Towitta, South Australia

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Towitta
South Australia
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Towitta
Coordinates 34°31′48″S139°15′18″E / 34.53°S 139.255°E / -34.53; 139.255 Coordinates: 34°31′48″S139°15′18″E / 34.53°S 139.255°E / -34.53; 139.255
Established1 June 1876 [1]
Postcode(s) 5353
Location8 km (5 mi) northwest of Sedan
LGA(s) Mid Murray Council
State electorate(s) Chaffey
Federal Division(s) Barker
Localities around Towitta:
Truro
Keyneton Towitta
Sedan
Footnotes [2]

Towitta is a locality in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia at the foot of the eastern side of the Mount Lofty Ranges. It is a rural community dominated by growing cereal grain crops. Its name is taken from Tewitty, the native name of a permanent spring nearby. [2] The town was surveyed by H.C. Talbot in March 1876, and the Towitta public school was open from 1880 to 1942. [3]

The Murray Mallee is the grain-growing and sheep-farming area of South Australia bounded to the north and west by the Murray River, to the east by the Victorian border, and extending about 50 km south of the Mallee Highway.

South Australia State of Australia

South Australia is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres (379,725 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, and fifth largest by population. It has a total of 1.7 million people, and its population is the second most highly centralised in Australia, after Western Australia, with more than 77 percent of South Australians living in the capital, Adelaide, or its environs. Other population centres in the state are relatively small; Mount Gambier, the second largest centre, has a population of 28,684.

Mount Lofty Ranges mountain in Australia

The Mount Lofty Ranges are the range of mountains just to the east of Adelaide in the Australian state of South Australia.

The murder of Bertha Schippan in January 1902 occurred on a farm to the north of the township of Towitta. Her sister Mary was later acquitted in Adelaide of the murder, which has never been officially solved. [4] In 1984, the ABC produced a television film titled The Schippan Mystery covering the case.

Murder of Bertha Schippan

The murder of Johanne Elizabeth "Bertha" Schippan is an unresolved Australian murder. The victim, the youngest child in a large Wendish family, resided in the South Australian town of Towitta, located approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Sedan. She was murdered at the age of 13 on the night of 1 January 1902. Her 24-year-old sister, Maria “Mary” Auguste, was prosecuted for the crime, but was eventually acquitted. Despite various theories, the case remains unsolved and continues to attract media attention.

The Schippan Mystery is a 1984 Australian television film about the murder of Bertha Schippan in 1902. Directed by Di Drew, it was last of four telemovies called Verdict produced by the ABC dramatising real cases. It is the only one of the four cases set outside of New South Wales.

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January 1902 month of 1902

The following events occurred in January 1902:

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References

  1. Musgrave Jnr., A. (1 June 1876). "Untitled proclamation re the Town of Towitta" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 1048. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Placename Details: Towitta (LOCB)". Property Location Browser Report. Government of South Australia. 4 March 2010. SA0010046. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  3. "School = Towitta - Teachers listed by year". Teachers. University of South Australia . Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  4. Royal, Simon (19 February 2017). "'Sensational' Towitta murder mystery of 1902 keeping residents guessing to this day" . Retrieved 25 September 2018.