Dr Eric J Frazer is a retired Research Scientist formerly with the CSIRO Division of Minerals in Clayton. Over the years, he has developed an interest in postal history and recently published (with Max B Watson) Victorian Post Office Curiosities: A Treasure From the Archives. He is currently the editor of Philately from Australia, the quarterly journal of the Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria Inc.

Recently, while researching the history of his residence in Elwood, leading up to its centenary in 2014, he came across the story of the Mary (Molly) Dean murder in 1930. She also lived in Milton Street, only a few doors away, and had been brutally attacked in an adjoining street. The relevant records held by Public Record Office Victoria, plus the numerous newspaper reports available via Trove, proved to be an absorbing distraction for several months!

Author email: Eric.Frazer@internode.on.net