Walter Henry Scutts 1924-2001

[Scutts, Walter Henry :Service Number - NX179509. Date of birth:23 Jul 1924. Place of birth:Sydney, NSW. Place of enlistment :Parkes, NSW. Next of Kin :Griffin, Christina. Contents date range 1939-1948.] [Tuesday 8 February 1949 - SCUTTS-KNOWLES - The Engagement is announced of Betty only daughter of Mrs H Knowles of Sydney and Mr E Knowles of Southport to Wally only son of Mrs C Griffen of Canberra and the late Mr H A Scutts of Dulwich Hill.] [Sunday Mail 1999 Feb 07 p52 - This story evolved after Brisbane residents Henry and Lola Hargreave wrote to The Sunday Mail's consumer affairs section "The Fixer" on 18 January 1999 seeking help to find 20 bars of silver bullion which had purchased for $12,900. The couple had certificates showing the bars were purchased in 1993 and 1994 from the Perth Bullion Exchange, Sydney a "subsidiary" of Elsass Finance Company and supposedly held in safe keeping by that business at its premises in Martin Place, Sydney. However, when the Hargreaves went to collect their bullion in mid-1998 the business had vanished and its telephone numbers were disconnected. While searching for Elsass Finance Company, it was noticed that there were two other companies with the name Elsass in their title. Returning to the Telstra White Pages web site, a listing was discovered for a person of that name in a Sydney suburb. A call to the number was answered by a woman. She was vague but said that a member of her family who had since died once owned Elsass Finance Company, however he had sold it about 18 years ago to a Mr Walter Henry Scutts. But another search of the Telstra s White Pages Internet directory in every part of Australia for a Scutts with the relevant initials drew a blank, as did searches of the New South Wales and Queensland electoral rolls. Several of those dealers were telephoned. One finally recalled Mr Scutts. He said the business had disappeared in what he thought was mid to late 1996. On 25 March the writer returned to the web and checked the archives at the Australasian Legal Information Institute, searching for "Scutts". Bingo! A mystery was solved and the small story, below left, resulted. As it turned out, there had been a Federal Court hearing on 25 February 1999 and another on 11 March involving none other than Walter Henry Scutts, his bullion business and bankruptcy. Court records subsequently downloaded from the web revealed that Mr Scutts had been declared bankrupt on 20 November 1996 owing nearly $1.4 million after trading successfully for the previous 18 years as the Perth Bullion Exchange, Sydney. The online court transcripts showed that when trustees took possession of Mr Scutts assets they found giftware, jewelry, fixtures and fittings, but no bullion. His total assets were listed as close to $751,000, most of which was available for distribution to creditors. From there it was relatively easy to contact solicitors involved in the case and thence the trustee. The information was passed to Mrs Hargreave. She later telephoned to say the trustee had accepted her right to be listed as a creditor and she and her husband would hopefully receive nearly 50 cents in the dollar, or close to $6,500 from their $13,000 investment.] [W H S 76yr., bur:Woronora, Ashes Taken.]