My Sister's Keeper Multi-Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Introduction
This is the third and final cache in the
Towitta trilogy.
Ideally, to follow the story you should first visit GC291E9 - "The Towitta Tragedy", followed by the next in the trilogy, GC2WNXB - “Coming Home to
Die”.
Background.
This cache centres around Mary
Schippan and her sad, lonely life after the headlined-filled days
of 1902.
On night of 01 Jan 1902, Mary Schippan and her 13 yo sister Bertha
were asleep in a single room in their cottage at Towitta. Mary
later claimed that she was awakened by an intruder with whom she
grappled in the dark before escaping his clutches and fleeing,
leaving Bertha to her grisly fate.
For more details of the subsequent investigation and
Mary’s trial for the crime, see: GC291E9 “The Towitta
Tragedy”
There were many theories abounding throughout the state as to the
identity of the murderer, and like the Lindy Chamberlain case in
(relatively) recent times, almost everyone had an opinion, one way
or another. Most were convinced that the murderer came from within
the family. Her father, Matthes (Martin) was the main suspect, but
there were many who believed that it was Mary herself.
But ultimately, the murderer was never brought to justice and the
case was never solved. Mary Schippan, the only person who knew
exactly what happened that night maintained her story of the
unknown intruder.
Mary was doomed to a lonely life and she never married. Her
courtship would have been a daunting prospect for any man. The
notoriety of the murder case, the revelations of her
‘liaisons’ with a farm labourer Gustave Nitschke and
the belief by many that she was guilty, meant that she remained a
woman of mystery with few, if any, getting close to her. Whenever
she was seen out and about, she always wore a long, grey outfit
with a flowing skirt, and walked with a slight forward stoop,
keeping her head down. She never spoke to passers-by.
Around 1916 she displayed the first signs of Tuberculosis and was
confined to the Consumptive Home in Adelaide. Here she spent most
of her remaining days before, knowing she had little time left, she
came out to stay with her Mother and brother who were living at
Mount Mary at the time. She passed away on 04 July 1919, five
months short of her 42nd birthday, and was buried here at
Bower.
Sadly, she has lain here in her unmarked grave for the past 92
years.
I thought it appropriate that there should be something to mark her
place in the world after enduring a life gone so wrong after her
sister’s murder. To that end, I have assisted your search by
providing a simple plaque. It took me several weeks to identify her
resting place, and that wouldn’t have even occurred if not
for the assistance and local knowledge of Trevor and Julie from
Matmob.
The Cache.
The initial co-ords will take you to St Peter’s
Lutheran Cemetery at Bower, where the body of Mary Schippan lies.
You will need to locate her simple grave and identify her plot
number (x).
The cache is located nearby at:
34 07.(x + 214) 139 21.(x + 435)
There is a non-trackable, personalised coin in
there for the FTF prize.
Factual information was
gained from archives of “The Advertiser”, and from the
transcribed extracts of the trial found in the book “The
Trial of Mary Schippan” by Peter Donovan.
The location of Mary's grave was confirmed through the records of
the Bower Cemetery Book (St Peters) kindly provided by the Eudunda
Heritage Society.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
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