Adorning the walls, floors and furnishings of London nightclubs, Parisian salons, Cate Blanchett’s family home and even the set of MasterChef are her designs; designs that were created over three decades ago but are still gathering new and passionate fans all over the world.

Behind Florence Broadhurst’s celebrated work however, is the incredible story of a woman who was born and raised on a remote cattle station south-west of Bundaberg, sung her way out of the dusty outback and ended up living a life so far removed from her humble origins that she ended up denying them completely, claiming herself to be an English aristocrat.

At the age of 60 – single, broke and miserable – she launched a high-end wallpaper studio in Sydney which became iconic of the '60s and '70s, her designs making their way into homes all over the world. Broadhurst ended up a prolific socialite, famous for her technicolour personality and amazing images.

Her life ended as dramatically as she had lived it.

In October 1977, Australia was shocked to hear Broadhurst had been murdered in her Paddington wallpaper studio, her fingers broken and her body battered.

Her murder has never been solved but it was suggested she was killed by the notorious “Granny Killer”, John Glover.

Thirty-four years after her death, interest in Florence Broadhurst, her designs and her enigmatic life has reached a fever pitch, thanks to a revival in her wallpaper and fabric business, a movie and, most recently this year, a biography.

In a reprinted edition of Florence Broadhurst: her secret and extraordinary lives by Sydney author Helen O’Neill – Broadhurst’s life unfurls like the plot in a Hollywood movie, woven in amongst the beauty of some of her most famous images.

Ms O’Neill, who became fascinated by the Florence Broadhurst story after learning about it in 2003, first published her book in 2006 but a new edition became necessary when more of Broadhurst’s images were discovered.

“There has always been a lot of interest in Florence; her life and the way she lived it and then  the way it tragically ended has always fascinated people,” she said.

“When the book first came out in 2006 it fuelled a whole new lot of interest and because of that, we were compelled to do it all over again this year.”

Ms O’Neill said Broadhurst’s incredible life, in which she constantly re-invented herself, has intrigued a whole new generation of fans.

“Florence was like no other. She was a brilliant liar and while researching for the book, it was often hard to distinguish between what was real and what she’d made up,” Ms O’Neill said.

“She travelled all over the world - as a singer, a vaudeville entertainer and a French couturier – inventing different lives on different continents, tailoring her name and her history for each one.”

Broadhurst married a number of times and but only had one child, Robert Lloyd-Lewis, a businessman now in his 70s, who has ended up back in Queensland, living not far from where his mother grew up.

“It’s interesting that it’s sort of come full circle like that. Robert left Sydney several years after his mother’s death. He needed to get away and he’s lived a very private life since then. I didn’t realise until meeting him how profoundly affected the family was by her murder – and the fact it has never been solved.”

Today in Mt Perry, the tiny Queensland town where Florence grew up, she’s no celebrity.

Only the older generation remember who she was, having known her family. But the younger generation is unaware their hometown housed one of Australia’s design icons.

Pat Smith, who runs the history centre in Mt Perry, was a close friend of Florence’s sister, Priscilla, and knew the family extremely well.

She told The Sun-Herald that despite Broadhurst’s rural beginnings, she was far from a “country bumpkin”.

“She was not the hick that she’s been made out to be. She might have been born in the country but her family were like gentry,” she said.

“Florence and her sisters were very well educated; they spoke with a plum in their mouth. Florence sang very well, Priscilla played the piano. They played tennis and they were very tasteful young ladies, very into fashion, always right up there.”

Ms Smith said Florence’s family, which remained in Mt Perry, was devastated when she publicly proclaimed herself as English aristocracy.

“They were very hurt. She was denying them, essentially, and they were angry that she thought she was too good for them and for Mt Perry,” she said.

“But Florence still came back here. My family bought the old Broadhurst home and Florence came and stayed with me in the 1970s, sleeping her old bedroom.

“She still loved it here but her history didn’t suit her story.”

Florence Broadhurst’s inauspicious Queensland beginnings were a foil to a life led in the most colourful, eventful and flamboyant fashion. Full of mystery, lies, excitement and fame, her tale is still entrancing readers three decades on. Her designs are more in demand than ever before.

Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret and Extraordinary Lives by Helen O’Neill ($69.95, Hardie Grant)