Six months after his body was discovered at Somerton Beach, the funeral of the Somerton Man took place on 14 June 1949 at West Terrace Cemetery. The service was arranged with some secrecy to ensure that the curious public would be kept away. Captain E.J. Webb of the Salvation Army led the service, and a small wooden cross was placed as a headstone. A few days after the service, A. Collins, a mason, provided a proper headstone for the grave which was inscribed with the words:
HERE LIES
THE UNKNOWN MAN
WHO WAS FOUND AT
SOMERTON BEACH
1st DEC.1948
Three days after the Somerton Man was buried, the Coronial Inquest into his death commenced at the Independent Order of Oddfellows Building (IOOF) on Flinders Street. The inquest was presided over by Coroner Thomas Cleland and a number of people involved in the investigation testified, including John Lyons, Detectives Leane and Brown, Dr Bennett, Dr Cleland, and Paul Lawson. In his concluding remarks, the Coroner stated that:
"The evidence is too inconclusive to warrant a finding. There is no evidence as to who the deceased was. Although he died during the night of the 30 November – 1st December, I cannot say whether it was administered by the deceased himself or by some other person.
I therefore adjourn this inquest sine die." (without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing).
Source - http://adelaidecityexplorer.com.au/items/show/169∼Unknown cause of death∼The Somerton Man was found washed up on a South Australian beach in 1948
At 6.30am on December 1, 1948, the body of an unknown man was discovered on Somerton Park beach, beginning one of Australia's longest-running and thus-far insoluble mysteries. As the exhumation of the body of the still-unknown "Somerton Man" begins, it will mark a new stage in the ongoing process of investigating and unravelling the mysteries, conspiracies and suspicions around the body.
SA Police head of major crimes, Superintendent Des Bray, spoke to media on the morning of the exhumation, saying it was an important day for the state. "It's about doing the right thing," he said. "This is somebody's family member, somewhere there is someone missing this person."
The Somerton Man's cause of death has never been firmly established, but several inquests have strengthened the theory that he was poisoned, possibly by digitalis. Witnesses who thought they had seen the man on the beach the day before he was found dead claimed variously to have seen him stretch out one arm (a possible dying convulsion), or that another man had been watching him from above on the seawall, or that one man had been seen carrying another to the beach. The Somerton Man had eaten a pasty some hours before his death, but it was not believed to have been the vehicle for any poison. And none of the witnesses could confirm the man they had seen on the beach in the evening was the same man found dead there in the morning.
From the beginning, the body posed a mystery. He had been found lying in the sand, with his head resting against the beach seawall, and his legs crossed. In his pockets he had an unused train ticket to Henley Beach, a bus ticket from the city, a tin comb, chewing gum, cigarettes and matches. But there was no identification, and all the labels on his clothes had been removed.∼Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11049863/Somerton-Man-Professor-claims-solved-identity-man-Adelaide-beach-1948.html#l62zqqh3uk2o6985kr
Body of deceased found slumped against a sea wall near the shore of Somerton Park Beach, Adelaide, on December 1, 1948.
Following a post-mortem examination the male was found to have been poisoned. The identity of the male remained a mystery, until 2022 when an Adelaide University Researcher worked with a genealogist and used DNA samples to help trace a Family Tree. This later led to the identification of the male as Carl 'Charles' Webb, an electrical engineer and instrument maker from Footscray in Melbourne.∼Derek Abbott was able to analyse the Somerton Man's DNA using hairs preserved when authorities made a plaster model of his face.
He was the youngest of six siblings and married Dorothy Robertson, known as Doff Webb. That's most likely what brought him to Adelaide, the professor said.
Bio: BBC / VF
HERE LIES
THE UNKNOWN MAN
WHO WAS FOUND AT
SOMERTON BEACH
1st DEC.1948
Three days after the Somerton Man was buried, the Coronial Inquest into his death commenced at the Independent Order of Oddfellows Building (IOOF) on Flinders Street. The inquest was presided over by Coroner Thomas Cleland and a number of people involved in the investigation testified, including John Lyons, Detectives Leane and Brown, Dr Bennett, Dr Cleland, and Paul Lawson. In his concluding remarks, the Coroner stated that:
"The evidence is too inconclusive to warrant a finding. There is no evidence as to who the deceased was. Although he died during the night of the 30 November – 1st December, I cannot say whether it was administered by the deceased himself or by some other person.
I therefore adjourn this inquest sine die." (without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing).
