“Instrument maker with ability and experience”…

For me, searching small ads in Trove is like perfidiously picking people’s past pockets: so much of their life is embedded in their ads, by which I mean not just their property but their hopes and their dreams too. Back in 2022, I looked at Carl Webb’s small ads, the last of which seems to have appeared on 31st May 1947 (“TOOLS. Hand, Engineer’s, Carpenter’s chance. Before 11. Flat 2, 63 Bromby st, South Yarra“).

According to the divorce paperwork, Dorothy Jean had not seen Carl since September 1946, and she believed that he had left the Bromby Street flat at some time during April 1947. She thought he had been working for a machine shop in Prahran [Red Point Tool Co.], a job which he had left by the time of the 1951 divorce paperwork (according to her solicitor).

Hence, I’ve been searching 1947-1948 Australian newspapers in Trove for the rest of his small ad footprint. Of course, I’m not expecting anything as straightforward as “hey, it’s me, ya boi Carl Webb, here I am in Riverina“: but maybe we can – with a bit of keyword cunning – find something there.

I’ve used the following as his general profile (please feel free to disagree with any or indeed all of it):

• Webb was an electrical engineer, an electrician, and an instrument maker (which was highly skilled)
• Webb was far from well off, and was trying to make a living while staying well off his wife’s radar
• I also believe that Webb felt somewhat cheated by Fate, i.e. how come he was smarter than the average bear but never got a lucky break?

To my mind, this really ought to make him just the kind of person who would try to hustle his way through that part of his life via the small ads.

“Instrument maker with ability and experience”

I started by searching for small ads where an instrument maker was looking for a job. I also started with the Adelaide Advertiser, because we know that he was in Adelaide at least twice. I immediately found two pairs of ads:

• Fri 17 Jan 1947 and Sat 18 Jan 1947
  • INSTRUMENT maker with ability and experience desires position, research or scientific work preferred. V358. Advertiser.
• Wed 26 Feb 1947 and Sat 1 Mar 1947
  • INSTRUMENT-MAKER OF ABILITY AND EXPERIENCE DESIRES POSITION INVOLVING RESEARCH OR OTHER HIGH CLASS WORK. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION APPLY P275. ADVERTISER

However, cross-referencing the two box numbers (V358 and P275) yielded one other small ad, wedged tightly between the second pair:

• Fri 28 Feb 1947
  • EX-SERVICEMAN, two years experience N.T. would like opportunity returning N.T. Driving, attending disposals sales, or other capacity. P275. Advertiser

If this was true, it surely wasn’t Carl Webb: but might it have been a lie? I did find one similar ad in Melbourne:

• Sat 17 May 1947
  • INSTRUMENTS.
  • EX-R.A.A.F. INSTRUMENT MAKER SEEKS EMPLOYMENT where he can apply his knowledge and experience in Instrument Making and Repairs, Including Cameras.
  • N.R.A., O.P.O. BOX 770G.

Cross-referencing “770G” yielded these two small ads from a month later, so perhaps this particular Melbourne instrument maker found the job he wanted, but in Sydney:

• Sat 21 Jun 1947
  • EXCHANGE Melbourne-Sydney. Modern 2 bedroom House, all convs, Camberwell, for similar, 3 bedrooms, Sydney. Rental only. Write Transfer. G.P.O. BOX 770G. Melb.
• Sat 28 Jun 1947
  • EXCHANGE. – Melbourne – Sydnev. – Attractive Modem Home. Camberwell, in exchange similar, Sydney, rental basis, owner’s consent. Transfer. G.P.O. Box 770G. Melb.

It seems that Trove led me to someone in an almost identical situation (same skills, same time, same place), albeit on the other side of the Yarra. Was he Carl Webb? Probably not. But a good try, nonetheless.

Some not so good matches

Here’s the next instrument maker I found, this time in Sydney:

• Wed 5 Nov 1947
  • INSTRUMENT MAKER will do Contract Work or any Repairs Auto Aero Ship etc No 7501 Herald

This lead went nowhere, alas. So here’s the next one:

• Sat 6 Mar 1948
  • ENGINEER seeks position, 6 years’ experience production, control, and planning metal pressings and assemblies, holder of engineering diploma and competent tool and instrument maker. B247. Argus.

Nope. And the next (in the Queensland Courier-Mail):

• Thu 3 Jun 1948
  • SCIENTIFIC instrument maker, 17 years’ exper., including study U.S.A., returned serviceman, requires posn. respon. Apply CT94, C-Mail.

Still nope. And the next:

• Wed 21 Jul 1948
  • Engineer and Instrument Maker requires work for small well-equipped workshop. Machining (turning and drilling) and fitting of small precision parts; also quantities of small component parts. 84385. Age.

The reference doesn’t appear to link to any other ads, so nope once again (probably).

• Mon 23 Aug 1948 and Mon 30 Aug 1948
  • Instrument Maker, good with file, and graver, fine work. 197 Bay-st, N Brighton

Doesn’t sound like our man. Next!

• Mon 6 Sep 1948
  • OPTICAL Instrument Maker, returned soldier, requires perm. position, several yrs.’ exper. on all types optical & service instruments. Excel. refs. G599 Argus.

Nope. And we’re done (finally).

Final thoughts

Note that I was only able to do this because “instrument maker” was a fairly reasonable search term: “electrical engineer” yields far too many. So I’m not sure what to grind through next.

The one thing I did think was interesting was that I don’t recall anyone trawling Trove for lead-industry-related job openings in the month prior to the Somerton Man’s death, and the lead signature in his hair still strikes me as a bit of a clue that has never really given us anything beyond idle speculation. Maybe that’s something to aim for next.