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| William Goodwin Geddes, Junior |
| 15 Feb 1856, Charlotte St, Brisbane, Qld 10 Sep 1884, St Matthew's, Guildford, WA 22 Oct 1894, Parkside, SA Church of England Surveyor Alice Maude Rewell William Francis Geddes Edith May Geddes Lilley Gold Medal (Dux), Brisbane Grammar School, 1871 Louis Vincent Brenon, Lewis Sydney Brennon, Lord Vincent Gaurd |
| Born: Married: Died: Religion: Occupation: Wife: Children: Awards: Aliases: |
| Published references to Goodwin Geddes |
| The Geddes Mystery, by Brian Jones, Spectrum Publications,2002 The Geddes Mystery tells the true story of Queensland pioneer William Geddes, the 'Lord of Caboolture', and the exploits of his golden boy, Goodwin Geddes - dux of Brisbane Grammar School and one of the finest surveyors in the land. After the disappearance of 21- year-old Goodwin in 1877 darkness engulfed the Geddes family. A life insurance claim added controversy to grief with rumours of fraud and conspiracy. In the search for truth a web of intrigue was spun in almost every colony in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Fiji and San Francisco, involving bungled police operations, political interference and betrayal at Parliament House. Edith's Memoirs, 1976 Alice (my mother) worked at the Govt. Printing Office as a type setter, and it was there she met my father William (Goodwin Breen) an assumed name, his real name was Geddes. They married and went to S. Australia to make their home, my father was a surveyor by trade, and they both lived very happily and it was at Parkside that my brother Frank and I (Edith) were born, but when I was only three month's old, my mother noticed that my father was becoming very absent minded and not concentrating on his work, so she called in a specialist who said he thought my father had previously had brain damage at some time, and he would gradually get worse and the Dr. advised my mother to take her children back to WA to her father and he would arrange for my father to be transferred to the Adelaide hospital, mother knew nothing of my father's early home life and he would never discuss it, however, just a few weeks before he died, he remembered his home address, which the Dr. forwarded it on, and so his mother came to the hospital just in time to see him a few days before he died but his family made no contact with my mother and so the link was ended. The Brisbane Courier, Wednesday, 1 March 1871 As regards the Lilley Gold Medal, open to the whole school, the winner succeeded in gaining 78 per cent of the marks allotted for weekly diligence and good conduct, and for the weekly and half-yearly examinations for his form... For diligence, progress, and good conduct, during the year 1870. Upper and Lower Schools.-- Geddes (Lilley gold medal) The Brisbane Courier, 30 Nov 1877 We regret to learn that Mr. W. Goodwin Geddes, jun., met his death yesterday by drowning in King John's Creek, a tributary of the Caboolture River. We learn that the deceased gentleman was recovering from a fall, and drove down with his brother to the beach on Wednesday (28th November) for a change. Yesterday morning both went to bathe in the creek, which is about 15ft. deep, and at the same time running strongly out. His brother, who was only a short distance away, suddenly heard the deceased call out, and on turning round found he had sunk. He dived several times unsuccessfully. A vigorous search has been made, but the body has not yet been recovered. Mr Geddes was a young man of great promise, and, it is supposed, was suddenly taken with cramp, and sank in consequence. The Brisbane Courier,8 Dec 1877 DEATH. GEDDES. Drowned on the 29th November, when bathing in King John's Creek, William Goodwin Geddes, jun., surveyor, Darling Down's district, second son of W. G. Geddes, Caboolture, aged 21 years and 9 months. He is much regretted by all who knew him. The West Australian, Thursday March 27, 1884 Louis Vincent Brenon, charged with loitering about the Bank of New South Wales for an unlawful purpose, was again brought up on remand yesterday, and committed for trial. Brisbane Daily Telegraph, Monday 9 Sept 1889 It will be remembered by old residents that in 1877 a young Surveyor named W. G. Geddes, jun., was drowned in the Caboolture River. The Telegraph of a few days later states that in company with this brother Henry he was bathing near the mouth of the Caboolture River and that William Goodwin Geddes Jun. suddenly disappeared. The peculiar feature is that the body was never found. Sunday Mail (Adelaide), 20 May 1956 Goodwin Geddes takes a dive: Our Strange Past, by George Blaikie According to your taste, this can be either a very sad or a plumb crazy story. It concerns one Mr Goodwin Geddes, a clever young man who never did anything wrong until, one day, he dived into a Queensland creek and disappeared. You will get a pretty fair idea how smart young Goodwin was if I mention that, as a lad, he was gold medallist at the Brisbane Grammar School. At that school he was also a top athlete and a champion swimmer. Leaving school, he chose surveying as his profession and was making a brilliant success of that field when he took the dive I mentioned earlier. Scandals in Australia's Strange Past, by George Blaikie, 1963 Although no body was recovered, an inquest was held. The coroner concluded that Goodwin had been accidentally drowned, and everyone agreed except the A.M.P. Society, which held it to be a little strange that a champion swimmer could just dive into a relatively safe watering spot and vanish without, it seemed, leaving a corpse behind. The Sun, Weekend Extra, Stories of Australia's History, Thu 2 December, 1976 One of the young men considered to be most likely to succeed in Queensland in 1877 was Mr Goodwin Geddes of Caboolture. Goodwin at 21 had everything going for him. These days he would have been considered a good bet to win a Rhodes Scholarship. A History of the AMP, Professor Geoffrey Blainey,1999 Never did the AMP suffer more heart-burning than that experienced after one of its Queensland members disappeared. William Goodwin Geddes Junior vanished on the fringe of the Pacific Ocean...It was the most sensational case in the early history of the Society. |
| William Goodwin Geddes from Caboolture, Queensland. Read the exciting mystery of his disappearnce and the search by the AMP in The Geddes Mystery, by Brian Jones, a Spectrum Publication |
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