Unsolved Taman Shud Case - The Somerton Man

[petedavo]

Aron Zelig EHRENLIEB, aliases Sigmund and Antek JANKOWSKI, Boris RSCHEZKI

View attachment KV-2-2566.pdf

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[petedavo]

Policy and special procedures for the handling of Top Secret information in connection with the leakage of Cabinet Information and investigation of Soviet espionage activities in Australia: VENONA-related papers concerning the MGB spy network in Australiaduring the Second World War//cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5d6e9dafdd972/KV-4-452.pdf

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[peteb]

But didn't she say he checked out on the 30th November? Then was found the next morning? No chance to read the papers
Harvey wasn’t at all sure of the dates, and one of the reasons Feltus dismissed her was because she waited years before giving the interview, however, he accepted an equally late statement of the man seen carrying a man along the beach ...

Appreciate your knowledge Pete. Did Ina report her sighting immediately or did she wait for years until she gave that news paper interview?

That she did, she also said he looked very tired on the last day she saw or spoke to him, 'distraught' was the word she used.

The conspirator in me says his state of mind may have been caused by a newspaper account of the death of the Somerton Man and a description of what was found in his pockets.

 

[petedavo]

Record at NAA of a Thomas Ambrose Keane of 19 Abington St, South Brisbane opened in 1945 is not available due to National Security concerns

View Digital Image

recordsearch.naa.gov.au

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A couple of pages were released of Thomas Keane's ASIO file. It shows that he was a member of the Eureka Youth League when the file was opened in 1945 by the Commonwealth Investigation Branch. It also shows that someone requested a report on his activities and whereabouts in 1950, however who and why are redacted out. It also shows that the file was closed in 1953, however it appears that the reason for the file being closed is redacted. There's only enough room in the blacked out area to write something like "Found Deceased" or such like.
What is available doesn't say how old he is, or what sort of position he held in the EYL.
The reasons that are stated for not releasing the rest of the file are much more interesting though.

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Unfortunately all the Queensland files on the Eureka youth League from 1942 up-to 1949 have been restricted due to:
33(1)(a) - would damage Australia's security, defence or international relations;
33(1)(d) - would be a breach of confidence;
33(1)(g) - would unreasonably disclose information about the personal affairs of a person;

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A search of Trove using "19 Abingdon st" limiting the search to Newspapers, and the state to Queensland produces interesting results.
There's a lot of stuff being sold off in the 40's (no names mentioned). Then an advert in 1950 which gives the name "Bryce" as the seller. Did the property change hands? Was it a rental? A new tenant in 1950, hence the difference in adverts? Where did Thomas Ambrose Keane go?

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PeteD, I remember somebody mentioning that restricted file some years ago, probably Byron Deveson, but didn't have any copies of the file.. this is worth a hot dig, davo, we need to know when he was born ... I'll see if I can beat you to it starting from scratch.

I've had no luck finding out anymore on the Thomas Ambrose Keane of 19 Abingdon St South Brisbane, who's ASIO file is mostly restricted. No date of birth. No death notices. No photograph. No mention in stories of the Eureka Youth League.
Nada Zip. It's like he's been wiped off the face of the earth, or ever existed.

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[peteb]

Thanks for your work, petedavo .... how close do you think Ambrose is to the age of the Somerton Man?

 

[petedavo]

Thanks for your work, petedavo .... how close do you think Ambrose is to the age of the Somerton Man?

Very few clues to his age. The few pages released in his ASIO file just say EYL member. Doesn't say whether he was an organiser or music/dance coach, or just an ordinary member. The fact that it's still embargoed suggests the former rather than the later, and someone of some importance. The classified adverts in newspapers suggests someone at his address was reselling prams from the address, about the same time that Robin Thompson was born.
Since coming across his file, I've been going down a rabbit warren of archives.
I've had to work backwards to try and work out who this Thomas Ambrose Keane might actually be, if he is the deceased found at Somerton Beach.
So far I'm searching Soviet Agents that had disappeared, but had actually defected without the Soviets becoming aware. One of the intriguing possibilities that piqued my immediate interest was one I posted the MI5 file of Walter Krivitsky information on Aaron Ehrenlieb from the UK Archive yesterday. Walter was a Soviet defector who passed himself off under different identities and different nationalities. What piqued my interest was his travels to Argentina, and other countries where the Dutch Diplomat's daughter, Tania Teppema who became Richard Hemblys-Scales wife also frequented in travels with her father Peter Teppema.
Could Peter Teppema of befriended a Soviet Agent and convinced him to defect with a guarantee to continued protection?
It all made me wonder if this Thomas Ambrose Keane was a new identity of a Soviet agent that defected, and the fact that he defected rather than disappeared was being hidden from the Soviets.
Was he being hidden in Australia under an agreement between Teppema and Hemblys-Scales for the information on the networks that he created and a Verona code pad or two?

