly silhouette of a person is seen in the upper windows of the hotel. Some people claim that they can feel a person sitting on them. Oddly, this happens in room 3, not room 5 where nurse Ashley was shot.[6]

Another ghost reported haunting this hotel is a child who plays in the kitchen.

It is said of the ghost in room 3, that some truckies have rented the room, and have left to sleep in the truck rather than wake up to the ghostly figure sharing the bed with them!

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020

[1] ‘About the Railway’, Railway Hotel Motel Peterborough, (2020), https://railwayhotelpeterborough.com.au/.

[2] Hoad, J. L., Hotels and publicans in South Australia 1836-1984, (Adelaide, 1984), p. 490.

[3] 'COUPLE DIE IN HOTEL', The West Australian, (23 March 1949), p. 6., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47652985.

[4] Nurse Died After Call For Aid, Brisbane Telegraph, (April 9, 1949), p. 8, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article216575186.

[5] 'Murder And Suicide Finding At Peterborough Inquest', Chronicle, (14 April 1949), p. 8. , http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93334089.

[6] Marshall, Gordon de L & Shar, Richard, Ghosts and hauntings of South Australia, (Jannali, N.S.W., 2012), p. 251.

Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Railway_Hotel,_Peterborough,_2017_(01).jpg

 

The Stepney Tragedy.

Dr Ewbank SLSA: [B 11286/6/1]

 Last week I wrote about Police Inspector Charles Le Lievre who was a member of the South Australian Mounted Police Force between 1877 and 1929. I published a transcript of his encounter with some ruffian sailors at Nairne. At the end of his story, LeLeivre recounts that one of those men would later murder his wife at Stepney, South Australia. This is that story.[1]

 Louisa Jane Fisher was a newly married 22-year-old living on Henry Street, Stepney, with her new husband, Frederick Fisher. Louisa was a daughter of John Lampey, a builder in Balaklava. The couple had met when Fisher had taken a job with her father. Unbeknownst to her, Fisher had recently been released from gaol for threatening to kill a police officer in Nairne. 

 The Fishers had moved to Glenelg, and camped on the sand dunes, before finding their humble cottage in Stepney.[2]

The Express and Telegraph newspaper described the house:

The interior of the bouse wore an extremely forlorn aspect, and was suggestive of the direst poverty. In the front room, there was absolutely nothing in the shape of furniture or effects. The kitchen was almost as barren, and with the exception of a little firewood, and an axe, was also empty. There is also a middle room, which had evidently been used as the bedroom… which was likewise unfurnished. On the floor were spread a number of blankets, which had apparently been used as a bed. Several articles of clothing were lying near, a silver watch was hanging on one of the walls, and on another wall was a neat American clock. [3]

 Frederick Fisher was 28 years old, an ex-sailor, and a recent gaol inmate.

On 18 January 1900, at about 7pm, a gunshot was heard fired within the Henry street cottage. Within minutes, Fisher had run to his neighbour, Mrs Emma Richards house next door, and told her his wife had accidentally shot herself. He asked her if she would go to the police station, which she refused. Fisher then ran to the St. Peters police station and reported the event to Constable Richmond, who told Fisher to go directly to Dr Ewbank.

 Dr Ewbank, Fisher, and a police constable all arrived on the scene at the same time. Meanwhile, a phone call about the shooting had placed at the Norwood police station. Sergeant Burchell of Norwood informed the coroner, then made his way to the house.

On the arrival of the coroner, an examination of the body was made, and it was discovered that the bullet had penetrated the left breast, and was lodged in the lungs. The ambulance van was sent for, and the body removed to the morgue.[4]

 An inquest was held a week later at the Elephant and Castle Hotel. Dr Ramsey Smith, the city Coroner, presided over the inquest, with Dr A. Mackie, a member of the hospital board present.

Dr Ewbank delivered his evidence: He stated he had found the woman’s body lying on its back on the floor. Her left arm was across her chest and her right arm by her side. Her clothing had been drawn back across her chest. Ewbank watched a police constable find the revolver 10 feet away among the ragged bedding on the floor.

 Ewbank also conducted the post mortem examination, in which he deduced that the bullet entered her body near her sternum under her third rib, it had travelled through her heart, and into her spine. He found no black scorch marks on her skin or clothing.

 Ewbank stated further:

That from the direction of the wound it might have been self-inflicted, but not accidentally.  As a rule, in cases of suicide by shooting there were evidence of burning or scorching, but in this case, the traces might have been obscured by the blood on the clothing. The skin would not have been visibly blistered through the clothing. If the deceased had been standing up the shot would have been fired from above, but if lying down by someone behind her head, or someone stooping over her. Taking all the circumstances into consideration he would not feel justified in saying whether the death was accidental, suicidal, or murderous. Deceased might have emitted a spasmodic shriek as she fell.[5]

 Charles Richards was questioned as a witness, he stated that non the night in question, he had seen Frederick Fisher in the backyard. He claimed Fisher entered the house, and a few moments later the gunshot rang out. He then heard Fisher out the front shouting for someone to call the police. When he (Richards) got out the front, Fisher was running along Henry Street toward the police station.[6]

After a short retirement, the Jury delivered the following verdict: “We are of opinion that the deceased, Eliza Louisa Jane Fisher, came to her death from a bullet wound, but that there is not sufficient evidence to show by whom the shot was fired.”[7]

Many people had assumed that Frederick Fisher had shot his wife, even though he had stated in court it was an accident. Immediately after the jury delivered their verdict, Frederick Fisher was arrested. As it turned out, when police were investigating the death of Eliza, they had stumbled upon some loose floorboards in the home. On pulling them up they found a large cache of stolen goods, which they had taken and identified as stolen from the Glenelg area.

