SOMERTON MAN MYSTERY: FROM SOMERTON BEACH TO HINDLEY STREET ADELAIDE, TO THE RED POINT TOOL COMPANY...

....FROM HINDLEY STREET 

TO SOMERTON BEACH...

There are  two locations of interest in South Australia are, first is the beach near Bickford Terrace at Somerton, the location where the Somerton Man's body was found on December 1st, 1948.

The second location of interest is the Victoria Hotel in Hindley Street, Adelaide where, in room 3, on the 14th of December 1948 the body of Tibor Kaldor was found.

The man found on the 1st of December is now said to be Carl Webb.

Carl worked at the Red Point Tool Company, in St johns Street, South Yarra (a side street just off Chapel Road).  The business was owned by William Sher.

Tibor Kaldor lived a 5-minute walk away from St John Street, he also knew William Sher, they were in fact, close relatives.  This critical link between Tibor Kaldor and William Sher was found by researcher Peter Davidson. It is in my view a pivotal point in the ongoing search for truth in the Somerton Man Mystery.

It is thought that at one time, Tibor also may have worked at the Red Point Tool Company. It is thought that Carl and Tibor may have known each other.

The Red Point Tool Company Premises 

66 St John Street South Yarra

The above map is navigable, you can find your way around the street and view it from the Chapel Street side and rear view perspective. As you will see, at the side of the building it has two levels, there are 5 upper windows and when viewed from the rear of the building you can see that there could have been two rooms across. There is a small outbuilding in the rear yard of the premises. The back gate joins a small laneway called Mechanics Lane. This lane runs off both sides of St John Street and when I visited there last week, there were a number of small workshops along the lane.

What the upper-level layout was is unknown but having visited the front shop area that is situated on Chapel Street, you could see that it could have been two rooms wide at some stage. Given that the location is correct, then such a layout wouldn't have been conducive to a factory assembly line. My thoughts are that there may have been multiple rooms on the lower level and on the upper level, and the inner walls, (not supporting walls),  may have been removed to facilitate the factory assembly floor. 

You may also notice that the lower level windows on St John Street, are fitted with steel bars.

The Somerton Beach Location 

Close to Where the Somerton Man Was Found:

This embedded map also allows you to navigate your way around the surrounding streets. Its opening view shows the junction of Bickford Terrace and the Esplanade. If you were to use the left side of the first building, using the lampost as a pointer, the beach directly beneath that point would be approximately where the body of the Somerton Man was found. 

The photographs from this post : 

https://tamamshud.blogspot.com/2022/10/somerton-man-mysterysomerton-beach.html

Show the same view but from the beach.

The Victoria Hotel Hindley Street Adelaide

Where Tibor Kaldor's Body Was Found...

This final interactive map shows a recent Google view of the Victoria Hotel at 94 Hindley Street Adelaide. It is actually on the corner of Hindley Street and Victoria Street, the latter running through to North Terrace not far from Adelaide.Railway Station. As you can see from the Google view, the building, more recently known as the Wool Shed I believe, was under renovation and when I visited there last week, it still was.

It is a fine building with lots of character as you can see although a change from the drab grey paint would be a welcome improvement.

Tibor's body was found in room 3, which you wthink, would be on the first floor. When you view the whole building from the front, you can see that on the second floor, there are 4 rooms visible. The verandah runs wider than the second floor which may mean that at the first floor level there would have been 6 rooms across.

The view from Victoria Street side, there are only two levels to the building and there appear to be 11 rooms on the first floor. I would imagine that the ground floor would have been given over to bars and eating areas certainly in the Wool Shed days.

It is not certain if guest rooms started on the ground floor in 1948. It is a possibility of course.

As you can see there are two side entrance doors on the Victoria Street side, it also looks like there was a cellar level running the length of the building.

The rear portion of the building on Victoria Street appears to be of different age and design, it is not known at this time just when that building was erected.

When you move the view down Victoria Street, you will be able to see that there is a laneway that runs across the back of the building, there is nos sign of a rear door to the Victoria Hotel.