Did he almost bugger up the fact that MI5 had compromised Soviet networks and codes by going on a private errand to Adelaide and either getting himself killed, or was stopped from exposing the whole shooting match a few doors from where he was going by lethal force? If Keane was Ehrenlieb, he was 53 years old in 1948.
His UK file abruptly ends in 1949.

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[peteb]

Very few clues to his age. The few pages released in his ASIO file just say EYL member. Doesn't say whether he was an organiser or music/dance coach, or just an ordinary member. The fact that it's still embargoed suggests the former rather than the later, and someone of some importance. The classified adverts in newspapers suggests someone at his address was reselling prams from the address, about the same time that Robin Thompson was born.
Since coming across his file, I've been going down a rabbit warren of archives.
I've had to work backwards to try and work out who this Thomas Ambrose Keane might actually be, if he is the deceased found at Somerton Beach.
So far I'm searching Soviet Agents that had disappeared, but had actually defected without the Soviets becoming aware. One of the intriguing possibilities that piqued my immediate interest was one I posted the MI5 file of Walter Krivitsky information on Aaron Ehrenlieb from the UK Archive yesterday. Walter was a Soviet defector who passed himself off under different identities and different nationalities. What piqued my interest was his travels to Argentina, and other countries where the Dutch Diplomat's daughter, Tania Teppema who became Richard Hemblys-Scales wife also frequented in travels with her father Peter Teppema.
Could Peter Teppema of befriended a Soviet Agent and convinced him to defect with a guarantee to continued protection?
It all made me wonder if this Thomas Ambrose Keane was a new identity of a Soviet agent that defected, and the fact that he defected rather than disappeared was being hidden from the Soviets.
Was he being hidden in Australia under an agreement between Teppema and Hemblys-Scales for the information on the networks that he created and a Verona code pad or two?

Did he almost bugger up the fact that MI5 had compromised Soviet networks and codes by going on a private errand to Adelaide and either getting himself killed, or was stopped from exposing the whole shooting match a few doors from where he was going by lethal force? If Keane was Ehrenlieb, he was 53 years old in 1948.
His UK file abruptly ends in 1949.

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The same Hemblys-Scales who accompanied Roger Hollis to Australia in 1948 and who assisted in setting up ASIO before relocating to the Middle East under the governorship of Kim Philby ...

 

[petedavo]

The same Hemblys-Scales who accompanied Roger Hollis to Australia in 1948 and who assisted in setting up ASIO before relocating to the Middle East under the governorship of Kim Philby ...

Very same.
I think he died in Argentina.

"Any fool can commit a murder, but it takes an artist to commit a good natural death"

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[peteb]

Very same.
I think he died in Argentina.

"Any fool can commit a murder, but it takes an artist to commit a good natural death"

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So you could safely assume that anything Hemblys-Scales learnt about hostile agents identified by Australian Intelligence services would have been told to the hostile agent’s masters, via Philby.

 

[petedavo]

So you could safely assume that anything Hemblys-Scales learnt about hostile agents identified by Australian Intelligence services would have been told to the hostile agent’s masters, via Philby.

Yes.
Konstantin Volkov had the goods on Philby, Burgess & McLean and he was only asking for £27,500 and a promise of political asylum to give up the names.
It's just too bad that the Embassy in Turkey didn't know this when they asked for an MI5 to come and do the deal.

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[petedavo]

Robert Victor Hemblys-Scales went to Christ’s College, Cambridge from which he graduated with honours in Classics and Philosophy. http://heatholdboys.org.uk/obits/Hemblys-Scales_R.html

One of the books Hemblys-Scales studied in his Classics course at Cambridge, was a translation of Iranian poetry by a former student of Trinity College, Cambridge, Edward FitzGerald, called » Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
Hemblys-Scales would of known each edition of Fitzgerald's translations, like the back of his hand.


"MI5 and MI6 cover-up of Cambridge spy ring laid bare in archive papers" https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/23/mi5-mi6-coverup-cambridge-spy-ring-archive-papers
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[petedavo]

About to go down another rabbit burrow. This time I'm fossicking around Dutch Diplomat, Peter Teppema, Dutch/US/UK intelligence and Soviet defector General Walter Krivitsky.

