The Vampire Killer
When police found the body of Edward Baldock by the shores of the Brisbane River, he had been so savagely murdered his head was nearly severed. And there were strange marks on his neck. There seemed no reason for this horrific crime, but as they searched the scene the police found a bank keycard tucked neatly into the victim’s shoe. The card was soon identified as belonging to Tracey Avril Wigginton.
In one of the most sensational and bizarre cases in Australia’s criminal history, Tracey Wigginton’s three female companions that night told the police that Baldock was killed ‘to feed Tracey’s blood-lust’ because she was a ‘vampire’. Was Tracey Wigginton the first vampire for over 300 years? Or was there a deeper, darker reason for her crime? Why was it that during police interviews it was clear that one part of Tracey knew what happened but another didn’t? The Vampire Killer unravels the tragic and at times horrifying true story of Tracey Wigginton and her desperate cry for help.
In one of the most sensational and bizarre cases in Australia’s criminal history, Tracey Wigginton’s three female companions that night told the police that Baldock was killed ‘to feed Tracey’s blood-lust’ because she was a ‘vampire’. Was Tracey Wigginton the first vampire for over 300 years? Or was there a deeper, darker reason for her crime? Why was it that during police interviews it was clear that one part of Tracey knew what happened but another didn’t? The Vampire Killer unravels the tragic and at times horrifying true story of Tracey Wigginton and her desperate cry for help.
The Unlikely Bushman
Read about the mysterious bushman of Lovers Jump Creek
THE ruins of the home of an eccentric hermit bushman who bought “land and a swimming pool” in Lovers Jump Creek, have been discovered in the rugged bush between Northeast Wahroonga and North Turramurra.
The area, on the border of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, has recently been opened to the public by the construction of extensive fire trails through the government-owned bushland that has become a popular venue for walkers, runners and bike riders. But few people, who passed only metres from the remnants of two shacks and a more extensive concrete construction, knew it existed until local resident Ron Hicks, walking his dog on an ever-darkening late winter’s afternoon stumbled across it by accident as he climbed the rugged slope near the national park to get to his home.
“I needed a rest on the steep climb from the creek and I came to an
THE ruins of the home of an eccentric hermit bushman who bought “land and a swimming pool” in Lovers Jump Creek, have been discovered in the rugged bush between Northeast Wahroonga and North Turramurra.
The area, on the border of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, has recently been opened to the public by the construction of extensive fire trails through the government-owned bushland that has become a popular venue for walkers, runners and bike riders. But few people, who passed only metres from the remnants of two shacks and a more extensive concrete construction, knew it existed until local resident Ron Hicks, walking his dog on an ever-darkening late winter’s afternoon stumbled across it by accident as he climbed the rugged slope near the national park to get to his home.
“I needed a rest on the steep climb from the creek and I came to an
unusually flat area, so I sat down on what I thought was a rock. But as I looked around I realised, to my astonishment, that the almost perfectly flat rock platform I was sitting on was man-made. And then I began to find artefacts of what had clearly been a tin shack in the middle of very thick bush,” Ron said.
Intrigued by this finding in an area that had been zoned “green” for all of the nearly 30 years he had lived near the bush in northeast Wahroonga, Ron, an investigative journalist and author, began an extraordinary journey of discovery to reveal the truth about The Unlikely Bushman, a book he has just published.
“The investigation - which took some time and included interviews with many of the remaining long-time residents, some in their 80s and 90s - revealed an amazing and colourful history of the area,” Ron said.
“For example, did you know there was a regular two-up school behind the old panning station that is now Golden Jubilee Oval? It was run by a standover man from the Blue Gum Hotel in Waitara, whose girlfriend carried a gun in her purse in case there was any trouble.
“These are just some of the amazing stories I found in compiling the book, which also involved poring over extensive government documentation, because I was amazed that anyone would be allowed to buy land in this bush, which had been zoned green and abutted a national park, let alone turn part of the creek into his own private ‘swimming pool’.”
Intrigued by this finding in an area that had been zoned “green” for all of the nearly 30 years he had lived near the bush in northeast Wahroonga, Ron, an investigative journalist and author, began an extraordinary journey of discovery to reveal the truth about The Unlikely Bushman, a book he has just published.
“The investigation - which took some time and included interviews with many of the remaining long-time residents, some in their 80s and 90s - revealed an amazing and colourful history of the area,” Ron said.
“For example, did you know there was a regular two-up school behind the old panning station that is now Golden Jubilee Oval? It was run by a standover man from the Blue Gum Hotel in Waitara, whose girlfriend carried a gun in her purse in case there was any trouble.
“These are just some of the amazing stories I found in compiling the book, which also involved poring over extensive government documentation, because I was amazed that anyone would be allowed to buy land in this bush, which had been zoned green and abutted a national park, let alone turn part of the creek into his own private ‘swimming pool’.”
Or pay Ron Hicks direct by contacting rjhicks@live.com.au
The book will be delivered within three working days, depending on availability.
The book will be delivered within three working days, depending on availability.
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