Unsolved Taman Shud Case - The Somerton Man

zedx

Club Legend
Feb 23, 2019
1,286
4,551
AFL Club
Fremantle

If you magnify this, you can actually see the indentations of other words and letters in the background. These dark letters have been rewritten over the original copy because it was originally written in very light pencil and difficult to see. I think it has been rewritten wrongly and thats why no one can decipher it. Thoughts??
 

johnymac1

All Australian
Nov 6, 2019
764
1,290
AFL Club
Adelaide

If you magnify this, you can actually see the indentations of other words and letters in the background. These dark letters have been rewritten over the original copy because it was originally written in very light pencil and difficult to see. I think it has been rewritten wrongly and thats why no one can decipher it. Thoughts??
certainly something going on through the lettering and at the very top
 

SquiffyRae

Team Captain
Sep 28, 2020
364
1,066
AFL Club
Collingwood
That Adelaide Advertiser piece was very much a non-story for a clickbait headline and Linacre's comments could be aptly summed up with "no s**t Sherlock."

"We'll never know who he was, except if we have a close relative's DNA to compare to (saying nothing that the possibility we might have a close relative is the whole reason he was dug up in the first place)."

Of course he'll go unidentified if we don't get a hit in any database but at least by having his DNA in databases there's a chance for matches in the future
 
Mar 21, 2016
73,845
116,769
Down South Corvus Tristis
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Sturt, White Sox
Most of the criminal forensic genealogy has used 4th cousins and found matches closer

ie the idea they wont be able to find a link is only due to laziness or lack of funds

DNA is taken
It is downloaded to gedmatch (example) - given the passage of time I would think 4th cousin links might be the most common line

Check matches ggggrandparents and find each child of each family

What could be determined quickly would be a geographical region of SM ancestry
 

Redacted

All Australian
Sep 16, 2019
991
1,284
Western Australia
AFL Club
West Coast
I think Walter Ashton would be fairly easy to eliminate as Somerton Man via DNA as he has a lot of living descendants, and a lot of descendants from both his parents ancestors living in Australia being a descendant of first fleet convicts amongst two of his ancestral branches.



506e91172ace56718238d8419dbd7979.jpg
This picture is unconfirmed as being the Walter Ashton that went missing in 1948. It is a picture uploaded from ancestry purporting to be a Albert Walter Ashton from New Zealand. It might be him or It might be a cousin or something

Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

johnymac1

All Australian
Nov 6, 2019
764
1,290
AFL Club
Adelaide
he may have hidden numbers in his code. phone numbers or co-ordinates

if they are co-ordinates (26.12345 S ) for instance in up near the SA / NT border
if they are phone numbers, they may be disguised

26 389 2924
26 292 296 12 62
24 992 899 912
966 26 492 463 92


9 letters WRGOABABD
MLIAOI
11 letters WTBIMPANETP
x
11 leters MLIABOAIAQC
13 letters ITTMTSAMSTGAB
 

Redacted

All Australian
Sep 16, 2019
991
1,284
Western Australia
AFL Club
West Coast
DNA matching with another Somerton Man nominee, Charles Mikkelsen will be a bit harder to achieve as he only has living relatives through his half siblings descendants but it's doable. There'd be some 2nd cousin descendants on his father's side anyway.

Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
 

zedx

Club Legend
Feb 23, 2019
1,286
4,551
AFL Club
Fremantle
he may have hidden numbers in his code. phone numbers or co-ordinates

if they are co-ordinates (26.12345 S ) for instance in up near the SA / NT border
if they are phone numbers, they may be disguised

26 389 2924
26 292 296 12 62
24 992 899 912
966 26 492 463 92


9 letters WRGOABABD
MLIAOI
11 letters WTBIMPANETP
x
11 leters MLIABOAIAQC
13 letters ITTMTSAMSTGAB
One of the news reports said there were actually two phone numbers, one being Jestyn's. The owner of the other phone number has never been spoken of.
 

johnymac1

All Australian
Nov 6, 2019
764
1,290
AFL Club
Adelaide
he may have hidden numbers in his code. phone numbers or co-ordinates

if they are co-ordinates (26.12345 S ) for instance in up near the SA / NT border
if they are phone numbers, they may be disguised