Two Cambridge Spies: Dutch Connections (1) | Coldspur

Two Cambridge Spies: Dutch Connections (2) | Coldspur

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[petedavo]

Some interesting snippets about post war Dutch intelligence work in Australia.View attachment Brawley Oct 2007 edit_tcm16-35888.pdf

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[petedavo]

Writer of this page 1 article has fair crack at everyone. Particular hubris is aimed at espionage undertaken by Tania Teppema, and the Creation of ASIO amongst other opinions expressed.

17 Aug 1991 - A MATTER OF INDEPENDENCE - The Canberra Times (ACT) http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122378307 via @TroveAustraliaView attachment nla.news-page13009488.pdf

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[petedavo]

What gets interesting here is that the Teppema family are due to arrive in Adelaide to visit family, at about the same time as Somerton Man.

19 Oct 1948 - FAMILY HISTORY & MINING BRINGS DIPLOMAT HERE - Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48575441 via @TroveAustralia

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[petedavo]

Fascinating.

24 Jun 1947 - Kept Baby Crocodiles - News (Adelaide, SA) http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127300105 via @TroveAustralia

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[BlueE]

Robert Victor Hemblys-Scales went to Christ’s College, Cambridge from which he graduated with honours in Classics and Philosophy. http://heatholdboys.org.uk/obits/Hemblys-Scales_R.html

One of the books Hemblys-Scales studied in his Classics course at Cambridge, was a translation of Iranian poetry by a former student of Trinity College, Cambridge, Edward FitzGerald, called » Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
Hemblys-Scales would of known each edition of Fitzgerald's translations, like the back of his hand.

"MI5 and MI6 cover-up of Cambridge spy ring laid bare in archive papers" https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/23/mi5-mi6-coverup-cambridge-spy-ring-archive-papers
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I believe (from Gary Feltus?) that SM's Rubaiyat was a Whitcome and Tomes (Christchurch) pocket edition that no one has been able to find another copy of, Marshall's Methuan was 7th edition (even though only 5 were printed), and Alf Boxall had a Collins edition that was more common.

Detective Leonard Brown was given the task of finding a Rubaiyat that matched the paper found with Tamam Shud written on it.

He said he found an identical copy in an Adelaide bookshop that was made of the same paper and had the same font, but didn't have the words Tamam Shud ripped out. This was a Collins edition.

However wasn't SM's a Whitcome and Tomes edition? Also from another post a made pages back the Tamam Shud font didn't match any of the font in the verses, when the copy that Shelly showed the verses and Tamam matched exactly.

Also the paper that Tamam Shud is written on which Brown describes in great detail, is not described like or doesn't look like the same as the plain paper in the small pocketbook copy they said SM had.

Tamam Shud font also doesn't match the font Alf Boxall's Collin's edition copy (as seen in the Littlemore video).

As Boxall's Collins ed is very different form SM's copy why does Brown say he found an identical Collin's copy in the Adelaide bookshop?

Is it possible Brown bought the Adelaide Collins edition and Tamam Shud is from that?

Was something else written on the Tamam Shud that was ripped out of SM's copy that we're not to know about?

 

[BlueE]

