Tales from the Grave

While the world was progressing and inventions, such as the electric car or tram, were causing great interest in South Australia, one lady continued to live in quiet isolation.

Death of three year old is blamed on the servant

It is hard to imagine a mother wanting to deliberately kill her own children but that was indeed the case of Martha Needle. And sadly, the evidence points to greed for money. Martha Needle. Courtesy State Library of Victoria. Martha Charles was born in Morgan, South Australia on 9 April, 1863. Her mother, Mary Charles had become a widow shortly after Martha was born. Mary married Daniel Foran in 1870 and had two more children. Needle had claimed her step-father assaulted her

Elizabeth Robinson's headstone in the Brooklyn cemetery, in the very most northern bounds of Sydney, is a small affair and she shares it with her husband, John, who died in 1946. Headstone for Elizabeth Robinson in Brooklyn cemetery. Photo Samantha Elley What stands out for Elizabeth, however, is it states she was "killed railway smash 20th January, 1944". Digging deeper into Trove ( trove.nla.gov.au ), a search for "Brooklyn railway disaster" or "Brooklyn rail smash" brings