Source - http://adelaidecityexplorer.com.au/items/show/169∼Unknown cause of death∼The Somerton Man was found washed up on a South Australian beach in 1948
At 6.30am on December 1, 1948, the body of an unknown man was discovered on Somerton Park beach, beginning one of Australia's longest-running and thus-far insoluble mysteries. As the exhumation of the body of the still-unknown "Somerton Man" begins, it will mark a new stage in the ongoing process of investigating and unravelling the mysteries, conspiracies and suspicions around the body.
SA Police head of major crimes, Superintendent Des Bray, spoke to media on the morning of the exhumation, saying it was an important day for the state. "It's about doing the right thing," he said. "This is somebody's family member, somewhere there is someone missing this person."
The Somerton Man's cause of death has never been firmly established, but several inquests have strengthened the theory that he was poisoned, possibly by digitalis. Witnesses who thought they had seen the man on the beach the day before he was found dead claimed variously to have seen him stretch out one arm (a possible dying convulsion), or that another man had been watching him from above on the seawall, or that one man had been seen carrying another to the beach. The Somerton Man had eaten a pasty some hours before his death, but it was not believed to have been the vehicle for any poison. And none of the witnesses could confirm the man they had seen on the beach in the evening was the same man found dead there in the morning.
From the beginning, the body posed a mystery. He had been found lying in the sand, with his head resting against the beach seawall, and his legs crossed. In his pockets he had an unused train ticket to Henley Beach, a bus ticket from the city, a tin comb, chewing gum, cigarettes and matches. But there was no identification, and all the labels on his clothes had been removed.∼Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11049863/Somerton-Man-Professor-claims-solved-identity-man-Adelaide-beach-1948.html#l62zqqh3uk2o6985kr
Body of deceased found slumped against a sea wall near the shore of Somerton Park Beach, Adelaide, on December 1, 1948.
Following a post-mortem examination the male was found to have been poisoned. The identity of the male remained a mystery, until 2022 when an Adelaide University Researcher worked with a genealogist and used DNA samples to help trace a Family Tree. This later led to the identification of the male as Carl 'Charles' Webb, an electrical engineer and instrument maker from Footscray in Melbourne.∼Derek Abbott was able to analyse the Somerton Man's DNA using hairs preserved when authorities made a plaster model of his face.
He was the youngest of six siblings and married Dorothy Robertson, known as Doff Webb. That's most likely what brought him to Adelaide, the professor said.
Bio: BBC / VF
Six months after his body was discovered at Somerton Beach, the funeral of the Somerton Man took place on 14 June 1949 at West Terrace Cemetery. The service was arranged with some secrecy to ensure that the curious public would be kept away. Captain E.J. Webb of the Salvation Army led the service, and a small wooden cross was placed as a headstone. A few days after the service, A. Collins, a mason, provided a proper headstone for the grave which was inscribed with the words:
HERE LIES
THE UNKNOWN MAN
WHO WAS FOUND AT
SOMERTON BEACH
1st DEC.1948
Three days after the Somerton Man was buried, the Coronial Inquest into his death commenced at the Independent Order of Oddfellows Building (IOOF) on Flinders Street. The inquest was presided over by Coroner Thomas Cleland and a number of people involved in the investigation testified, including John Lyons, Detectives Leane and Brown, Dr Bennett, Dr Cleland, and Paul Lawson. In his concluding remarks, the Coroner stated that:
"The evidence is too inconclusive to warrant a finding. There is no evidence as to who the deceased was. Although he died during the night of the 30 November – 1st December, I cannot say whether it was administered by the deceased himself or by some other person.
I therefore adjourn this inquest sine die." (without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing).
Source - http://adelaidecityexplorer.com.au/items/show/169∼Unknown cause of death∼The Somerton Man was found washed up on a South Australian beach in 1948
At 6.30am on December 1, 1948, the body of an unknown man was discovered on Somerton Park beach, beginning one of Australia's longest-running and thus-far insoluble mysteries. As the exhumation of the body of the still-unknown "Somerton Man" begins, it will mark a new stage in the ongoing process of investigating and unravelling the mysteries, conspiracies and suspicions around the body.
SA Police head of major crimes, Superintendent Des Bray, spoke to media on the morning of the exhumation, saying it was an important day for the state. "It's about doing the right thing," he said. "This is somebody's family member, somewhere there is someone missing this person."
The Somerton Man's cause of death has never been firmly established, but several inquests have strengthened the theory that he was poisoned, possibly by digitalis. Witnesses who thought they had seen the man on the beach the day before he was found dead claimed variously to have seen him stretch out one arm (a possible dying convulsion), or that another man had been watching him from above on the seawall, or that one man had been seen carrying another to the beach. The Somerton Man had eaten a pasty some hours before his death, but it was not believed to have been the vehicle for any poison. And none of the witnesses could confirm the man they had seen on the beach in the evening was the same man found dead there in the morning.
