SS KARATTA
This image is of the SS Karatta, it serviced the waters between Kangaroo Island and the mainland between 1907 and 1961.
It is this ship that Paul Lawson named as the likely one to have carried the Somerton Man from Kingscote to Port Adelaide in December 1948.
However, whilst he may well have traveled on a ship, for that journey, it couldn't have been this ship because as of the end of September 1948, The SS Karatta was in dock for a major refit, it was estimated that it would be there for 3 months. Its place was to be taken by another, smaller, vessel the MV KOORAKA.
A late decision by the management saw that vessel replaced by a larger ship, the SS WARRAWEE.
Interestingly, prior to April 11th, 1948, Glenelg was a starting point for marine excursions to places such as Edithburgh, Port Vincent, and Ardrossan. A major storm ripped through the area that April and destroyed the Glenelg Jetty and washed ashore a ship, the HMAS BARCOO. The jetty was eventually rebuilt in the 1960s.
Thus we now have the name of the ship that according to Paul, the Somerton Man came ashore in Port Adelaide around 27th November 1948. I am still checking the timetables for that date.
Those who have followed the Somerton Man mystery will know that in a televised interview in 1978, Paul Lawson cut short an interview with Stuart Littlmore with the now famous words, 'You know you're on tender ground...' when Littlemore brought up the subject of Kangaroo Island.
Thanks for your reply on my previous question about the photographs. Here's another issue that came from the same source. The say that Lawson didn't make comments about a Kangaroo Island connection, and it's not in the video.
ReplyDeleteI see, the video is one aspect and another view of the events comes from the Stuart Littlemore documents on the Somerton Beach Story 1977 but released in 1978 I think. Anyway here are the links to those documents which you can read at your leisure:
ReplyDeleteTitle: The Somerton Beach Story [Box 39]
Series number: C673
Control symbol: INSIDE STORY PART 1
Item barcode: 7937871
A description of this record can be viewed here.
Title: The Somerton Beach Story [Box 39]
Series number: C673
Control symbol: INSIDE STORY PART 2
Item barcode: 7937872
A description of this record can be viewed here.
You now have two parts of the answer regarding my comments about Kangaroo Island, there is a third part and that is quite simply this. I watched the video and I read the documents but I have another advantage, I spent hours talking with Paul Lawson and we discussed many things including the Littlemore interview. I had the privilege and distinct advantage of talking with the man concerned and he freely gave me the information about the interview.
Littlemore is a skilled barrister, he knows precisely how to construct questions and to sequence them in order to get the result that he wants, that's his profession. Thus when Littlemore interviewed Paul, he was well prepared, he had the information about Kangaroo Island and he wanted Paul to 'spill the beans'. In our discussions, Paul believed that Littlemore had been tipped off about the Kangaroo Island connection, I think Littlemore underestimated Paul because Paul saw it coming and called a halt to the interview. It's as straightforward as that.
Sadly the Somerton Man space is filled with fascinating theories and wild speculations the vast majority of which have little in common with the truth of the matter.
There are those who seek attention and those who want sensational stories. In contrast, on this blog, the focus is on getting to the truth. In this process we get to become the target of Trolls and self appointed Gurus who simply don't have the depth, knowledge or skill nor are they prepared to acquire those things. Thankfully, the time is coming when the case will be mostly resolved, perhaps we don't get to know exactly who the Somerton Man is but we will know that he is not Carl Webb.
Fascinating researching the Paul Lawson information. Did you know that Laurie Elliot made 50 visits to the morgue over a period of 3 months? That's a lot of embalming time. Does that strike you as, shall we say, odd?
ReplyDeleteThat's very interesting. Formaldehyde is a common ingredient of embalming fluids and it is known to damage DNA. And 50 visits equals 50 occasions when damage could have occured. I wonder if Laurie was alone on the visits or if he had company? You would also have to wonder if, whilst he was working on SMs body, whether other bodies arrived in the morgue.
ReplyDeleteAdd that to the DNA destroying mortuary soap used to flatten SMs hair and that puts a big question mark over the whole Carl Webb DNA issue.