26 389 2924
26 292 296 12 62
24 992 899 912
966 26 492 463 92


9 letters WRGOABABD
MLIAOI
11 letters WTBIMPANETP
x
11 leters MLIABOAIAQC
13 letters ITTMTSAMSTGAB
lots of work done on this subject. I should search older aticles before I jump the gun
This one from 2014-
"Micro writing" and Morse code

 
Jan 21, 2019
1,021
2,855
AFL Club
Port Adelaide
Other Teams
East Perth
One of the news reports said there were actually two phone numbers, one being Jestyn's. The owner of the other phone number has never been spoken of.
Some interesting information here, with links to other information also.

3. There are many contradictory reports on how many telephone numbers written in The Rubaiyat. There was number of the nurse Jestyn. And there was also the phone number of a bank. As the book is lost it is difficult to confirm if there really were any other numbers or not.

 

zedx

Club Legend
Feb 23, 2019
1,286
4,551
AFL Club
Fremantle
Some interesting information here, with links to other information also.

3. There are many contradictory reports on how many telephone numbers written in The Rubaiyat. There was number of the nurse Jestyn. And there was also the phone number of a bank. As the book is lost it is difficult to confirm if there really were any other numbers or not.

Thanks Bonza - there are soooooo many articles to read and sooooo many contradictions!! Its hard to work out what is fact and what is fiction whilst keeping in mind the era of the day were not pedantic with their evidence taking.
 

Gordon1552

Senior List
Oct 7, 2019
207
199
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
lots of work done on this subject. I should search older aticles before I jump the gun
This one from 2014-
"Micro writing" and Morse code

The code beneath the larger letters looks to be the 'Hill Cipher. It was an algebraic code from the 1930s. I understand there will be more posted on that soon.
 

Gordon1552

Senior List
Oct 7, 2019
207
199
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
lots of work done on this subject. I should search older aticles before I jump the gun
This one from 2014-
"Micro writing" and Morse code

Here's a close-up from the Verse 70 Book, it's from the title page, it blows up oversized in the viewer. You can see it clearly in most pf the letters the letter U in particular and the letter M:
Verse70_TS_31521_sml.jpg


Verse70_TS_31521_sml.jpg
 

Redacted

All Australian
Sep 16, 2019
991
1,284
Western Australia
AFL Club
West Coast
We must keep in mind that all theories to date are based upon derivative assumptions.
Who wrote the message or the phone numbers in the book allegedly found by the chemist hasn't been established. The perceived Provenance of the piece of paper bearing Taman Shud and the book itself are only derivative assumptions.

We don't know who put the paper in the pocket, or the book in the car, or whose book it actually belonged to.
I already stated earlier in this forum, that more than just 1 theory is possible and that all theories are unsafe as they lack direct evidence supporting almost all the assumptions that under pin them.

The statements of people interviewed, such as Freeman, Harkness, Boxall etc el had been taken at face value and it appears without thorough scrutiny by SA Police, without much thought to foul play, even though there's evidence from day dot that should make any grown man suspect something was wrong with the scene.

Once the coroner went down the poisoning path, Alibis needed to be taken and scrutinized. Witnesses antecedents needed to be checked. Search warrants should've been obtained. All the evidence needed thorough review. Murder or Suicide, both are crimes. The case should've become a criminal matter from that point, unless there was evidence supporting accidental death. The ante should've gone up on resourcing of the investigation at that point.

To say that there were missed opportunities to make some headway in this case is an understatement. Witnesses are now deceased. Places are long passed being of any value to search for objects of any evidentiary connection.

What we do have, people have to make assumptions from to theorize a scenario and use that to search for SM. For example looking to decipher the messages in the book looking for clues to identify SM, based upon assumptions that SM put the slip in his own pocket, that the slip came from the book found by the chemist, and that the book was SMs, and that SM wrote the messages in the book.

Can you see the problem here?

Keep an open mind and be prepared if you make an assumption that you then base another assumption upon, that you consider different derivative assumptions and not place all your eggs in the one pathway.

