The purported secret lover of missing schoolteacher Marion Barter visited a companion multiple times in Sydney in the late 1990s and discussed setting up a coin-selling business with her and moving to France.
Ginette-Gaffney Bowan told a coronial inquest on Thursday that she was seeking “companionship” after her marriage broke down in the late 1990s when a man by the name of Frederick de Hedervary responded to an ad offering her friendship.
The surprising revelations come on the third day of the inquest into Ms Barter’s disappearance and suspected death.
Ms Barter was last seen by her family at a Gold Coast bus stop in June 1997.
She left Australia for a year-long holiday in the UK and Europe but correspondence with her family abruptly stopped.
Later investigations revealed Ms Barter had changed her name to Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel a month prior to her departure.
The court was previously told police investigators had identified Ms Barter’s secret lover Ric Blum, whom she had been seeing not long before her disappearance.
Mr Blum had multiple aliases, including the names “Frederick de Hedervary” and “Fernand Remakel”, the inquest was told.
On Thursday, Ms Bowan gave evidence she struck up a friendship in the late 1990s with Mr de Hedervary, who began staying at her Greenwich house from time to time.
She said she never had any sexual or romantic interactions with Mr de Hedervary.
“He said he lived in Lennox Head and wanted to meet me, take me to dinner the next time he came to Sydney,” Ms Bowan said.
“I would have called him ‘Frederick’ … not Ric.”
The pair eventually discussed setting up a business selling coins to collectors.
Ms Bowan said she provided Mr de Hedervary $30,000 for the business.
She gave evidence their “relationship” broke down after Mr de Hedervary proposed she sell her house and move to Paris with him.
“He did not like that,” Ms Bowan said.
The court was told an apprehended domestic violence order was in place between Ms Bowan and Mr de Hedervary.
Earlier, Ms Barter’s daughter Sally Leydon gave evidence at the inquest of her mother having an interest in working in a private school overseas.
She denied knowing if her mother wanted to open a private school in England or if she wanted to purchase a house in Iluka, in northeast NSW, prior to her departure.
On Wednesday, the court was told that Mr Blum had responded to advertisements placed by Ms Barter in the newspaper seeking “companionship”.
Ms Leydon said she was not aware of the ads being made.
“I didn’t believe it when I read it,” she said.
“I would potentially say she never had a problem finding a partner, I don’t see why she’d need to put an ad out.”
The inquest continues.
