IT’S the 51-year-old mystery that spans the globe, and it all centres around a father from Newport.

John Charles Jones set sail for a new life in Australia arriving in Sydney Harbour with his family in May 1962.

Mr Jones who would now be 91, had grown up in Newport , having been born at the Woolaston House infirmary in the city in June 1922.

Mr and Mrs Jones and their eight children settled into their new life in the small town Shepparton, about 110 miles north of Melbourne in the state of Victoria.

Mrs Jones, now 84, was pregnant with the couple’s ninth child and Mr Jones had secured work as a linesman with the Post Masters General.

But one morning, dressed in his works overalls he headed out of the family home in Newtown Road and was never seen again.

His eldest daughter, Janice Innocenti, now 66 was 15 when he went missing.

She can vividly recall the day her father left and never returned.

“I can remember having breakfast with him and then walking along Newton Street where I then caught the bus to work at the local woollen mills,” she said.

“Nothing was out of the ordinary other than a small suitcase he was carrying.

“I asked him about the case and replied that he had a suit in it for dry cleaning.

“And that is the last memory I have of my father.”

So convinced were his family that Mr Jones had returned to the UK, they didn’t report him missing for four years.

He was believed to have been struggling badly with homesickness, and his wife, who is now in a care home believed he may have come home to Newport.

But now the family want an end to their long wait for closure and are desperate to know what actually happened to John.

One of his son’s Allan had begun to step up the hunt when Victoria Police started reviewing old case files.

As a consequence officers down under are now re-appealing for any information which might help them found out what happened to Mr Jones.

At the time of his disappearance he was described as being around five ft nine ins tall of medium build with hazel eyes and a Welsh accent.

Police are urging anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au.

Do you remember an Ernest Webley from school or growing up? Or perhaps know of where the then Mr Jones went when he left home for the last time? Did you have contact with the family when they went abroad? Email us Newsdesk@southwalesargus.co.uk call 01633 777 242, or tweet @Arguswbain.