One day we might have a name from what SA Police are doing now. But we might never know why or how SM came to be deceased upon the beach that morning. That might still be an unsolvable mystery.




Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
 

zedx

Club Legend
Feb 23, 2019
1,286
4,551
AFL Club
Fremantle
We must keep in mind that all theories to date are based upon derivative assumptions.
Who wrote the message or the phone numbers in the book allegedly found by the chemist hasn't been established. The perceived Provenance of the piece of paper bearing Taman Shud and the book itself are only derivative assumptions.

We don't know who put the paper in the pocket, or the book in the car, or whose book it actually belonged to.
I already stated earlier in this forum, that more than just 1 theory is possible and that all theories are unsafe as they lack direct evidence supporting almost all the assumptions that under pin them.

The statements of people interviewed, such as Freeman, Harkness, Boxall etc el had been taken at face value and it appears without thorough scrutiny by SA Police, without much thought to foul play, even though there's evidence from day dot that should make any grown man suspect something was wrong with the scene.

Once the coroner went down the poisoning path, Alibis needed to be taken and scrutinized. Witnesses antecedents needed to be checked. Search warrants should've been obtained. All the evidence needed thorough review. Murder or Suicide, both are crimes. The case should've become a criminal matter from that point, unless there was evidence supporting accidental death. The ante should've gone up on resourcing of the investigation at that point.

To say that there were missed opportunities to make some headway in this case is an understatement. Witnesses are now deceased. Places are long passed being of any value to search for objects of any evidentiary connection.

What we do have, people have to make assumptions from to theorize a scenario and use that to search for SM. For example looking to decipher the messages in the book looking for clues to identify SM, based upon assumptions that SM put the slip in his own pocket, that the slip came from the book found by the chemist, and that the book was SMs, and that SM wrote the messages in the book.

Can you see the problem here?

Keep an open mind and be prepared if you make an assumption that you then base another assumption upon, that you consider different derivative assumptions and not place all your eggs in the one pathway.

One day we might have a name from what SA Police are doing now. But we might never know why or how SM came to be deceased upon the beach that morning. That might still be an unsolvable mystery.




Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
You are correct on so many points. DNA results will only be able to tell us (possibly) who he is and/or where he came from. That will not tell us how or why he died.
It has been reported that the small piece of paper with the words 'Tamam Shud' was 'proven' to have came from the book found in the car and that the brother of the car owner found it and put it in the cars glove box.
But again, with the amount of shoddy detective work can we believe this?
I personally like to go with the theory that he was a Russian ballet dancer who had an affair with Jestyn which produced a son and he was killed because he wanted to defect, BUT how and where could he have met Jestyn??
 

Redacted

All Australian
Sep 16, 2019
991
1,284
Western Australia
AFL Club
West Coast
You are correct on so many points. DNA results will only be able to tell us (possibly) who he is and/or where he came from. That will not tell us how or why he died.
It has been reported that the small piece of paper with the words 'Tamam Shud' was 'proven' to have came from the book found in the car and that the brother of the car owner found it and put it in the cars glove box.
But again, with the amount of shoddy detective work can we believe this?
I personally like to go with the theory that he was a Russian ballet dancer who had an affair with Jestyn which produced a son and he was killed because he wanted to defect, BUT how and where could he have met Jestyn??
If "Jestyn" inscribed on Boxall's book is Jessie Harkness's non de plume, and was part of the verse 70 inscription and not added later....
Regardless what what we call her, Jessie Harkness we know was working in Sydney until her pregnancy got her turned out of nurse training. Then she went to Melbourne until she hooked up with Prosper and came to Adelaide.
So you only have 3 possible locations within the previous 3 years. Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide regardless of whether SM knocked her up or not. The last being the least likely.
But Jessica did say that a man enquiring about her being a nurse from Sydney by her neighbour could mean that he met her in Sydney, if the man that door knocked the neighbour's was SM

Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

zedx

Club Legend
Feb 23, 2019
1,286
4,551
AFL Club
Fremantle
If "Jestyn" inscribed on Boxall's book is Jessie Harkness's non de plume, and was part of the verse 70 inscription and not added later....
Regardless what what we call her, Jessie Harkness we know was working in Sydney until her pregnancy got her turned out of nurse training. Then she went to Melbourne until she hooked up with Prosper and came to Adelaide.
So you only have 3 possible locations within the previous 3 years. Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide regardless of whether SM knocked her up or not. The last being the least likely.
But Jessica did say that a man enquiring about her being a nurse from Sydney by her neighbour could mean that he met her in Sydney, if the man that door knocked the neighbour's was SM

Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
So in this case scenario she most likely met SM in Sydney and became pregnant there. Hmmm still leaves a lot of questions.
 

