THE MAN BEHIND THE MYSTERY
STORY: PAULA HULBURT
T
he detritus of a long day was
spread out around them; books
lay open and paper scattered across the
table as the museum lights shone down.
Professor Adrian Schubert put down his
pen and leaned back in his chair briefly
before sliding his laptop toward him.
Fingers clacked quickly over the keys as
he searched for the last will and testament
of one Thomas Reeves, the owner of the
Calcutta shipyard where the Edwin Fox
was built.
Sitting opposite, friend and colleague
Associate Professor Boyd Cothran began
to gather up files, his thoughts turning
to next day’s tasks. In Marlborough to
research for a new book, the pair, from
York University in Toronto, had no idea
they were about to make history.
“Once I found the will, I called Boyd
over and we both started following the
leads. When we arrived at the answer, we
just stood there for a moment, as if we
couldn’t believe what we had done.
“Then it sank in and we started jumping
up and down and doing high fives.
“Later we decided not to reveal it until
the end of our talk at the Marlborough
Museum two days later. It was an
exhilarating moment and it was the kind
moments that we as historians live for:
solving a mystery by lining up evidence
from historical documents,” says Adrian.
For centuries, the identity of the man
whose name graced the historic ship
sitting in dry dock in Picton remained
unknown. Rumours were rife and claims
from families declaring links to Edwin
Fox came in from across the globe- but
nothing could be proven.
SUPPLIED
Professor Adrian Schubert and Associate Professor
Boyd Cothran solved a centuries-old mystery.
8
September 2019
For Adrian, whose work is published in
both English and Spanish, and who was
named Commander of the Order of Civil
Merit (Comendador de la Orden de Mérito
Civil) by King Juan Carlos of Spain, the
challenge was exciting.