Correspondence with Gerry Feltus
Gerry Feltus isn’t the sort of man who would take kindly to someone betraying his confidence, in this case information he disclosed to me in the early days of writing The Bookmaker from Rabaul. However, on re-reading some of his emails I thought some of their content might assist anyone interested in sorting the Somerton Man wheat from the chaff.
Why did Cleland say he had a problem finding the Tamam Shud slip the second time he searched for it?
In actual fact Cleland was saying that he had difficulty finding the TS paper the second time in the ‘fob pocket’ because it was rolled up tightly in a cylinder and was difficult to locate and produce in court.
What is the truth behind Detective Brown’s quote that stated ‘On the back cover of the Rubaiyat were a number of phone numbers?’
This part quote of Detective Brown’s was taken from a lecture he gave to a training exercise for ‘young and budding journalists very, very late in his career.’ Brown never mentioned to me (Feltus) that there were ‘a number of phone numbers.’
What happened to Detective O’Doherty’s 1959 report of a witness seeing a man carrying another man on his shoulders along the Somerton beach shore at about 10pm on the evening prior to the body being found?
Det Don O’Doherty kept a copy of his report which was forwarded to the O/C of the Adelaide CIB. Neither Feltus or O’Doherty knew who it was eventually allocated to. The witness never received a follow-up from the police.
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“Now get that book out and about, and no more questions.”
… “ and I hope you find the truth.”
