The death of Northern Irish woman Elizabeth Dixon, in 1982 has long been one of the most shocking, haunting unsolved murders in Australian history – but a major development in the case in recent days means it now appears to be closer than ever to finally being solved.

33 years after the brutal murder, a man has been arrested in Maitland, with police saying they acted on “new information” received in August about the killing.

Eve Nesmith, editor of the Maitland Mercury, spoke with Newstalk Breakfast this morning, to bring us up to date on the latest developments in the case.

Nesmith described the killing as a crime that shocked the city of Maitland, and ahs haunted the city for the past 33 years.

A jogger discovered Elizabeth’s body in her Mazda car in bush-land near the Ashtonfield suburb of Maitland.

“She was brutally murdered, stabbed 27 times, five times piercing the heart. Her body was found abandoned in a vehicle in a bush location here in Maitland,” Nesmith said.

“There were some odd circumstances about the discovery; she was slumped over the steering wheel, her hands tied behind her back in a neat bow.”

Elizabeth Dixon, then 29, travelled to Australia two years before her death. She initially travelled for a holiday but soon decided she wanted to stay in the country, and settled in the city of Maitland, close to her sister.

There were extensive investigations at the time of her death, and the police department re-launched the investigation in 2013, upping the reward form $50,000 to $150,000, such was the local desire to solve the case. But until now there had been no arrests or prosecutions.

“The latest development was the arrest of a 64 year old man in a little town called Stockton, which is about half an hour’s drive from here,” Ms Nesmith said.

“He lived about three doors down from the local primary school,” she said, adding that the suspect was well known in the locality as “a feared fast bowler” on the cricket field.

On Thursday, the 64-year-old man appeared in court charged with the murder of Elizabeth Dixon.

“We understand it was information from a member of the public. It was not a forensic of DNA revelation we understand ... (it was) information that had not previously come to light,” Nesmith said.

The accused has been remanded in custody and will appear before the Newcastle Local Court via video link next week.

Listen to the full interview with Eve Nesmith below