Life after death: Dark tourism and the future of Snowtown
- Alinta Smith
- Jun 7, 2019
- 1 min read
Before May 20, 1999, most people outside of South Australia would not have heard of Snowtown.
It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of place — a subdued little farming community on the edge of a rural highway.
You wouldn't go there unless you had to, or were passing through on the way to somewhere else, but the town itself was charming enough to draw praise from a visiting journalist in 1923.
Brown fallowed land, golden crop areas and scattered green foliage combine in a beautiful stretch of scenery," the reporter wrote.
Today, however, the mere mention of Snowtown is enough to send shivers down the spine.
It has been 20 years since the discovery of eight bodies in six acid-filled barrels inside the town's former bank vault.
When the crime was discovered, the smell from inside the vault was so pungent that police needed breathing gear.
"It's a point of difference that Snowtown has, compared to anywhere else in Australia. Perhaps we should exploit it.
"But the thing is, how do I talk to my little kids about profiting off it?
"My head says that yes, it's a good idea, but the community as a whole I don't think would like it, and I care more about their welfare."
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