THE LADY OF THE SWAMP

tales of the of UNEXPLAINED What happened to lonely Margaret Clement?

At first, they thought she’d fallen into the swamp surrounding her house and drowned – or gone into it deliberately.

But when police in South Gippsland, Australia, had the swamp drained in May 1952, there was no trace of Margaret Clement, 71.

The Lady of the Swamp had vanished.

She’d lived outside the town of Tarwin Lower for the past 45 years, since she and her sister Jeanie had bought Tullaree mansion in 1907. In the middle of picturesque swampland, it had 20 rooms.

Margaret and Jeanie were in their 20s, wealthy. Their father had come from Scotland to seek his fortune. Mining investments made him a very rich man and, when he died in 1890, his fortune was divided between his five children.

Margaret and Jeanie used their share to travel to Europe, and the Far East. And to buy Tullaree together.

The sisters had 11 staff, new cars, fine horses. But running Tullaree was costly – especially keeping the swamp at bay. Soon, the sisters were living beyond their means… and in debt. Margaret and Jeanie let their staff go.

The muddy swamp water crept towards the house. But the sisters hadn’t the funds to prevent it.

Once, they’d lived like queens. Now, they had no electricity, no water and could only afford tinned food. Their only comfort was each other, and their beloved dog Dingo.

They stopped going out. In 1950, Jeanie died, aged 71. Margaret remained at Tullaree with Dingo, reading her favourite murder mysteries and detective stories.

Only, two years later, in March 1952, Margaret woke one morning to find Dingo dead, his throat cut. She’d no idea who’d done it – or why.

Then, two months on, she vanished. At first, it was thought she’d fallen into the swamp, or taken her life.

But Margaret never left the house without her walking stick, which was found in the house.

When no body was found, police began to think they were dealing with a murder. Last to see Margaret alive was neighbour Stanley Livingstone, to whom she’d agreed to sell Tullaree for just £3,000.

Police were suspicious that he and his wife Esme had pressured the elderly Margaret into selling. But the couple pointed out part of the sale agreement was that they build her a cottage in which to live.

Then there was Margaret’s nephew Clement Carnaghan. He had plans for the Tullaree land and believed an old family story about hidden gold…

But, after her death, Clement learned she’d practically given the property to Livingstone. He’d assumed he’d be left it.

When Clement tried to contest the sale, the court

Once, the sisters had lived like queens…

ruled against him. In 1954, Margaret still hadn’t been found, alive or otherwise, and was declared dead. At once, the Livingstones sold Tullaree. For £67,000 – a huge profit.

There was no evidence against them, but still people wondered…how had they convinced Margaret to sell her home so cheaply? Had they killed her to secure the windfall?

There was no evidence against Clement Carnaghan, either. But still...had he killed his aunt to get his hands on Tullaree, without knowing she hadn’t left it to him in her will?

Or had Margaret killed herself in such a way her body was never found. She was a keen reader of mystery stories, after all. Did she want her own death to be a mystery?

Or did she decide to use her passing as a way of getting her meddling nephew and neighbour into trouble?

‘We were happy in our loneliness,’ Margaret said of her time living with Jeanie. ‘We bothered nobody and nobody bothered us. But I am alone now. Except for Dingo.’

Margaret lived by herself for the last two years of her life and died alone, too, perhaps at the hands of someone who could profit from her death.

To this day, no-one knows who that someone could be.

In life, Margaret Clement loved murder mysteries – in death, she became one.