Redacted

All Australian
Sep 16, 2019
991
1,284
Western Australia
AFL Club
West Coast
So in this case scenario she most likely met SM in Sydney and became pregnant there. Hmmm still leaves a lot of questions.
Well, we are reasonably certain that she conceived in Sydney, barring being on a holiday somewhere.
But whether that came about from an event involving SM is debatable.
That theory relies upon whether you perceive physical similarities between photographs of SMs corpse and Robin without considering the same between Jessie and Robin.
If we are just considering Robin's parentage, then we are limited in knowledge of who Jessie was acquainted with around the time of conception. It is interesting nonetheless that upon SA Police interviewing her about the book that she immediately coughed up the name of Alf Boxall whom is someone we later learned was an acquaintance of hers at the very time of conception. Alf must had made an impression upon her as she named her son Robin which is phonetically similar to Alf's daughter Robyn, who hapchanced was delivered into the world at the hospital that Jessie was working in, and furthermore by sheer coincidence whilst Alf's kids were sent off for ballet lessons, so same Jessie sent her son off to ballet lessons.
So you can see a dilemma here in reliance upon SM being Robin's father, to discover who SM is.
And who wrote the phone number in the book? Because this is the only thing that linked them in the initial police investigation.
There's a lot of ifs. Which means there's a lot of room for alternatives.
There's an interesting proposition being put on another forum about parentage of Jessie, but whether it helps solve who SM is and why he traveled to Adelaide would not appear in BDM records to substantiate, so whether there is some relationship of some sort between Jessie, Prosper and SM might just well remain conjecture until DNA could support the theory. The tree as per BDM records doesn't have a missing person. But BDM records don't always record actual progenitors.
IMO, SMs identity was taken off him. Maybe deliberately, or maybe by someone robbing him of his wallet whilst he laid there dying. The opportunity to recover the wallet is probably long gone, but you never know. Just like the sailor's ID card, SM's wallet might be hidden under a floorboard somewhere just waiting for the new house owners to do a reno.

Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

Redacted

All Australian
Sep 16, 2019
991
1,284
Western Australia
AFL Club
West Coast

This documentary is very interesting and interviews some of Jo's friends.
A few interesting back stories are added by this.
Jessica's sister Ellen brings up Jessie's involvement with Manning Clark
And
Tim Edhouse brings up communist party affiliation of his grandmother, and how Jessica spent a lot of time with his mother, Margaret Langley

Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

Redacted

All Australian
Sep 16, 2019
991
1,284
Western Australia
AFL Club
West Coast

This documentary is very interesting and interviews some of Jo's friends.
A few interesting back stories are added by this.
Jessica's sister Ellen brings up Jessie's involvement with Manning Clark
And
Tim Edhouse brings up communist party affiliation of his grandmother, and how Jessica spent a lot of time with his mother, Margaret Langley

Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
OK was thinking although the documentary gave some clue that might potentially link Jessie Harkness to the CPA in some way, I thought what there was in the documentary would probably be too hard to nail down, after all we only were told that Jessie knocked around with Margaret Langley but didn't give us her mom's name. There were few details about the Langley family.
Anyhow I looked up Margaret's sister, and I found something that she said that might help understand what Tim Edhouse was going on about.