From the beginning, the body posed a mystery. He had been found lying in the sand, with his head resting against the beach seawall, and his legs crossed. In his pockets he had an unused train ticket to Henley Beach, a bus ticket from the city, a tin comb, chewing gum, cigarettes and matches. But there was no identification, and all the labels on his clothes had been removed.∼Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11049863/Somerton-Man-Professor-claims-solved-identity-man-Adelaide-beach-1948.html#l62zqqh3uk2o6985kr
Body of deceased found slumped against a sea wall near the shore of Somerton Park Beach, Adelaide, on December 1, 1948.
Following a post-mortem examination the male was found to have been poisoned. The identity of the male remained a mystery, until 2022 when an Adelaide University Researcher worked with a genealogist and used DNA samples to help trace a Family Tree. This later led to the identification of the male as Carl 'Charles' Webb, an electrical engineer and instrument maker from Footscray in Melbourne.∼Derek Abbott was able to analyse the Somerton Man's DNA using hairs preserved when authorities made a plaster model of his face.
He was the youngest of six siblings and married Dorothy Robertson, known as Doff Webb. That's most likely what brought him to Adelaide, the professor said.
Bio: BBC / VF
HERE LIES
THE UNKNOWN MAN
WHO WAS FOUND AT
SOMERTON BEACH
1st DEC.1948
Three days after the Somerton Man was buried, the Coronial Inquest into his death commenced at the Independent Order of Oddfellows Building (IOOF) on Flinders Street. The inquest was presided over by Coroner Thomas Cleland and a number of people involved in the investigation testified, including John Lyons, Detectives Leane and Brown, Dr Bennett, Dr Cleland, and Paul Lawson. In his concluding remarks, the Coroner stated that:
"The evidence is too inconclusive to warrant a finding. There is no evidence as to who the deceased was. Although he died during the night of the 30 November – 1st December, I cannot say whether it was administered by the deceased himself or by some other person.
I therefore adjourn this inquest sine die." (without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing).
Source - http://adelaidecityexplorer.com.au/items/show/169∼Unknown cause of death∼The Somerton Man was found washed up on a South Australian beach in 1948
At 6.30am on December 1, 1948, the body of an unknown man was discovered on Somerton Park beach, beginning one of Australia's longest-running and thus-far insoluble mysteries. As the exhumation of the body of the still-unknown "Somerton Man" begins, it will mark a new stage in the ongoing process of investigating and unravelling the mysteries, conspiracies and suspicions around the body.
SA Police head of major crimes, Superintendent Des Bray, spoke to media on the morning of the exhumation, saying it was an important day for the state. "It's about doing the right thing," he said. "This is somebody's family member, somewhere there is someone missing this person."
The Somerton Man's cause of death has never been firmly established, but several inquests have strengthened the theory that he was poisoned, possibly by digitalis. Witnesses who thought they had seen the man on the beach the day before he was found dead claimed variously to have seen him stretch out one arm (a possible dying convulsion), or that another man had been watching him from above on the seawall, or that one man had been seen carrying another to the beach. The Somerton Man had eaten a pasty some hours before his death, but it was not believed to have been the vehicle for any poison. And none of the witnesses could confirm the man they had seen on the beach in the evening was the same man found dead there in the morning.
From the beginning, the body posed a mystery. He had been found lying in the sand, with his head resting against the beach seawall, and his legs crossed. In his pockets he had an unused train ticket to Henley Beach, a bus ticket from the city, a tin comb, chewing gum, cigarettes and matches. But there was no identification, and all the labels on his clothes had been removed.∼Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11049863/Somerton-Man-Professor-claims-solved-identity-man-Adelaide-beach-1948.html#l62zqqh3uk2o6985kr
Body of deceased found slumped against a sea wall near the shore of Somerton Park Beach, Adelaide, on December 1, 1948.
Following a post-mortem examination the male was found to have been poisoned. The identity of the male remained a mystery, until 2022 when an Adelaide University Researcher worked with a genealogist and used DNA samples to help trace a Family Tree. This later led to the identification of the male as Carl 'Charles' Webb, an electrical engineer and instrument maker from Footscray in Melbourne.∼Derek Abbott was able to analyse the Somerton Man's DNA using hairs preserved when authorities made a plaster model of his face.
He was the youngest of six siblings and married Dorothy Robertson, known as Doff Webb. That's most likely what brought him to Adelaide, the professor said.
Bio: BBC / VF
Inscription
HERE LIES
THE UNKNOWN MAN
WHO WAS FOUND AT
SOMERTON BEACH
1st DEC.1948
Gravesite Details
It is unknown which cemetery he is buried in - I took a guess !!!