Parking this here as it names most of the dancers, musicians, management and backstage members of the Ballet Russe tour of Australia and NZ in 1938/39. Otis not in photo and we know he met Anton Dolin in Lyttleton when they arrived by boat. There are only 6 un named people in the photo. Look at the back row, 10th from left for possible SM. If he was spying and had some connection to ballet, touring would be a good cover. He was wearing that American coat when found, that he could have only got in America or if someone from there (Otis?) gave it to him. "The Covent Garden Russian Ballet Company arrived in Auckland by boat from Australia on 1 February. After performing in Auckland and Palmerston North they travelled to Wellington by train and opened there on 18 February. A cropped version of the photograph first appeared in the newspaper 'The Dominion' (Wellington) on 24 February, 1939. Photograph includes 74 people including dancers, members of the tour's management and backstage team, and musicians from the orchestra. It does not include the entire company as several male dancers who were in the company are not included"--Information from acquisitions documentation. Source of Acquisition Donated by Brigitte Kelly (stage name, Maria Sanina) 2009. https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/35333906?q&versionId=43935406 Back row L to R: Borislav Runanine, Lorand Andahazay, Alberto Alonso, unknown, Medric Fraillon (musician), unknown, Jack Wittmer (musician), four males unknown, Serge Bousloff, Vsevolod Grigoriev (management), Serge Ismailoff, unknown, Marian Ladre, Georges Georghieff (production staff), Oleg Tupine, Boris Belsky, Valentin Zeglovsky, unknown, Edouard Sobiechevsky, Narcisse Matouchak, Madame Tchinerova (wardrobe), Algeranoff, Valery Shaievsky, Irina Kosmovska, Helene Wolksa, Haydn Beck (musician), Gabriel Joffe. Middle row L to R: Olga Larosse (wardrobe), Dimitri Rostov, Kira Strakhova, Vera Nelidova, Lubov Tchernicheva, Yura Lazofsky, Ana Roje, Edouard Borovansky, Dot Mendoza (musician), Serge Grigoriev (Regisseur general), Galina Razoumova, Anton Dolin, Tamara Grigorieva, Victor Dandre (management), Tatiana Riabouchinska, Michel Fokine (choreographer), Irina Baronova, German Sevastianov (management), Anna Volkova, Antal Dorati (conductor), Tamara Tchinarova, Raissa Kouznetsova, Kira Abricossova, Irina Vassilieva, Irina Bondireva, Wanda Grossen, Lisa Serova, Lara Obidenna. Front row L to R: Bill Honey (musician), Sono Osato, Natasha Sobinova, Alexandra Denisova, Lina Lerina, Ludmilla Lvova, Maria Sanina, Lelia Roussova, Arthur Leeman (musician).

 

[petedavo]

Anyone got a copy of
Malinowski: Odyssey of an Anthropologist, 1884-1920
By Michael W. Young
2004
Yale University Press

If so can you read back from page 459 and let me know what this "Clan" was? And in particular it's membership?

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[peteb]

Do you think every member of the EYL had their NAA record restricted?

 

[petedavo]

Do you think every member of the EYL had their NAA record restricted?

Much more famous people than this bloke, had their ASIO files released.

For example»»
Declassified Photos Reveal How ASIO Spent Time Spying On '70s Actors, Writers https://www.businessinsider.com.au/...e-spying-on-actors-writers-journalists-2014-1

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[peteb]

Much more famous people than this bloke, had their ASIO files released.

For example»»
Declassified Photos Reveal How ASIO Spent Time Spying On '70s Actors, Writers https://www.businessinsider.com.au/...e-spying-on-actors-writers-journalists-2014-1

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Perhaps there was a different sentiment in the late 40s ..

 

[petedavo]

Pay dirt!

Alexander Street, a ProQuest Company

Search streaming video, audio, and text content for academic, public, and K-12 institutions. Alexander Street is an imprint of ProQuest that promotes teaching, research, and learning across music, counseling, history, anthropology, drama, film, and more.

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Abstract / SummaryDate: 18.8.18. Informant: Motagoi. A passage in the Trobriand language with simultaneous English translation, numbered J185, discusses death by eating tuva, a vine with a poisonous root; and how its apparently disfiguring effects are why the spirits of those who die this way live in a separate village in the underworld. The information is written on the back of reused stationery, consisting of a wedding announcement for Carmen Delprat and P.E. Teppema in Melbourne, Australia.


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[peteb]

Perhaps there was a different sentiment in the late 40s ..

Thomas Abraham Keane’s NAA file was written up in its completeness to begin with, otherwise how could someone come to the decision to restrict the information it contained?
Why not eliminate the file completely?

 

[petedavo]

Pay dirt!

Alexander Street, a ProQuest Company

Search streaming video, audio, and text content for academic, public, and K-12 institutions. Alexander Street is an imprint of ProQuest that promotes teaching, research, and learning across music, counseling, history, anthropology, drama, film, and more.

search.alexanderstreet.com

Abstract / SummaryDate: 18.8.18. Informant: Motagoi. A passage in the Trobriand language with simultaneous English translation, numbered J185, discusses death by eating tuva, a vine with a poisonous root; and how its apparently disfiguring effects are why the spirits of those who die this way live in a separate village in the underworld. The information is written on the back of reused stationery, consisting of a wedding announcement for Carmen Delprat and P.E. Teppema in Melbourne, Australia.


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Can anyone find the SA Coroner report on the death of a Dr Milo Weeks Sprod?

OBITUARY. - Glenelg Guardian (SA) http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215216069 via @TroveAustralia

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