Day 11 of "Figuring it Out" - Exploring some of Australia's Unsolved Mysteries

Hello everybody, happy Monday! Are you enjoying staring out the window to the gorgeous sunshine and being sad that you're not outside because you have an office job? Well, come on in and join me. Luckily, I finish at 4 today so should be able to get outside and enjoy some much needed sunshine. I always find that the 8-4 shifts go much faster than any other shift. I think that's mainly because we're the first ones to finish and we tend to get more calls. Shift work is pretty hard though for someone who thrives off routine - it would be better if we all did the same hours consistently but hey, that's life sometimes isn't it.

PIN IT

Today at work has been relatively quiet with only a few busy patches here and there, which is good because I have a bit of a headache (yes, I'm drinking heaps of water to help stay hydrated but I think it's a side effect from the iron deficiency) but every time I take a quick breather and look away from my screen, everything seems a bit surreal - kinda like I am dissociating while I am not feeling super well and just a constant state of dizziness (no fun). I'm already on enough medication so I really don't want to be taking any more Panadol which will upset my stomach even more than it already is. The iron supplements have reverted my IBS symptoms back to the chronic stomachache I used to have all the time before they knew what was wrong with me. So that's no fun but I am really hope the damn fatigue goes away soon. I really just feel like curling up and napping all day. But I am an adult with adult responsibilities and bills, so we just have to deal with it for now. Exciting stuff.

Tonight I think it will be a chill one for Luke and I - most likely making pasta for dinner and watching HYBPA. Comedy panel shows make me feel happy. We're also still watching Red Dwarf so that might be on tonight's watchlist.

I don't have much else to report today so let's get into some spooky things for today's blog and Spooky Season! Woo!! Today, I want to tackle some of Australia's unsolved mysteries. I will also do NZ's sometime as well but let's start with the place where I currently reside shall we.

I believe a lot of these have been covered in other blogs but I also wanted to explore them and honestly, even if this type of market is saturated online, it's always good to get a different perspective (and today, you're getting one from a social scientist perspective - which is pretty rare if you ask me). Anyway, let's get into it. Maybe a TW here for content that might be distressing for some.

1. The Somerton Man - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerton_Man. I think this one is important to discuss as the body was 'possibly' identified in 2022 as a man called Carl "Charles" Webb from Melbourne, Victoria. However, this has not been verified by forensics so we will never know for sure. "Here" is an interesting article that explains it in a bit more detail. The Somerton Man was a unidentified male body found at the beach of Somerton Park near Glenelg, in Adelaide, South Australia on the 1st December 1948. A piece of paper was also found in the man's pants pockets a few months after his remains were found that said the Persian phrase "tamám shud" which translates to "is over" or "is finished". This was taken from a poem titled Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Eventually detectives located the book that it had been originally taken from (thanks to a public appeal) where in the book they found indentations of handwriting which had some unidentified phone numbers and text that may have resembled a coded message. I don't believe that this code was ever deciphered correctly. There was a lot of public interest in this case due to the man's passing being at a time of heightened societal tensions (e.g., the beginning of the Cold War, theories that there was the use of an un-detectable poison, a secret code, and the inability for authorities to identify this man. Authorities believe that the man had passed away while asleep (peaceful at least). The man was found in a sitting up position resting against a seawall with crossed legs. They found on him with an unlit cigarette, an unused train ticket going from Adelaide to Henley Beach, a comb from the USA, a bus ticket (unsure if used or not), some Juicy Fruit gum, some matches, and a packet of cigarettes.

One potential theory of this unsolved mystery was that the man was a spy (mainly because two sites close to where he was found in Adelaide were of interest to spies - Radium Hill Uranium mine and Woomera Test Range). Radium Hill was Australia's first mining site and Wommera Test Range is a major military and civil aerospace facility. The man's passing also coincided with a crackdown on Soviet espionage in Australia. I think these are just coincidences and not necessarily related but we all know mainstream media likes to put two and two together, even if they are not related at all. There's a few more but I'll leave it up to you to look up. So what do you think? Do you think this man was really Charles Webb or do you think there was something more sinister going on? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

2. The Disappearance of Rhianna Barreau - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-22/rhianna-barreau-disappearance-a-mystery-that-may-never-be-solved/11905170

This is a case that is still open! Oh my gosh, that is terrifying to think about. In 1992, Rhianna Barreau, only 12 years old at the time, went missing. Rhianna was on school holidays in Morphett Vale, Adelaide, South Australia where she was meant to get the bus to met her mum for lunch. At the time the bus drivers were on strike, so her mum gave her permission to walk down for lunch. Instead of walking to the shopping mall to meet her mum, she went to one of the news agencies to buy a card for her pen pal in the USA. Articles say she then returned home but was never seen again. At 4pm, Rhianna's mum returned home and saw a shopping bag on the kitchen table and the door was locked but there was no sign of Rhianna.

