It's safe to say the two blokes having a scratch around in the dirt at Wedderburn got a nasty shock when the remains of a man were uncovered.
Despite following up leads for years afterwards the police were never able to identify the victim.
But they never solved the mystery of his identity or who killed him.
Further reading -
Wedderburn Mystery Murder Suspected
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.
Despite police searches, no one was ever found or arrested for this murder.
Someone trying it out? A rehearsal, perhaps, before the intended target?
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 -
To lose a cemetery is rather careless, but how one goes about losing it in the first place is so easy - just don't use it! Source; The ...
