The Wake Diary: Gordon, Olive, and The Soon To Be ASIO Director of Operations

 

The Spycatcher’s Notebook

Research Post Summary

Topic: Somerton Man Cold Case / Intelligence History
Primary Source: 1948 Diary of Colonel Bob Wake (CIS/ASIO)

Key Finding: The 1948 personal diary of Colonel Bob Wake,📎 future Director of Operations for ASIO, contains a handwritten entry apparently naming Somerton Man witnesses "Gordon and Olive" on November 16, 1948—exactly 14 days before the body on Somerton Beach was discovered. This entry is followed the following day by a reference to the "EYL Handbook" (Eureka Youth League), confirming a known link between the witnesses and communist activities monitored by Australian Intelligence. Furthermore, the diary records the name "Ivanoff," a Russian or Bulgarian identity now linked to a newspaper advertisement in Brisbane, Wake’s home office city. This primary source evidence contradicts the historical narrative that Strapps and Neill were random bystanders, suggesting instead they were subjects of, or participants in, a CIS counter-espionage operation.

The Events

In the evening of November 30th 1948, 7.30 pm according to their statements, a young couple had driven down to Somerton Beach to watch the sunset, or so it was said.  The couple were Gordon Strapps and Olive Neill, They sat on a small bench which was on a 'landing' built on top of a low sea wall. While they’re there, they spot a man lying against that sea wall. They think he’s asleep. Gordon even jokes that the poor bloke might be dead to the world.

Since 1948, that has been the official line. Gordon and Olive? Just two innocent bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A complete coincidence.

Well, just maybe I've got news for you. It turns out, that might not be quite true.

It's been quite a while since I started digging deep into the Wake Diaries and that's when I came across something extraordinary. It’s not a police report or a newspaper clipping. It’s the personal 1948 diary of Colonel Bob Wake.

Bob Wake wasn't just anybody. He was a heavy hitter in the Commonwealth Investigation Service, the CIS. In fact, he was the man busy helping to set up what would become ASIO. A short while later he was appointed Operations Director of ASIO. He was the man whose job it was to hunt Soviet spies, sort of an early iteration of Peter Wright, and kept an eye on the communist party of Australia.

And whose names do we find scrawled in his diary, in his own handwriting, just two weeks before the body is found?

The two names. "Gordon and Olive."

The Plot Thickens

Just let that sink in for a moment. A lead player in Australian counter-espionage writes down the names of the exact two people who are about to find the Somerton Man. 

And it gets better. The very next day, November 17th, Wake makes another note but this time it's about the "EYL Handbook." That’s the Eureka Youth League. We know Gordon and Olive were members.  This wasn't a youth social club for Wake; it was a target. You can be sure he wasn't writing their names down for a Christmas card list. Was he in touch with them or was he watching them? In fact, just months earlier, the Australian press was screaming about the EYL, calling it the 'Kindergarten Of The Reds'. 📎

So, you have to ask yourself: Were they really just a couple on a beach watching the sunset? Or were they assets? Could they have been working for Bob?

The Name in the Shadows

Now, if you think that’s intriguing, look at this. Buried in the pages of that same 1948 diary is another name. A single word that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

"Ivanoff."

In fact it's mentioned 3 times.

For decades we’ve been chasing theories about American sailors or local ballet dancers. But here we have the head honcho Spycatcher himself, tracking a Russian in November 1948

Is it possible that Ivanoff is our Somerton Man? If so then suddenly everything makes sense. The missing labels. The no-show in the fingerprint records. It would explain why a top-level intelligence officer was involved.

And it raises an intriguing question about our "witnesses," Gordon and Olive. Were they sent to the beach by Wake to watch this man? "Ivanoff"? Or, and here’s the twist, were they sent by the Communists to watch him, and Wake knew all about it?

The Vanishing Act

And finally, this could be the cherry on the cake.

On November 29th, the very day before the Somerton Man appears on the beach, Colonel Bob Wake packs his bags and leaves Adelaide.

An everyday travel itinerary or was it? Set the pieces on the board, wind up the operation, and then get out of town so you’re nowhere near the fallout. Wake leaves. Gordon and Olive go to the beach. And a man dies.

The End of the Coincidence?

I think we should pause thinking of Gordon and Olive as simply bystanders. The soon to be Director of Operations of ASIO knew their names. He knew their politics. And he knew them two weeks before the Somerton Man drew his last breath.

If what's been found here is on the money then this diary changes everything. I dusted it off, got into its pages and suddenly we're not dealing with a cold case anymore. It’s a spy story, an espionage job.

In the end, there still are more questions to be asked and leads to be followed up but this is one very interesting start.

I’ve been digging into the Russian connection for years, and the full story including exactly what happened to the likes of Ivanoff, his name was mentioned 3 times by the way, is coming in the new book, 'Somerton Secrets'. Watch this space.

References

• Primary Source: The 1948 Diary of Colonel Bob Wake. Held in the collection of the University of Queensland, Fryer Library. 

• Context: "Kindergarten of the Reds", Argus, 9 August 1948.