Taphophile Tragics # 7 - Though flesh may decay, ego remains

Within South Head cemetery, these plots are within spitting distance. Sydneysiders will recall both men readily, one with begrudged admiration, the other with genuine affection.

The mausoleum is the crypt of the Packer family. I have no idea how many billionaires there are in Australia, or even if the Packers are in that category. But they are up there close. The men are media tycoons; the women, handbags! (Sir) Frank Packer was the one who set it all up for his son, Kerry (who is buried on his polo/horse stud in Scone), and the current family head, James. Although James is more into casinos than newspapers. The interesting thing about Sir Frank, was his tilt at winning that blue water classic, the America's Cup back in the early '60s. He over-spent his allowance on two yachts, Gretel I and Gretel II. Which brings us to his wife, Gretel. This was the only image I could find of her, which is instructive. That portrait of Frank is by Judy Cassab, who must have been bedazzled, as he was nowhere near that attractive!

The second marker belongs to (Sir) Roden Cutler. Totally different kettle of fish. He was a war hero: won a Victoria Cross; lost a leg. Both in Syria. Big bloke, impeccable manner, self-effacing. After the war, he became a diplomat, and eventually was appointed as the Governor of NSW, where he remained for 15 years. Did a good job, I reckon. A state governor in Australia is not like a state governor in the USA. Here it is a ceremonial role, and relates back to Australia's foundation as a constitutional monarchy within the British Commonwealth. So lots of pomp and circumstance, but no power. He also is buried with his wife, although she died in her 60s (he in his 80s), quite suddenly from the affects of meningococcal septicaemia. I suspect he was gutted. Could not find a single image of her to show you. She was attractive, but not flouncey.

Both men married again in their aged widowerhood, after very long first marriages.

This is my contribution to the Taphophile Tragics community.

Taphophile Tragics # 5 - Memorial sans body

There is no need to watch where you step at this particular grave site, as there is no body six feet below. Neilsen's body was never found!

Her disappearance, and presumed death, was a cause-celebre in Sydney. Beautiful heiress, publishing a community-based newspaper, disappears in the middle of redevelopment argy-bargy, and labour union 'green bans'. She was last seen alive on 4th July 1975, and the coroner's verdict in 1983 determined her to have been kidnapped and murdered. Her handbag and some personal effects were found strewn along a motor-way in the west of Sydney a few days after her disappearance. But no progress was ever made in bringing her assailants to justice. Police corruption is widely suspected.

This simple white marker is within the Foy Family plot in South Head General Cemetery, Sydney.


Juanita Joan Nielsen (22nd April 1937 – 4th July 1975) aged 38

She was born Juanita Joan Smith in New Lambton, NSW, a suburb of Newcastle. Her parents separated soon after her birth and she was raised by her mother in Killara, a wealthy suburb of Sydney.

Her father, Neil Donovan Smith was an heir to the Mark Foys retail fortune via his parents, James Smith (1862-1921) and his wife, Kathleen Sophie Foy (1870-1919), who was a sister of Mark & Francis Foy.

Juanita was educated at Ravenswood School for Girls, on the upper north shore of Sydney. She worked at Mark Foy's (the family retail empire) from 1953 until she travelled overseas in 1959. In 1962, she married a Dutch seaman named Jorgen Fritz Nielsen in Kobe, Japan, the marriage lasting only a few years. Juanita returned to Sydney in 1965, working at Mark Foys' for another 5 years. In the early 1970s, Nielsen was the publisher of NOW, an alternative newspaper in the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross, which we all presume was her undoing.

This post is my contribution to the Taphophile Tragics community.