The Mystery of Finniss Street (1883)

Fast Facts

Type of event	Accident
Street name	Finniss Street
Date occurred or began	1883

Gawler is also home to one of South Australia's weirdest "accidental" mysteries:

the case of Margaret Nichols.

In 1883, a local shoemaker named Thomas Hutchins saw smoke pouring from a cottage. Inside, he found the remains of Mrs. Nichols. While her body was almost entirely consumed by fire, the cotton sheets on the bed right next to her were completely untouched.

At the time, the town buzzed with theories of Spontaneous Human Combustion. Local gossip (spurred by the era's temperance movements) suggested she had "ignited" because she drank too much gin. It was later revealed she likely fell onto a candle while wrapped in heavy woollen clothes, but for decades, Gawler was known as the site of a "supernatural" event.

References

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