From the looks of it, no one saw or heard anything to do with this case, which is really awful - was she a victim of human trafficking or was she a victim of "Mr Cruel?" - a criminal too awful to go into more detail about here. Many believe that the latter may be what happened to Rhianna. What do you think might have happened to Rhianna? For her sake and the parents sake, I really hope that one day justice is served. Although coming home to a locked door is a bit weird - does this imply that Rhianna was taken by someone she knew or did she go off on her own accord for another walk and get captured that way? I hope one day, we find the answers.

3. 1981 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 Disappearance - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Barrington_Tops_Cessna_210_disappearance

On the 9th August, 1981, VH-MDX, a Cessna 210 plane, went down in a crash. The pilot reported excessive turbulence and downward draft and that the direction indicator had failed. Then plane was flying from Whitsunday Coast Airport, Queensland to Bankstown Airport, New South Wales via Gold Coast Airport. There was really bad weather this day and it was said that the pilot was going to change his route. However, he changed his mind and reverted back to the original plan. After the reports of the excessive turbulence, there is no trace of what happened to the plane and the 4 passengers on board. This feels like a real life Lost (the tv show). Many searches were conducted but to this day, no one knows what happened. If you're interested, the report can be found "here." If you're also interested in the history of all missing aircrafts, you can find it "here."

4. Easy Street Murders - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easey_Street_murders

I really like the suburb Collingwood but reading about this one is freaky af. In January 1977, two women were murdered in Collingwood, Melbourne, Victoria. To this day, the case remains unsolved but there is still a $1 million dollar reward for any information. More information can be found "here."

The victims were two high school friends, Suzanne Armstrong (28) and Susan Bartlett (27) who had rented a property on Easey Street, Collingwood (they had just moved in about 10 weeks prior). In the night before the murders, Bartlett's brother and his partner at the time had visited, leaving the property around 9pm. The next day, the neighbours found a puppy that belonged to the two victims wandering the streets and reports of hearing Armstrong's 16 month old sun whimpering. Three days after the women were murdered, their neighbours entered the Easey Street house via the back door. They found Gregory, Armstrong's son, unarmed, but dehydrated and distressed and the two victims at the front of the house. Authorities believed that Armstrong and Bartlett were murdered on the 10th January, 1977. The women had been stabbed multiple times, Armstrong had been stabbed 29 and Bartlett 55. Investigations found no signs of forced entry, only a footprint on the front window sill which could have been an entry point. The perpetrator had cleaned up in the bathroom following the murders, then exited through the back door and entry gate (leaving them open - hence how the neighbours got in).

Authorities found an extensive list of persons of interest (130) and there were media reports that the women had also been s*xually assaulted as well (how awful). The case quickly went cold and was not re-opened until 2011. Gregory Armstrong was safely cared for by Armstrong's sister in Queensland where he has advocated for the solving of these murders in the media. This one is just really really sad. I hope that justice is served for these woman one day also.

5. Min Min Light - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_Min_light

For the last unsolved Australian mystery, let's tackle a less depressing one. The phenomenon of the Min Min Light. This is a light phenomenon that has been reported in outback Australia. The lights are described as fast-floating balls of colour in the sky that glow (and also stalk people), often leading to people feeling confused or scared. Sometimes the balls of lights are yellow, sometimes they are blue, and sometimes they are white. There is also a council sign in Boulia, Queensland saying that people are in the land of Min Min Lights and that they may spot them. Many believe that these lights are spirits of the elders. So are these lights a myth or is there a scientific explanation behind them? Some more scientific theories are that they are a mirage caused by natural gases or cold and warm air coming together. Other theories are that there might be bioluminescent insects, owls, or other birds. Some more academic research can be found - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1444-0938.2003.tb03069.x

What do you think about these lights? Have you seen one? Let me know in the comments below.

That's all for the unsolved mysteries for today.

For today's question, I want to know, what is your favourite spice and what is your favourite herb? My favourite spices are Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, and Turmeric, and my favourite herbs are Rosemary and Thyme (so good on roast potatoes).

Ka kite! See you tomorrow legends.

Much love,

Ash xx