"
Jean Langley was born on a Rationalist Society commune in Mentone in 1926. Her father, John Samuel Langley was English. Born in 1889, he came to Australia in 1912. After arriving in Perth he became a schoolteacher and took up public soapbox lecturing. He was atheist and an impressive speaker. The Victorian Rationalist Association became aware of his heard of him and invited him to Melbourne - an invitation he accepted. The Association was founded in 1906. Its fundamental view was that all significant beliefs and actions should be based on reason and evidence. It aimed to promote critical enquiry into religion and what it perceived as other superstitious practices, stimulate freedom of thought, and encourage interest in science, criticism and philosophy. In 1919 he became the Associations Secretary. In 1924 he founded the Rationalist Journal, and in 1926 he became the inaugural Secretary of the Rationalists Society of Australia. Jean's mother was Vera Lucy Savige. She was born in Elsternwick in 1892 and met Jean's father through the Society. She was already a Society member, and at the age of twenty-two, on their Board of Directors. They married and lived on a Rationalist commune at Mentone. Several families lived there, on a ti-tree covered ten-acre property by the sea. Jean was born in 11th of January, 1926. She was the third of the five Langley children


499766a282bde7948833753a3c430c5e.jpg

Jean Langley (centre) at the Rationalist Commune at Mentone c.1931

Reflecting on her parents, Jean said, "My father was very English; proper, reserved and formal, and very gentle. The most we got in the way of a hug was a pat on the head. I liked him immensely. My mother was very gentle and kind. She wasn't the greatest housekeeper in the world, but would read at least a dozen books a week. She was well-educated and proofread all of my father's writings. On many nights they'd be in the study for hours, going through whatever he was working on. She wrote poems and stories herself. She was a literary lady of that passionate left-wing world which followed the Depression". Recalling her life on the commune, she said, "Our home was full of Rationalists and very interesting people; the conversation and discussions were vital and marvellously passionate. I may not have understood much of it, but I loved the atmosphere. Mentone wasn't that far from town and people would drive down from the city. Being a celebrant, my father married many rationalists in our house. It was a jolly place as much as anything else; serious and jolly. As our family grew, and by the time my parents had the five of us, we needed somewhere bigger to live, so they rented another place in Mentone. My parents never owned a house in their lives, because they didn't believe in it. They were Socialists. Everything was on principle. They never owned or drove a car. As children, we girls weren't given dolls or other 'girly' things, and the boys weren't allowed to have guns or war-like toys. We were just given books and more books. While my mother was a feminist and a communist, my father was not a communist, though perhaps a little 'pink'. He believed in changing the world through education". Jean loved her childhood. She said, "I spent all the time at the beach...We were dreamy little kids...as free as seagulls. I ran wild on the beach. I was popular because I was so much a madcap, and a witty and sharp little thing. How could they not like me? There was little control over us. We were given an extraordinary amount of freedom, which was wonderful. My parents believed in responsibility; I was responsible for my two younger siblings, and so on. We were taught that we had a responsibility to neighbours and society, and to ideals. The only thing we had to abide by was the truth. My father believed that children should be taught to be civilized. The Society"s principle was that one should not live with the threat of Hell and the promise of Heaven, but to do good because good is good to do. That was the sort of principle that guided their lives and our".

2357c56915b8ab62d02108b25b90c816.jpg

The Langley family, from the right, John, Jean, Elizabeth, Vera, Bob and Margaret at Mentone c.1932


Jean began her schooling at Mentone State School. She recalled, "At School there were these five children with a mad English father who lectured every Sunday night saying, 'Why believe in God?' and this sort of thing, and a mother who strode around with superior airs, and a cigarette in her hand. It made the ordinary state school kids look upon us as if we came from another planet". Jean progressed to Mordialloc High School. Remembering school, she said, "I wasn't a good student, and I didn't get any certificates of any sort, much like it had been at primary school. There were pranks, like hiding underneath the school, and going down the creek in a broken-down boat and nearly drowning. There were endless adventures; it was a continuation of the madcap spirit, but I was always interested in art. From the moment I can remember, I was drawing and planning on becoming an artist. It was my whole dream; a dream which was very foreign to my parent".. Jean left school in the early days of the War and worked as a telephonist. Wanting to be an artist, she applied for a position at Manton's department store in Bourke Street in their advertising department. They trained artists to be commercial artists. Jean took in some of her drawings and they accepted her. Jean said, "At Mantons, I trained in fashion drawing, but I didn't like it much. I got bored sitting at a desk...I talked my way into the display department. We made all the prop ourselves. We'd do drawings for the window displays, and that sort of thing. It might take a month to make a window display. I loved it". Jean was at Manton's for about two years. She lived in bungalows and rooms in inner-city Melbourne in places like St. Kilda and Prahran, saying, "We all lived like that. Melbourne was...full of people living around the city, which is very different to today"

