From the Beaumont children to The Lady Vanishes, some of Australia’s most compelling true crime stories will take centre stage in Victor Harbor this August
If your idea of a good time involves a true crime podcast, a cold case rabbit hole and a theory you just can’t let go of, Victor Harbor has an event with your name on it.
CRIME SCENE Victor Harbor will bring together some of Australia’s most recognised true crime storytellers, investigators and podcast creators for a weekend dedicated to mysteries, investigations and the quest to solve some of Australia’s most enduring cold cases.
Created by investigative journalist and true crime podcaster Bryan Littlely, the festival will shine a spotlight on some of Australia’s most notorious unsolved cases, from the disappearance of the Beaumont children and the abduction of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon to the Family Murders and beyond.
A Who’s Who of Australian True Crime
The lineup includes Sally Leydon, whose podcast The Lady Vanishes has attracted more than 22 million downloads worldwide as she continues the search for answers surrounding the disappearance of her mother, Marion Barter.
Award-winning journalist and author Debi Marshall, renowned for her work on the Snowtown murders and Adelaide’s Family Murders, will present at Hotel Victor and appear as part of the festival launch at Victa Cinema.
Veteran investigative journalist Adam Shand will host a headline panel of leading true crime creators, joined by former police investigator Meni Caroutas, WHIT creator Amanda Schultz, advocate Mindy Wix, former detective Graeme Crowley and author Michael Madigan.
For Bryan Littlely, The Event is About Far More Than Entertainment
“Live shows, festivals and podcasts are the byproduct of something much more meaningful,” he says. “The quest for answers in some of Australia’s most baffling cold cases.”
For Littlely, that quest began decades ago.
“It may have started as a story to me, but it soon turned into much more when what I feel is the strongest lead in the now 53-year-old mystery of the abduction of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon from Adelaide Oval fell into my hands almost 20 years ago.
“I made a promise to Kath Ratcliffe I’d do all I can to find her girl Jo, or at least the answers to that shocking crime.”
That promise would eventually lead to the formation of the missing persons foundation Leave A Light On Inc, alongside Suzie Ratcliffe, as well as the launch of the Sleepers podcast and a growing network of citizen investigators and survivors prepared to speak publicly for the first time.
In recent years, Littlely and his team have travelled to remote South Australia searching for evidence connected to some of the state’s darkest crimes. A pelvic bone embedded with glass discovered at the former property of convicted abuser Stan Hart continues to raise forensic questions despite police classifying it as non-human, while barrels hidden inside a reservoir wall for decades were ultimately linked to body disposal after a confession emerged.
In the case of the Beaumont children disappearance, Littlely’s investigations uncovered previously unreported information surrounding convicted offender Bill Cotton and his presence inside the Beaumont family home on the very day the children disappeared — a detail never publicly revealed in almost 60 years.
The Festival Born From a Search for Answers
And at a recent SLEEPERS LIVE event in Adelaide, attended by almost 400 people, Littlely stunned audiences by revealing that two men had lived under the identity of Joanne Ratcliffe’s biological grandfather while committing crimes across multiple states.
Since launching last August, Sleepers has exceeded 100,000 downloads, while live shows across Adelaide and regional South Australia have drawn large crowds.
Now that momentum is shifting to Victor Harbor.
“It’s a festival idea I don’t think has been tried anywhere before, at least not in Australia,” Littlely says.
True crime films will screen throughout the weekend at Victa Cinema, while the Grosvenor Hotel operates as festival headquarters and will host free events and an interactive mock crime scene experience, led by forensic scientist and criminologist Asha Walther of Exhuming the Truth.
With tickets selling quickly, CRIME SCENE Victor Harbor may well become more than a one-off curiosity – Littlely believes the Fleuirieu town could become an unlikely winter destination for Australia’s booming true crime community – a place where storytelling, investigation and public fascination collide.
CRIME SCENE Victor Harbor
WHEN: August 21-23, 2026
WHERE: Victor Harbor
TICKETS & INFO: Click Here
