Bodies in The Morningstar Mine, Rushworth 1908 Unsolved True Crime

 When hoping to reopen the closed Morningstar Mine at Rushworth on 27th November 1908 some blokes got a nasty shock when decomposing matter was brought up with the mine cage; subsequent investigations discovered the very decayed bodies of a man and a woman in the water-logged mine shaft.

The woman's head was missing and never recovered despite bailing of the water from the mine and thorough searches for evidence. A scrap of newspaper sporting a bloody fingerprint, dated 28th August suggested this was the date the murders took place. Both bodies were badly broken and smashed up; so much so that the medical examiner was unable to locate any reproductive organs or much of the pelvis of the suspected female body, but owing to measurements they determined it was indeed a female.

Numerous people stated swaggies and others often camped at the site of the mine, one witness claiming he'd heard yelling at night some time earlier.

Missing friends and relatives were reported to the police but they were all safely located alive, leaving the police and coroner no answers as to the names of the couple or who had murdered them.

Disappearance of Police Constable Thomas Ryan 1886

 Constable Thomas Ryan was a well-liked and very respected member of the White Hills area of Bendigo; he'd been in the police force for almost 30 years, having been similar back in Ireland from whence he came.

He was very familiar with the area, the mine shafts, river, creeks, water holes, yet the night of 6th January 1886 he vanished entirely.

Monster massive searches took place; he was held in high regard so many volunteered to help look for him.

Nothing was ever found, although there were several suspects none were arrested for lack of evidence.

Somewhere under White Hills Constable Thomas Ryan slumbers.

His wife, Johanna Ryan, passed barely 3 years later, never knowing what happened.

Further reading -

Bendigo Graves

Honor Roll

Find A Grave

The Body in the Bathing Box Sorrento 1927

 On 17th May 1927 the body of a deceased man, estimated to be aged 30, was discovered in a bathing box on the Ocean Beach of Sorrento, Victoria.

It was determined he had died from starvation and exposure approx. a week earlier.

Despite having tattoos - a figure of a lady, an American flag and the name 'T. McKenna', he was buried as an unknown.

Strong possibility he was a sailor lost overboard from a ship but no reports seem to have been made as such.

Coincidently there was a Thomas McKenna buried in Sorrento but there does not appear to be any link with the family.

*Mind you there are 31 'unknowns' who were buried in 1927 !