Doubt murders will be solved
Landscape snapper finds solace in nature
Life through a lens has proved cathartic for Innisfail’s Hans Schmidt (above).
More than half a century after the brutal crime rocked Australia, Mr Schmidt accepts his sibling’s murderer might never be brought to justice.
On January 11, 1965, his older sister Marianne and her friend, Christine Sharrock, were killed at Wanda Beach near Sydney. The teenagers’ bodies were found in sand hills the following day.
Despite countless theories and leads over the past five decades, the “Wanda Beach Murders” remains one of Australia’s most infamous unsolved cases.
LIFE through a lens has proved cathartic for Innisfail’s Hans Schmidt.
More than half a century after the brutal crime rocked Australia, Mr Schmidt accepts his sibling’s murderer might never be brought to justice.
On January 11, 1965, his older sister Marianne and her friend, Christine Sharrock, were killed at Wanda Beach near Sydney.
The teenagers’ bodies were found in sand hills the following day.
Despite countless theories and leads over the past five decades, the “Wanda Beach Murders” remains one of Australia’s most infamous unsolved cases.
“Find the guy and I’ll pull the trapdoor myself,” said Mr Schmidt, who was just 13 at the time. “I don’t believe they will solve the crime, it has been too long now.
“But obviously some people know the perpetrator because you’re not going to keep this a secret to that extent.”
The murders came just months after his father Helmut died of cancer.
Mr Schmidt recalled the moment he told his mother Elizabeth, who was in hospital with hepatitis, that Marianne and Christine had not returned from their outing to the beach.
“I went in to tell her that the girls didn’t come home, she just said ‘they’re gone’,” the 65year-old said.
“I’ve seen the police photos and am fully aware what they did to the bodies. You just go with the flow, there was no counselling back then.”
Life has been far from simple since Mr Schmidt moved to Cairns with his wife Kerry in 1986.
He opened an ink cartridge business in 1995 after almost 30 years as a public servant.
The Anderson St store flourished until, like many small operations, it fell on hard times before closing for good last year.
Mr Schmidt said he was now effectively bankrupt.
“The fact that we were going for 20 years showed that we could handle it,” he said.
“But things happened and the business went bust.”
Mr Schmidt has also tackled several health problems, including throat cancer in 2008.
But, accustomed to rolling with the punches, he used this time to hone his photography skills.
“I had to undergo six weeks of daily radiation treatment in Townsville,” he said.
“But I only had half an hour at the hospital, so for the rest of the time I took photos.
“It got me away from everything and, in that respect, was a heck of an outlet.”
With a passion for capturing beautiful Far North landscapes, he is still an avid photographer and longstanding member of the Cairns Photographic Society.
Mr Schmidt now lives in Innisfail, where he is a carer for his 91-year-old father-in-law.
The father of three said he “learnt to live” with the horrific events of January 1965.
Despite his many setbacks, Mr Schmidt looks back on life with few regrets – apart from the landscape photos that could have been.
“I was doing installation work on a radio tower at Mount Canobolas, near Orange in New South Wales,” Mr Schmidt said.
“I remember clearly the clouds opening up and this gorgeous light beam shining through.
“I can still see it and regret not having a camera with me.”