Unearthed records a step closer to solving decades-old mystery of Somerton Man’s death

Old university records may hold the key to unravelling the mystery of the body found in Adelaide in 1948 that remained unidentified for decades.

A 101-year-old junior football club photo and university enrolment records are among more evidence coming to light that could piece together who the mysterious Somerton Man was.

The hauntingly intriguing case of the Somerton Man has baffled researchers for decades.

The man’s body was found propped up against the seawall at Somerton Beach in Adelaide on December 1, 1948.

Inside his pocket was the printed words “Tamam Shud”, which means “finished” in Farsi.

He had an unsmoked cigarette resting on his chest, his hair was perfectly in place and his double-breasted jacket was pressed and in perfect condition.

All sorts of theories have been put forward over the decades, including that the Somerton Man was a spy.

Earlier this year, University of Adelaide professor Derek Abbott claimed to have identified the man as Carl “Charles” Webb after forensic analysis from a plaster “death mask”, spurring a race to find out more information about the man’s life.

A photo of Swinburne Technical College’s under-16 football team from 1921 resurfaced in August, when keen-eyed observers noticed a “C. Webb” listed on the team sheet.

The Swinburne under-16 football team has a C. Webb listed, but it remains unclear which boy that is. Picture: Swinburne Commons / Swinburne University of Technology

While it was speculated that this was the same Charles Webb whose body remained unidentified for over 70 years after it was found at Somerton beach, the names in the photo are in no particular order.

For this reason, while the photo fascinated the group of sleuths who have dedicated years to tracking down the identity of the mystery man, it was not possible to entirely determine which boy in the photo was C. Webb, nor whether it was the same Charles Webb.

Newly-uncovered records from Swinburne University of Technology, however, have supported the theory.

Professor Abbott posted to Identifying the Somerton Man, a 1400-member Facebook group dedicated to uncovering the mystery, showing enrolment records from Swinburne’s junior technical college in 1920.

Enrolment records from Swinburne show Charles Webb listed as a student at the time of the photo. Picture: Facebook

Listed was Charles Webb, date of birth 16 November 1905, which matches with the man believed to be the Somerton Man, as well as lining up with the football club photo.

This has brought Professor Abbott and his fellow researchers one step closer to piecing together the mystery of the man who was found propped up against the seawall at Somerton Beach in Adelaide on 1 December 1948.

The man, who remained unidentified for decades, drew fascination from around the world, with some theories suggesting he was a Russian spy.

The police discovered a number of unusual items on his body when it was first recovered.

Photographic reconstruction by Police Photographer Durham of the body of the unknown man found dead on Somerton Beach which was released to the press 03 Dec 1948. Picture: Supplied

He carried an aluminium comb, a product unavailable in Australia, which suggested he had been in America recently, while his clothing was also of an American brand.

A small rolled-up piece of paper was found in his pocket, which read “Tamam Shud”, Farsi for “it is ended” or “finished”.

He had an unsmoked cigarette resting on his chest, his hair was perfectly in place and his double-breasted jacket was pressed and in perfect condition.

The man’s remains were exhumed in 2021, which ultimately led to him being identified as Webb, but investigations remain ongoing as to his suspicious death.

Who was ‘Carl Webb’ - the Somerton Man?

Prof Abbott said that Mr Webb was born on November 16, 1905, making him 43 when he died.

He is said to have worked as an electrical engineer, the Advertiser reported.

He married Dorothy Robertson, who became known as Doff Webb. He left her in April 1947.

“He disappeared and she appeared in court, saying that he had disappeared and she wanted to divorce,” Colleen Fitzpatrick from Identifiers International said.

By 1951, she had moved to Bute in South Australia, raising the possibilty that Mr Webb had come to find her.

The forensics experts used hairs taken from a plaster ‘death mask’ to analyse his DNA.

They used that DNA to build an extended family tree, and were finally able to identify the Somerton Man as Mr Webb on Saturday.

Mr Webb has no death record.

“By filling out this tree, we managed to find a first cousin three times removed on his mother’s side,” Prof Abbott told CNN.

“It just felt like I climbed and I was at the top of Mount Everest.”

Ms Fitzpatrick added: “It’s like one of these folklore mysteries that everybody wants to solve and we did it.”

Originally published as Unearthed records a step closer to solving decades-old mystery of Somerton Man’s death