 Fisher was charged committing a burglary in Glenelg.

In court, Fisher’s only excuse for stealing from the Glenelg homes of Phillip Simmons, Robert Hood, George Blyth, and Agnes Storrie was, “I was destitute at the time.” [8]

 Fisher pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and larceny, of which he pleaded guilty to all accounts.[9]

Frederick Fisher, an old offender, was sentenced to two terms of three years, and one term of two years for breaking and entering and larceny, respectively.[10]

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020.

---

[1] 'MEMORIES OF AN OLD POLICE OFFICER.', The Register, (6 October 1925), p. 12. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64246910.

[2] 'SHOOTING FATALITY.', The Express and Telegraph, (19 January 1900), p. 3. (ONE O'CLOCK EDITION), http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208842536.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] 'FATALITY AT STEPNEY.', Chronicle, (27 January 1900), p. 22., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87790969.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] 'AT THE POLICE COURT.', The Express and Telegraph, (22 January 1900), p. 2. (ONE O'CLOCK EDITION), http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208842668.

[9] Ibid.

[10] 'THE CRIMINAL SITTINGS.', The Advertiser, (20 February 1900), p. 4., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29530797.

The Adelaide Ghosts and Ghouls and Walking Tour

Back in 2016, I was invited by the Adelaide City Libraries to undertake a world fist
history study into ghosts and hauntings in the council area of the City of Adelaide. Titled “Haunted Buildings in Adelaide”, the project encompassed inviting members of the public to come into the City Library and North Adelaide Library to express their own personal encounters with ghosts in the City of Adelaide.
I then took those stories and investigated them, as well as a number of already well known Adelaide ghost stories, and investigated their history. In the first year, we had over 90 people attend, and at least 40 of those stories ended up being added to the libraries catalogue under the heading “The Allen Tiller Collection: Haunted Buildings in Adelaide”.
In 2017 I returned to the library to turn those stories, and some new ones into 5 self-guided walking tours through the City of Adelaide.
At the end of history month this year, we launched one of those tours, titled the “Ghosts and Ghouls and Self-Guided Walking Tour”. The difference between this tour, and other tours, is the City Library invited a professional sound recordist, Mr Anthony Frith, to record me speaking the tour stories.
The tour is a downloadable, free self-guided walking tour which you can find via this link:

https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/explore-the-city/visit-adelaide/maps-trails-and-guides/adelaideghosts-and-ghouls-walking-tour

The tour starts at the City Library, so I thought I’d share with you all the starting story of the tour: A Ghost in the Library Harris Scarfe’s city store sat on this site previous to the current Rundle Place building.
The Harris Scarfe’s building was constructed in 1917 and, in an unfortunate accident, a concrete worker fell into the foundations as they were poured. He was sucked down into the mix, suffocating, and crushing him at the same time. It was deemed too difficult and risky to save the worker, and after the concrete had set, too expensive and labour intensive to remove his body – so he was left in the foundations.

In 2012, McMahon Services was engaged to demolish the previous building and construct the new one you see today. As part of their plan, they decided to recycle as much of the original building materials as possible.
The old steel, glass and concrete were stored, crushed or melted, and reused in the construction of the present building. Including the concrete in which the worker had died.
So the remains of that worker, that was previously in the foundations, can possibly be found across the entire building today, and perhaps, that explains one of the hauntings associated with the building … but perhaps, more interesting, and relative to the city library is another more modern death.

In the 1970s, Harris Scarfe’s had a sports section on level three, and within that section was a department selling guns. In 1975, a man entered the store, went to the gun counter and asked to look at a gun. He loaded it with his own bullets, then in front of staff and customers, put the barrel
against his head, and shot himself dead.
The store was on level three, the same level that the City Library now sits on. Is it a coincidence that a black shadowy figure is sometimes reported whisking along the hallways towards the elevators today, in the general vicinity that a black shadowy figure was seen whisking along aisles when Harris Scarfe’s stood here previously?

Lifts are also said to be haunted in Rundle Place, just as they were reported haunted in the old Harris Scarfe’s building. Are the ghosts that haunted the former building, lingering in the new building?

In an interview in the Advertiser in 2011, a former employee of Harris Scarfe’s named Rod stated the following:
“I’ve been here at two o’clock in the morning, by myself, and the goods lift would start-up and just go by themselves,” “You’d see them drop to the second flor, you’d hear the door open, you’d hear footsteps and then the lift comes back down to the basement and you’re thinking ‘well, I know I’m the only one here’.”

You can find the City Library at Level 3, Rundle Place, Rundle Mall (Enter via Francis
St - off Rundle Mall or via Da Costa Arcade) The Adelaide Ghosts and Ghouls Walking
Tour, a different way of seeing Adelaide!

 

Allen Tiller is Australia’s most recognised paranormal investigator, eminent paranormal historian, and star of the international smash hit television show “Haunting: Australia”.

Allen is also the founder of Eidolon Paranormal, South Australian Paranormal and the author of book and blog, “The Haunts of Adelaide: History, Mystery and the Paranormal”.
Allen was awarded the 2017 “Emerging South Australian Historian of The Year Award” as presented by The History Council of South Australia.

Allen has also been employed as “Historian in Residence” in 2016/2017 with the Adelaide City Council Libraries and employed by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Council to write the
popular, “Ghosts of the Port Self Guided Walking Tour”

You can find Allen online at:
www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller
www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia
https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

First published in MEGAscene issue 13 2018

© Allen Tiller