On the morning of December 1st 1948, a deceased man was found on Somerton Beach, south west of the city. The discovery of the body barely made the local press in the days that followed. Such things, though not particularly pleasant, had happened before.

However as the identity of the man and the cause of his death continued to baffle police in the months that followed, it soon became clear that this was anything but a straightforward case. An extensive investigation was launched and despite a huge response from not only South Australians, but people from across the country, the case remained unsolved. Even a Coronial Inquest found that the man’s identity and the manner of his death was “inconclusive”. With no known name, the man began to be referred to as the ‘Somerton Man’.

Speculation grew over who the identity of the Somerton Man- was he a Displaced Person who had migrated to Australia following the Second World War

A trained dancer with an impeccable physique

A Soviet spy sent to uncover Cold War secrets?

Although the body had been found at Somerton Beach, it soon became clear to South Australian police that the mystery man had also spent time in the heart of the city in the hours leading up to his death.

Use this self guided trail to explore the evidence from the Somerton Man’s final day and draw your own conclusions about Adelaide’s most famous cold case.