Pages

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Barossa Junction Motel

Barossa Junction Motel



Earlier in the year (2014) Karen, Jayde and I were joined by Marie and Wayne from Overland Paranormal to investigate the soon to be closing Barossa Junction Motel.

The motel was somewhat of an icon on the road between Nuriootpa and Tanunda, with its train carriage hotel rooms, and train-themed restaurant.
We were very lucky to have a friend arrange our investigation, as the majority of the trains were to be auctioned the next day due to the centre closing its doors after 30 years of operation.

I had long heard of the rumoured hauntings in the train carriages and had always meant to stop in to ask about them, but time and life got in the way. So when the offer came the night before the complex was due to close, I hastily rearranged other projects to get over to the Motel and investigate!


We were greeted by the owner, an auctioneer and a crane driver, the men were working out how they would move the full-sized train cabins, which many years ago had been converted into luxury sleeping quarters.

We were basically told we could go anywhere we want, so we did, and began to explore carriages and the grounds of the location, which is vast! With 30 or more carriages, train memorabilia and a car museum, it was an immense undertaking.

Whilst Karen and Jayde conducted some EVP sessions in an old carriage, I went and explored in a different area with Marie.
 The owner's wife soon joined us, and showed us the swimming pool complex at the rear of the facility, and told us the story of a gentleman who had hung himself in there.
  We began investigating whilst she went to unlock another area, and noted some shadowy type movement near the entrance to the toilets, but no EVPs were captured in this area or anything more than a personal experience.

We were granted entry into the dining rooms and main Chevrolet car museum, which was an amazing spectacle of vintage cars and motorbikes, some in pristine condition, the display even contained some prototype vehicles!

Marie and Jayde tried some experiments with the Spirit Box, while Karen and I took photos, video and conducted some EVP sessions – whilst we didn’t get much activity during our investigation, we were really amazed by the collection, and ever thankful for the opportunity to investigate before the facility closed


Many thanks to the owners for the opportunity to investigate and explore before the closing of this Barossa Valley icon, and also to Overland Paranormal for joining us :)

© 2007 - 2014 Allen Tiller

Tuesday 20 May 2014

“ A Well Developed Bump” - Stories from the Adelaide Gaol.




“A Well Developed Bump”


John Joseph Challoner, not a name well known for criminal acts in Adelaide, but back in the late 1800s through to circa 1913, a name well known to Police and Prison guards all too well in Adelaide.
Mr Challoner was a serial lawbreaker, spending more than 40 years in prison for crimes ranging from larceny, unlawful possession of goods, false pretences, forgery and one charge of “An unnatural act”.
Challoner was described in The Advertiser in 1913 as “A tall man with pointed features and a small beard who has spent more than half his 76 years behind prison walls”

  Challoner began his life of imprisonment in 1867 when he was first sentenced and gaoled by a magistrate for six months. He was caught again, trialled and convicted for indecent assault in 1870, for which he received two years gaol.
Inside Adelaide Gaol - Photo by Allen Tiller
  Challoner was next convicted in 1874 for larceny and received another two years imprisonment. This was followed in 1876 with another six months imprisonment, which then led into another visit to the magistrate in 1876 for stealing.
Challoners law-breaking and imprisonments continued into his old age, when in 1913, aged 76 years old he was charged with stealing a silver plated teapot from Maria Attridge.

  Maria lived on Halifax Street in the city, she left for work as per usual on May 28th at 10am, and returned at 4pm, to find her house had been broken into and her precious teapot gone. She dutifully reported the theft to the Police.
  Yetta Akolsen, a general dealer in Adelaide, reported to Police that Challoner had come into her shop and pulled a silver-plated teapot from under his coat. He stated the teapot belonged to him and his wife. Yetta, knowing no different, until after she had read about the theft in a newspaper later that day, paid Challoner a small amount of money for it.
  Challoner was arrested in Adelaide that evening by a police inspector.


  The court proceedings became a bit of comedy session when the defence for Challoner, upon questioning from the prosecution stated that Mr Challoner had a bad fall and cannot remember anything – proceedings reportedly went something like this:

Mr Muirhead; “Don't you know the accused had a fall?"

