The Gentleman Grocer Murder

Frank Newbery

Newcastle businessman Frank Newbery was known as ‘the gentleman grocer’.

Mr Newbery had operated his grocery store Frank’s Ham and Beef in the Newcastle suburb of Cooks Hill for 56 years and was a much-loved figure in the community.

Mr Newbery, a World War II veteran, still operated an old-fashioned cash register and his loyal customers loved the ‘old school’ service and feel of the corner store on Union Street that he had run since 1951. The 87-year-old lived above the store and had worked alongside his wife Elenore, who died in 1989.

Named ‘the best grocer in the world’ in 2001 by the Cooks Hill community when he racked up 50 years in business, Mr Newbery was always dressed in shirt, tie and vest and he retained the charm of the days when the corner store was the centre of the community.

Cooks Hill, an inner-city area of Newcastle, New South Wales had changed a lot over the years but Frank’s Ham and Beef always fit in well with the mix of businesses – mainly pubs, restaurants and a thriving community of small art galleries and artist-run projects.

Customers loved his home-delivery service over the years where ‘old Frank’ would actually pack the groceries away in people’s kitchen cupboards; such was his work ethic and belief in keeping his customers happy.

The community was rocked when Mr Newbery was found on the floor of his store, unconscious and covered in blood on 12 March 2007. He was found near his cash register, which had been raided. Mr Newbery had suffered a head injury and he died later at John Hunter Hospital.

Police believe Mr Newbery served his last customer about 4.10 p.m. Other customers found him collapsed under cardboard boxes about 20 minutes later, which led police to believe the murder was at 4.15 p.m. It wasn’t unusual for the store to be quiet between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and for so many years Mr Newbery had conducted his business with nothing but trust in the people who walked through the door. It took mere minutes for old Frank’s life to be snuffed out in a random act of violence.

The police theory was that his death was the result of a random attack, a robbery that went tragically wrong. There was $1500 found in Mr Newbery’s pocket. A post-mortem revealed that he had suffered up to five blows to the head from a blunt object, which was not found at the murder scene. The blows were brutal, and blood and brain matter were splattered metres away. He had tried to put up a fight – there were wounds to his hands – but Mr Newbery was never going to survive against the brutality of a younger, stronger person.

Separate witnesses told police they had seen a man in the store. The descriptions differed slightly but detectives believe it was the same man; he was described as having long hair and wearing a hat or beanie.

A 2012 coroner’s inquest ruled that no-one had been identified as a suspect in the murder.

There is still a $100 000 reward being offered by the NSW Government to help solve Mr Newbery’s murder.

For such a well-loved man and stalwart of the community, the manner of his death was most cruel and brutal and has baffled police despite thousands of hours of investigations.

Anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of Frank Newbery’s killer should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at http://crimestoppers.com.au.