Station Masters House – Peake
In 2010, during a visit to the Tailem Bend region, I travelled with a colleague to several sites of historical interest. Among these was the Station Master’s House at Peake, a property that had been recommended by a local resident as a potential subject for investigation. Although the building possessed a noteworthy past, its condition at the time rendered it unsuitable for any formal study. The interior contained extensive accumulations of pigeon droppings, and one wall of the kitchen was heavily infested with bees. Considerable discussion followed within the Eidolon Paranormal office regarding whether the site should be cleaned and prepared or abandoned as a prospect. Ultimately, the distance involved, the cost of remediation, and the absence of any established tradition of haunting led to the decision not to proceed.
Peake itself is a small agricultural settlement situated approximately 150 kilometres east of Adelaide, near Tailem Bend. Established in 1912 and named in honour of the then Premier of South Australia, Archibald Peake, the township developed around the railway line. It served as a significant stopping point for freight and passenger transport, particularly for the loading of grain destined for regional markets. Although modest in size at its founding, Peake has remained a small rural community, with a present‑day population of roughly two hundred residents.
The Station Master’s House was constructed in 1912 and remained in continuous use until 1990. The final Station Master appointed to Peake was Jozeff (Joe) Suchon. On 8 January 1990, at the age of seventy‑eight, Mr. Suchon died on the kitchen floor of the residence. Local accounts portray him as a man of difficult temperament who maintained limited contact with neighbours and townspeople. Only one individual is said to have visited him with any regularity, delivering firewood during the winter months.
It is presumed that Mr. Suchon suffered a fatal heart attack after carrying wood from the small shed at the rear of the property. He collapsed in such a position that the back door could not be opened inward, leaving his body undiscovered for more than a week during the height of the January heat. The condition of the remains necessitated an unusual and unpleasant method of removal: the lino flooring surrounding the body was cut away so that he could be lifted out.
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| lino cut where the body was found. |
Today, the Station Master’s House forms part of a tourist walk through Peake. The local tourism catalogue recounts the circumstances of Mr. Suchon’s death and notes that visitors may still observe the section of kitchen flooring where the lino was cut to extract his remains. It stands as a small but striking reminder of the township’s railway heritage and of the solitary life of its final Station Master.
www.allentiller.com.au
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