Caroline Klenk

When I first met Matthew he was struggling to come to terms with a broken heart. When I last met him, he told me he was happy and looking forward to a holiday in Queensland. That holiday and his future were denied him by an act of senseless violence. Matthew was a kind, sensitive, gentle man. He was also very good looking. I have never forgotten him but I know he wouldn't recognize in the middle-aged woman I now am the girl who once waved goodbye to him before he set off on that fatal holiday. I'm researching Matthew's life and untimely death. Matthew's father is Dr Leo Michael Clarebrough and his grandfather was Dr John Augustus Clarebrough (1894-1985), who was mentioned in despatches for his devotion to duty and the splendid example he set during WW1. Matthew picked up a hitchhiker in Johnsonville. At the Shire Camping Park in Cann River, this person attacked him with an axe. Matthew's burnt out car was found at Sale, his body near Boolarra and his clothes at Cranbourne. The police found the murder weapon at Tooradin. The man was arrested and found guilty of Matthew's murder. He blamed his actions on an alleged provocative statement Matthew made. This statement was wholly uncharacteristic of the quiet, well-spoken friend I knew. But, even if Matthew did say something crude and insensitive, he didn't deserve to lose his life for it. His murderer's account is profoundly suspect. He emerges from the inquest files as a self-pitying, compulsive liar who blamed anyone and everyone for the mess he'd made of his life. Matthew was in the wrong place at the wrong time with a young man who was a ticking time bomb. What a waste his murder was. What an untold story his life has been.