Gwenneth went to her local pub for a drink. Police found her body nine days later

The case of a mother-of-two who was found dead in bushland in Balga is now fifty years old, and her family want closure. AdvertisementCold case Gwenneth went to her local pub for a drink. Police found her body nine days laterBy Hannah MurphyFebruary 16, 2026SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAAMalthouse Tavern was heaving when a bartender picked up the phone to call a taxi for a drunk woman at the bar.The woman had been sitting at the Balga pub for most of the afternoon drinking and chatting to other patrons, but as midnight approached it was clear she’d had a bit too much.The Malthouse Tavern was known as one of the city’s ‘roughest pubs’ back in the 1970s.State Library of WAIt was the night before the WA Football League’s grand final, the crowd was restless and scattered, and a fight had broken out in the nearby car park as a barman ushered the woman out the front door.She tottered into the car park with two beer bottles in a brown paper bag clutched in her hands to wait for her lift.Police have never been able to say for certain if she got into a taxi that night. But they can say Gwenneth Graham’s body turned up nine days later.50 years with no answersAdvertisementThe murder of Gwen Graham has remained unsolved for more than 50 years, and currently sits with WA Police’s cold case unit.Gwenneth Graham.Crime StoppersThe case involved canvassing 4000 people, checking hundreds of cars and interviewing dozens of people of interest, but no one has ever been charged over the 46-year-old’s murder.There are hopes a new $1 million reward could be the missing piece that finally helps detectives solve her death.“Police continue to believe that someone in the community knows what happened, and it is time for that information to be shared,” a WA police spokesperson said.“Her death was a devastating act of violence, and those responsible have never been held to account.”A funny, quick and modern womanAdvertisementGraham had two children before she was murdered.She had been married a total of three times, and her eldest son, Steven, was from a relationship with motorcycle mechanic Bill.Steven Wrightson at his home in Mandurah.Hannah Murphy“She was loving,” said Steven Wrightson, now 77 years old.“She made me feel really loved.”Wrightson has memories of sitting around with his mother while his father was at work, listening to their radio to pass the time.He remembers her as warm, funny and charming – but also much more than a mother.AdvertisementRecords indicate when Graham – then named Gwen Murray — lied about her age to join the Australian Army in an administrative role.A photo of Steven Wrightson’s mother and his father sits on his mantlepiece, along with the family’s German Shepherd Jack.Hannah MurphyShe was also always on the move. She lived in Perth’s inner and outer suburbs, and even resided in the regional town of Geraldton for some time.Wrightson, who strongly resembles his mother, said he was just six years old when his parents broke up, and he was forced to mainly stay in touch with her through letters and the occasional run-in on the streets of Perth.He recalls visiting her in her new home in Balga for lunch at her state housing home.“She had a nice little place,” Steven said.“She kept a nice, very, very clean house, and she was a good cook.Advertisement“That was the last time I saw her until I found out about what happened.”Bush in the cityBack in 1974, Balga was a patchwork of state housing, campsites, swamp, dirt tracks and bushland.Children roamed freely, and wild horses and dogs would come and go as they pleased. The local pub was a central meeting point, as was the Balga Bazaar. One local remembered Balga as a typical pit stop for people moving in from the outback to the city.A view from a property in Balga, which was mostly bushland in the 1970s.Allan Maddox“The street we lived in – we knew the neighbours on both sides, and we knew the people up the street. I was always outside running around looking for something to shoot with my brother,” he told this masthead.“We played cricket, had running races, and all sorts out on the streets … it was a very new area, and it was just being established.Advertisement“It was all bush and dirt. But, paradise for a kid.”Another remembered the sense of safety the suburb had for local kids.“Back in the 70s, everyone knew everyone. I knew everyone on my street … I felt very safe there and I loved it. We were surrounded by bush.”New to the neighbourhoodGraham was relatively new to the area in September 1974, and was living on Felpham Avenue in Balga with her husband Tom, where the couple had plans to buy the state housing property they lived in.Gwenneth Graham was missing for nine days before her body was found in Balga bushland.Tom worked at a nearby confectionary store making marshmallows and chocolate. He was Graham’s third marriage at the age of 46.By today’s standards, the couple would have been considered as being in an open relationship, and Graham would often go to bars, sometimes disappearing for weeks at a t