The Witness; “No”

Mr Muirhead;  “But hasn't he got a bump on the back of his head?"

Witness; “Yes, and it is pretty well developed, too.” (Laughter.)

Mr Muirhead;  “The accused pleads guilty, but that he does not remember anything about it. The other day he hurt his head, and he does not recollect what had occurred since."

Sub-Inspector Edwards; “He is suffering from sticky fingers." (Laughter.) .



Challoner was ordered another 3 months to his already lengthy prison record.
Challenor was then charged with having stolen an overcoat, an accordion, a shirt and a coat, valued at £2 10/, belonging to Henry J. Gardiner. For this crime, Challoner was sentenced to a further 6 months.

At this time, Challoner, for some reason only known to him, stated to the court that he had in his possession a floor rug that he had stolen "From an old woman’s place”, the judge sentenced him to a further 2 months imprisonment, to run concurrently, with an urge for him to be treated for Kleptomania...


© 2007 - 2014 Allen Tiller

All content on “Eidolon Paranormal & 

Tuesday 13 May 2014

“Now prepare to meet your doom, For in this box there is room”


“Now prepare to meet your doom,
For in this box there is room”

  This is the inscription said to be on a box carried by a ghost in the Burra region circa 1906.

  Reports of a ghost seen in Burra began with the reporting of a ghostly-spectre seen on the darkest of nights, entering a stable, taking out a horse and putting its harness on. The ghost then rode off on said horse in the direction of Redruth Gaol.
The horse rustling spook was described as being clothed in white, with long white legs, long white arms, larger than normal eyes and a white cap, not totally unusual clothing for a ghost, but perhaps for a horse rustler?

  Another report soon came in of the ghost seen out on the Baldina Road by a young lady. The young school-aged girl reported the sighting to her Mother, but the Mother was more interested to know why her daughter had skipped school!
  The daughter explained to her mother why she had left, but the mother was unsatisfied with her explanation, instead, the mother told the local constable of her daughter's truancy, and then forced the daughter to tell the constable of her ghost excuse. The embarrassed daughter did as she was told.
  The Mother then exclaimed that; “If my daughter is surrounded by all the ghosties in the world, She will not say one word about it!” and left the amused constable to his duties.

  The ghost made one more appearance in the town before it's demise into the ever long night. A man spotted it casually going about its ghostly business, and went for a closer look.
“It would appear,” said the witness when reporting the ghastly ghoul, “That this “spirit” has phosphorous upon its brow, and carries a wooden box with the inscription; 'Now prepare to meet your doom, 
For in this box there is room'”

The ghost disappeared into the night...

© 2007 - 2014 Allen Tiller

Tuesday 6 May 2014

The Duncan Affair

The Duncan Affair


George Duncan was born and raised in London England. He was born on the 20th of July, 1930 at Golders Green. His parents were New Zealanders living in England, who eventually emigrated to Victoria, Australia in 1937.

George attended the Melbourne Grammar School, and graduated Dux of his class in 1947. He went on to earn an Honours Degree in Classical Philology (A branch of knowledge that deals with the structure, historical development, and relationships of a language) at the University of Melbourne.

In 1950, George contracted the deadly disease Tuberculosis and took some time away from studying to concentrate on getting healthy again.
Eventually, he returned to his schooling, 7 years later, at St Johns College, Cambridge (UK), where he earned a BA in 1960, A Bachelor of Law in 1961, an MA in 1963 and a PhD in 1964.


George eventually returned to Australia, wealthier than when he had left, and took up a residence in Adelaide, South Australia at Lincoln College. He was also a law lecturer at the University of   Adelaide

  Within only 6 weeks of being back on Australian soil, George Duncan was found drowned, in The Torrens River, on the 10th of May, 1972, at the age of 41.



At this point, you may be wondering what the historical significance is of George Duncan's death?

  In 1972, The River Torrens was known locally by Police as “Number One Beat”. Homosexuality was illegal in South Australia at the time, so local gay men would meet along the Torrens River and engage in their private business.
  At some time around 11pm on May 10th, George Duncan and another man, Roger James, were thrown into the Torrens River. Duncan, having had Tuberculosis when he was younger, now only had one lung, and was a somewhat frail man. He couldn't keep himself afloat and drowned that evening.
  Roger James, suffered a broken ankle in the incident but managed to get himself out of the river and up to a nearby road, where he was assisted by a driver who was passing by, Mr Bevan Spencer von Einem.

