Ballarat John Doe was a man whose body was found in his room at Reid's Coffee Palace in Ballarat. He was registered under the name "Mr. Gander"; however, it may have been incorrectly recorded.
Case[]
On Friday, 18 June 1926, the decedent arrived in Ballarat on the 8 PM train from Melbourne and paid for a room at Reid's Coffee Palace. He stated that he would be staying until Monday, 21 June. When asked for his name for the register, the manager could not catch his response, so his name was entered in the register as "Gander", as it was expected that his name would be learnt later, and several people were booking in at the time.
On Saturday, 19 June, at around 12 PM, a housemaid was checking rooms and found the decedent still in bed. He appeared to be asleep, so the housemaid left. Later that day, at around 3:30 PM, the housemaid checked again and found him still in bed. On further inspection, she noticed that he was dead.
Police were then notified. Despite an initial police investigation, a coroner's inquest held in Ballarat on 22 June 1926 could not identify the deceased. However, they determined the cause of death as valvular disease of the heart.
Characteristics[]
- Slight build.
- Sallow complexion.
- Prominent nose, ears and eyebrows.
- Grey eyes.
- Hair turning grey.
- Hair well back off forehead.
- Recently clean-shaven.
- Eleven teeth missing in the upper jaw, six missing in the lower jaw.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Flannel shirt.
- Flannel underpants.
- Pajama coat and trousers.
- New fiber suitcase.
- Blue twill suit with labels reading: Lowes Ltd., Sydney.
- Gabardine overcoat.
- Two extra pairs of trousers. Buttons branded: P. Garran, Dalby.
- Vest.
- Coat.
- Underclothing.
- Gray cardigan jacket.
- Soft collar.
- Knitted tie.
- White shirt with thin black stripe.
- Dark gray felt hat.
- Dark green woolen socks.
- Black boots.
- Silver English lever watch.
- £29-11-6 in money, including two £10 notes.
- Asthma prescription written on scrap of paper.
- Two packets of asthma powder.
- Bottle of aspirin tablets.
- Pipe.
- Reference Bible.