344 - True Crime SA Style

True crime - why is there such a hunger for it? I have no idea but I suspect tonight's guests will. Dr Samantha Battams returns to the podcast to talk about her latest book, The Rhynie Poisoning Case, The true crimes of Alexander Newland Lee, and Alison Oborn from Adelaide Haunted Horizons will be here to lend her experience about all things Old Adelaide Gaol and ghosts. When this episode goes live, you should be finding your show notes on our brand new website, which has been put together by Tom Bussenschutt from Talked About Marketing. Thank you, Tom. The SA Drink Of The Week this week is a KI Spirits Gin. And in the Musical Pilgrimage, we finish off with Leave A Letter by Kaurna Cronin. You can navigate episodes using chapter markers in your podcast app. Not a fan of wine? You can click next to jump to the next chapter in the show. We're here to serve! 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Oh, and here's our index of all episode in one concise page Running Sheet: True Crime SA style 00:00:00 Intro Introduction to the show. 00:04:17 SA Drink Of The Week This week's SA Drink Of The Week is a KI Spirits Gin. 00:09:48 Dr Samantha Battams and Alison Oborn On the 15th of July 1920, Alexander Newland Lee was hanged by the neck until death at what is now called the Old Adelaide Gaol. It was South Australia's 53rd execution and it promted calls to end capital punishment. Lee was 31 years of age and the poisonings he was accused of carrying out, bore an uncanny similarity to those carried out by his aunty, Martha Needle, in Melbourne, which we discussed with Dr Samantha Battams when she released her book, The Secret Art Of Poisoning, back in 2019 on episode 279. Tonight, we are focussing on Lee because Samantha has now released a book about his crimes and trial, The Rhynie Poisoning Case, The true crimes of Alexander Newland Lee. Welcome to the podcast for your third time. And we're also joined by a former guest of the podcast, Alison Oborn from Adelaide Haunted Horizons, because not only has she read Samatha's book, but she's an author in her own right (Ghosts Of The Past - Adelaide Gaol Ghosts), conducts ghost tours in Old Adelaide Gaol, and is world renowned for her research and storytelling about dark crimes in South Australia. Welcome back, Alison. Samantha, let's start at the beginning and get an overview of the Alexander Newland Lee story. We know it took place in Rhynie, a small town about an hour north of Adelaide before you get to Auburn and Clare. Alison, what are the striking passages that stood out for you? How similar are the Lee poisonings to the Martha Needle poisonings - and do you think Martha inspired Alexander? How much ambiguity was there at the time about his guilt? I ask this because reflecting on this story in 2022, we're more aware than ever that every week in Australia, one woman is murdered by her parter or ex-partner. Without that knowledge, you're tempted to say, maybe this was an accident. How did you get so many slabs of narrative between characters, especially Lee and his love, Dolly, and the publican and his wife? I want to turn to the focus on the trial and then his time in Adelaide Gaol. What were the notable events of the trial? Alison, what would life have been like in Adelaide Gaol for people like Lee? Who are some of the characters who've also been on death row at Adelaide Gaol? Did Lee's hanging impact capital punishment in SA? If so, why, how? What should the local tourism body in Rhynie do with a book like yours? Or, indeed, other towns? On one hand, it's historical and people are drawn to "true crime" but on the other hand, is it disrespectful to the victims? What other stories are yet to be told? And might you two collaborate? 01:04:36 Musical Pilgrimage In the musical pilgrimage, we have Leave a Letter by Kaurna Cronin, from his Feathers album. This is the perfect song to end this episode, particularly with the mournful lyrics about thinking of lost love after death: When I dieGo leave a letter in my graveThat tells me all you never told meAnd ill write back one daySupport the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.