  Von Einem took Roger James to the nearby Royal Adelaide Hospital, and raised the alarm about the attack.
The police and passers-by rescued the body of Dr Duncan, but weirdly, the body was returned to the river so news crews, who had turned up late, could film its extraction from the river.

This murder would change Adelaide forever, and eventually, Australia, bringing about Homosexual law reform.
  The attack attracted a lot of media coverage, and Roger James was offered government protection by South Australian Premier, Donald Dunstan. It was soon rumoured that the killing was done by three senior Vice Squad Police officers, who were assisted by a tall unidentified man. 

  The police officers were called to an inquiry to give witness to the events, where each man refused to answer any questions asked of them. This eventually led to their suspension and resignations.
  The Police investigation into the murder called the incident; “A high spirited frolic gone wrong”, and failed to find any evidence sufficient enough to prosecute any of the accused police officers.

  Public debate and speculation about the case was extraordinary, so Donald Dunstan decided to allow Police Commissioner, Harold Salisbury, to call in Detectives from Scotland Yard to investigate matters further. Whatever the Scotland Yard detectives discovered, it was never made public, and because of their findings, the Crown Solicitor announced on the 24th of October 1972 that he had “decided against proceeding with any prosecution”.
The Canberra Times - Friday 28th July 1972

This, of course, led to outrage in some parts of the community, and accusations of a cover-up amongst the Police and Government. National Media coverage only stirred the outraged public further, and Dr Duncan was held up as a Martyr by the Australian Gay Rights Movement, causing political unrest.
 A Liberal Party Member, Mr Murray Hill, introduced a bill into State Parliament on the 26th of July 1972, making vast amendments to the “Criminal Law Consolidation Act”, that was the law that governed the criminalisation of homosexuality in South Australia.

The following is from Wikipedia describing the process of the passing of the bill in South Australian Parliament:

The amendment was assented to on 9 November 1972, however, a further amendment weakened it to only allow a legal defence for homosexual acts committed in private. In 1973 the Labor Member for Elizabeth, Peter Duncan introduced the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill into Parliament which, although passed by the Lower House was defeated twice in the Legislative Council. On 27 August 1975 the unaltered bill was again introduced, defeated, reintroduced, defeated, reintroduced a third time and passed, all on the same day, making South Australia the first Australian State to fully decriminalise homosexuality.”



  Many years later, in 1985, a former Vice Squad Officer, Mick O'Shea revealed to the Advertiser Newspaper that a cover-up was going on. He made very specific allegations, that it was common practice for Vice Squad Officers of the time to throw homosexuals they found along the river Torrens beat, into the river, and sometimes even assault them.

  This led to more inquiries about the case, and the three accused officers were charged with the manslaughter of Dr Duncan in 1986. Two of the officers eventually went to trial in 1988. After refusing to testify, they were acquitted of their charges.

  New allegations were made of Police firing shots as they chased one individual, and allegations of an attempt to influence a jury member also surfaced during inquiries.
  In 1990 a Police task force was set up, reporting directly to Parliament, but it failed to find sufficient evidence, and was soon closed down.
Calls for a Royal Commission into the events of that night in 1972 are still heard today but fall onto deaf ears.


George Duncan is buried in Centennial Park Cemetery.

On 10 May 2002, the 30th anniversary of Duncan's death, a memorial monument was erected near the site of the murder, on the memorial are the words:


"In memory of Dr George Duncan, whose death by drowning on 10th May 1972, near here, at the hands of persons unconvicted precipitated homosexual law reform in South Australia, making it the first state in Australia in 1975 to decriminalise homosexual relations."

Also on 10 May, Radio Adelaide broadcast a feature documentary The Killing of Dr George. On 1 October, the South Australia Institute of Justice Studies awarded a special commendation to Radio Adelaide, praising the documentary for its historical significance and inclusion of comment from people who had been gay activists at the time of Duncan's death”



© 2014 Allen Tiller
www.eidolonparanormal.com.au
.