ad5ed104892b318f5ace9f427e97cce0.jpg

Jean and Bob Langley at Mentone beach c.1948

It was while Jean was at Manton's that she got, as she said, very carried away with the idea of being a serious artist. "I was getting a broader feeling about art and people in the art world. Cinders Coffee Lounge was a meeting place.
"
Sourced and extract taken from >


Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

Redacted

All Australian
Sep 16, 2019
991
1,284
Western Australia
AFL Club
West Coast
OK was thinking although the documentary gave some clue that might potentially link Jessie Harkness to the CPA in some way, I thought what there was in the documentary would probably be too hard to nail down, after all we only were told that Jessie knocked around with Margaret Langley but didn't give us her mom's name. There were few details about the Langley family.
Anyhow I looked up Margaret's sister, and I found something that she said that might help understand what Tim Edhouse was going on about.

"
Jean Langley was born on a Rationalist Society commune in Mentone in 1926. Her father, John Samuel Langley was English. Born in 1889, he came to Australia in 1912. After arriving in Perth he became a schoolteacher and took up public soapbox lecturing. He was atheist and an impressive speaker. The Victorian Rationalist Association became aware of his heard of him and invited him to Melbourne - an invitation he accepted. The Association was founded in 1906. Its fundamental view was that all significant beliefs and actions should be based on reason and evidence. It aimed to promote critical enquiry into religion and what it perceived as other superstitious practices, stimulate freedom of thought, and encourage interest in science, criticism and philosophy. In 1919 he became the Associations Secretary. In 1924 he founded the Rationalist Journal, and in 1926 he became the inaugural Secretary of the Rationalists Society of Australia. Jean's mother was Vera Lucy Savige. She was born in Elsternwick in 1892 and met Jean's father through the Society. She was already a Society member, and at the age of twenty-two, on their Board of Directors. They married and lived on a Rationalist commune at Mentone. Several families lived there, on a ti-tree covered ten-acre property by the sea. Jean was born in 11th of January, 1926. She was the third of the five Langley children


499766a282bde7948833753a3c430c5e.jpg

Jean Langley (centre) at the Rationalist Commune at Mentone c.1931

Reflecting on her parents, Jean said, "My father was very English; proper, reserved and formal, and very gentle. The most we got in the way of a hug was a pat on the head. I liked him immensely. My mother was very gentle and kind. She wasn't the greatest housekeeper in the world, but would read at least a dozen books a week. She was well-educated and proofread all of my father's writings. On many nights they'd be in the study for hours, going through whatever he was working on. She wrote poems and stories herself. She was a literary lady of that passionate left-wing world which followed the Depression". Recalling her life on the commune, she said, "Our home was full of Rationalists and very interesting people; the conversation and discussions were vital and marvellously passionate. I may not have understood much of it, but I loved the atmosphere. Mentone wasn't that far from town and people would drive down from the city. Being a celebrant, my father married many rationalists in our house. It was a jolly place as much as anything else; serious and jolly. As our family grew, and by the time my parents had the five of us, we needed somewhere bigger to live, so they rented another place in Mentone. My parents never owned a house in their lives, because they didn't believe in it. They were Socialists. Everything was on principle. They never owned or drove a car. As children, we girls weren't given dolls or other 'girly' things, and the boys weren't allowed to have guns or war-like toys. We were just given books and more books. While my mother was a feminist and a communist, my father was not a communist, though perhaps a little 'pink'. He believed in changing the world through education". Jean loved her childhood. She said, "I spent all the time at the beach...We were dreamy little kids...as free as seagulls. I ran wild on the beach. I was popular because I was so much a madcap, and a witty and sharp little thing. How could they not like me? There was little control over us. We were given an extraordinary amount of freedom, which was wonderful. My parents believed in responsibility; I was responsible for my two younger siblings, and so on. We were taught that we had a responsibility to neighbours and society, and to ideals. The only thing we had to abide by was the truth. My father believed that children should be taught to be civilized. The Society"s principle was that one should not live with the threat of Hell and the promise of Heaven, but to do good because good is good to do. That was the sort of principle that guided their lives and our".

