The Beaumont’s were the quintessential Aussie family. By 1966, 41-year-old Jim Beaumont had traded driving taxis for a new career in sales. He worked as a travelling salesman for a linen company while his wife, 39-year-old Nancy, stayed home to take care of their three young children.

Nine-year-old Jane Beaumont was wise beyond her years, incredibly well-spoken and intelligent. Seven-year-old Arnna Beaumont was the more extroverted of her siblings, with a wild imagination that could keep her entertained for hours.

The baby of the family, four-year-old Grant Beaumont Junior, was a little gentleman who idolised his father.

Like a majority of Aussie kids in the early 1960’s, the Beaumont siblings enjoyed a great amount of independence. The quiet, close-knit suburbs of Adelaide were carefree and safe, where everybody knew their neighbours and looked out for one another.

Spending time inside was discouraged, and parents typically sent their children outdoors alone to play for hours on end, urging them to return home before the streetlights flickered on at night. In the hot Australian summer, suburban streets, backyards, parks and beaches filled with local children who would gather to play games, sports, ride their bikes, and make new friends, scrounging up enough loose change to buy ice-creams, hot chips, mixed lollies, and soft drinks. These were the days before television sets were commonplace, before the hole in the ozone layer presented sun exposure threats and before parents felt the prickling omnipresence of stranger danger…