Accused murderer in court over 1982 death

More than three decades after Elizabeth Dixon's body was discovered in bushland near Newcastle, her alleged murderer has come before a court.

Rodney Lawrence, 64, was arrested at his home in Stockton on Wednesday over the stabbing death of Ms Dixon, whose body was found in her car in bushland at Ashtonfield on April 6, 1982.

He did not apply for bail and it was formally refused when his matter was mentioned at Maitland Local Court on Thursday.

His arrest comes more than two years after detectives from the Northern Region Unsolved Homicide Team welcomed a $150,000 reward from the government for information to help solve Ms Dixon's stabbing.

In March 2013, detectives said medical examinations of the 31-year-old receptionist's body showed she had been stabbed numerous times.

Court papers allege her murder occurred sometime between April 3 and 6, 1982.

Police also said in 2013 that they were re-interviewing people who had been connected to Ms Dixon and were reviewing information from a member of the public who claimed they saw a man leaving the same bushland around the timeframe Ms Dixon died.

Lawrence will next appear in Newcastle Local Court on November 4.