2357c56915b8ab62d02108b25b90c816.jpg

The Langley family, from the right, John, Jean, Elizabeth, Vera, Bob and Margaret at Mentone c.1932


Jean began her schooling at Mentone State School. She recalled, "At School there were these five children with a mad English father who lectured every Sunday night saying, 'Why believe in God?' and this sort of thing, and a mother who strode around with superior airs, and a cigarette in her hand. It made the ordinary state school kids look upon us as if we came from another planet". Jean progressed to Mordialloc High School. Remembering school, she said, "I wasn't a good student, and I didn't get any certificates of any sort, much like it had been at primary school. There were pranks, like hiding underneath the school, and going down the creek in a broken-down boat and nearly drowning. There were endless adventures; it was a continuation of the madcap spirit, but I was always interested in art. From the moment I can remember, I was drawing and planning on becoming an artist. It was my whole dream; a dream which was very foreign to my parent".. Jean left school in the early days of the War and worked as a telephonist. Wanting to be an artist, she applied for a position at Manton's department store in Bourke Street in their advertising department. They trained artists to be commercial artists. Jean took in some of her drawings and they accepted her. Jean said, "At Mantons, I trained in fashion drawing, but I didn't like it much. I got bored sitting at a desk...I talked my way into the display department. We made all the prop ourselves. We'd do drawings for the window displays, and that sort of thing. It might take a month to make a window display. I loved it". Jean was at Manton's for about two years. She lived in bungalows and rooms in inner-city Melbourne in places like St. Kilda and Prahran, saying, "We all lived like that. Melbourne was...full of people living around the city, which is very different to today"

ad5ed104892b318f5ace9f427e97cce0.jpg

Jean and Bob Langley at Mentone beach c.1948

It was while Jean was at Manton's that she got, as she said, very carried away with the idea of being a serious artist. "I was getting a broader feeling about art and people in the art world. Cinders Coffee Lounge was a meeting place.
"
Sourced and extract taken from >


Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
So what's the Rationalist Society?
How does it fit with the Somerton Man Mystery?
We'll start upon a journey to the commune at Mentone. This is where Jessie Harkness found her solice in her childhood. Where her best friend lived and who's house she frequented.. this was where she ran to when she was pregnant. It's probably where she spent holidays when she had a break in Sydney. It would've been where she first encountered the Rubyiat of Omar Khayyám from her best friend's mother....

Extract from https://www.rationalist.com.au/about-us/the-rationalist-collection/

In 1919, noted public speaker, John Samuel Langley, was appointed as Secretary of the VRA. He founded the Rationalist Journal in 1924 and became the inaugural Secretary of the RSA upon its formation in 1926. Langley continued expanding the Rationalist Library through donations and in 1934 established it as a Lending Library and Reading Room in Melbourne’s CBD.

Attached from http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1o9hq1f/SLV_ROSETTAIE2500117 is a pamphlet written by John Samuel Langley called "Why I became a Rationalist lecturer"

Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
View attachment 1149399
 
Last edited:

Redacted

All Australian
Sep 16, 2019
991
1,284
Western Australia
AFL Club
West Coast
Jessica's childhood best friend Margaret Langley's married name is Cohen.

There might be multiple reasons that Jessie Thomson is buried in the Jewish section of the cemetery, but her best friend donating a pre paid plot could be one of them.

It's simple and doesn't require Mrs Thomson to be part of any secretive Jewish underground Nazi hunter assassination squad nor even to of been converted to Judaism.

I think we now have a potentially simple explanation for the enigma of where she was buried.

Sent from my SM-A305YN using Tapatalk
43fe732c14c151a62bd44dd5dfa53f9f.jpg
 
Last edited:
Back