On 1 December 1915 women joined the South Australian Police Force for the first time. Community groups pressured the government as they were concerned police care for women with husbands and partners away fighting in Europe was inadequate. The police women were paid the same wage as men and were given the same authority.
In December 1948, Officer Kathleen ‘Kitty’ Wheeler and a colleague are patrolling the beaches when they notice a well-dressed male sitting on the sand, leaning against the sea wall. They assume he’s sleeping off a night on the town. They didn’t check whether he was alive or dead, nor attempt to move him on. The well-dressed male became known as the Somerton Man and the women missed out being an important footnote in the history of Australia.
The Somerton Man had no ID on him and the labels on his clothing had been cut off. Blood is found in his stomach, his kidneys are congested and his spleen is three times its normal size. In all likelihood, he had been poisoned. However, the coroner is not able to identify the toxin.
Kitty is intrigued and manages to become part of the team investigating the death of the Somerton Man. We also learn about her private life and the duties that are the responsibilities of the women police. She is a dedicated police officer but at 29 years of age must decide whether she wants a career, or marriage and a family with Peter, the man in her life. In 1940s Australia she cannot have both.
The Woman Who Knew Too Little, a novel based on a true story, is easy to read, humorous and enlightening.
Reviewed by Clive Hodges
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Olivia Wearne is a screenwriter and novelist based in Ballarat, Victoria. She was awarded the Film Victoria First Feature Writer’s Fund for her screenplay Crater Lake and has had numerous short films successfully produced and screened at major festivals. She has also received several grants from Film Victoria and Screen Australia for her work. Olivia currently has two feature-length screenplays in production development.
The Grand Tour is her first novel, published through HQ/HarperCollins in December 2020. It is a warm, funny, sharply observed story about aging disgracefully and loving the one you’re with.
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