Haunted Port Dock Hotel

On June 19^th 1855, the newly built (Port) Dock Hotel opened its doors for Port Adelaide’s beer- and rum-loving sailors and public. In the same month, 15 other new hotels were also declared as licensed in the colony as well – even early South Australians loved a cold one after work!

 

The building that houses the Port Dock Hotel was rebuilt in 1882. This building was a two-storey construction containing fifteen rooms, a dining room, a cellar and a number of bars, each with its own separate entry to the Port Adelaide streets outside.

 This building was built from local stone, coming from Dry Creek; the previous building, as were many others in the Port, was built from ships' ballast left from ships travelling to South Australia, removing the Ballast, and filling back up with things like Kapunda Copper, marble, or other commodities.

 The hotel's location was chosen due to its proximity to the South Australian Company Wharf properties and the railway station; this allowed a steady stream of customers to patronise the hotel. Including Sailors, Dockworkers, Stevedores, train passengers, new immigrants and locals.

 In 1902, there was an incident within the hotel that saw the publican, Mr Joseph Haines, almost end up the victim of a shooting. A former soldier who fought in the Boer War, Mr Thomas Hope, returned from service in South Africa. On January 15^th of that year, Mr Hope saw fit to celebrate and got very drunk and rode his horse through the streets of Port Adelaide, only to fall heavily from his stead.

 He remounted his horse and made his way to the Port Dock Hotel. A large crowd had gathered to watch Mr Hope’s antics, and when he arrived at the Port Dock, Mr Haines went outside to help Mr Hope dismount his horse safely.
 Hope, in his drunken state, saw Mr Haines offer of help as a hindrance, and challenged the publican to a fight. After a barrage of foul language, Mr Haines told Mr Hope it would be in his best interest to take his horse and go home.
 Hope remounted his horse and rode away.
 As with most drunks with a bee in their bonnet, Mr Hope returned shortly after; he entered the hotel demanding to be served a drink. Mr Haines flatly refused to serve him. Hope, now furious, pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Haines, scowling, “If you don’t serve me, I’ll shoot you with this!”
 Mr Haines stayed calm, quickly disarmed and detained Hope. The police were called, and Mr Hope was shuffled off to the police station. Soon after, he was sentenced in local courts to two months hard labour in Yatala Prison.

 Haines moved on from the Port Dock Hotel not too long after the incident, with a new publican taking over in 1904. This publican would find his run with the hotel ending only 5 years later when the momentum of Reverend Kirby and the Temperance movement installed Nocks Act into parliament, forever changing the face of drinking laws in South Australia, with the 6pm shut out.
 The new laws saw hotels across the state lose their liquor license and a number shut down entirely; some, though, like the Port Dock Hotel, found a new way to survive, becoming an illegal brothel and gambling house.

Allen Tiller in the basement with a number of trigger objects

For the next 66 years, The Port Dock Hotel was used for a number of different things, including a stevedore's office and the aforementioned Brothel. It wasn’t until 1986 that it reopened as a licensed hotel under the name The Port Dock Brewery Hotel.

 

Since the hotel’s reopening, several ghost sightings have occurred, which have led to multiple investigations by different paranormal investigation teams and amateur ghost hunters over the last few years. 

 I  have investigated this building and used a number of trigger objects and a technique of playing age-appropriate music that spirits of the late 1800s may recognise. During our investigation, we didn’t gather much information that would conclude a haunting, but the staff at the hotel did tell us that in the following few days, they noted regular activity seemed to amplify.

 There are a number of spirits reported in the hotel; one of the more commonly seen ones is a little boy in the basement. There is also a very clear photo of a young boy standing in the cellar that could possibly be of him - but I do not have access to that photograph for the blog. 

Another regular spiritual visitor, most often seen by the staff, is thought to be a former Madame of the brother, by the name of Emily. Emily is often seen on the staircase that leads into the basement. Despite claims she appears in a green or blue dress, staff most often report her wearing a large white Victorian-era dress (which doesn’t fit with the time period of the hotel being a brothel, but a much earlier time period – so perhaps the “Madame” isn’t a former prostitute at all, but maybe Mrs Haines or some other woman of importance).

The haunted stairwell in the basement of the Port Dock Hotel

 There are also reports of a former Sea Captain, who may have something to do with the allegations of people being shanghaied at the hotel in the early days, a practice that saw drunk men knocked out and taken into the basement. 

The men would be taken by a tunnel out to awaiting ships, and awoken the next morning, just far enough out at sea to see the coastline, they would be told they have two choices: sail on-board as a crew member, or swim back to shore.  

There is speculation that the alleged tunnel was a made-up story for a former Port Dock Brewery owner to help sell his crafted beer, but there have long been rumours of these kinds of tunnels running under Port Adelaide, and evidence of one in another former hotel that was recently renovated on Commercial Road.

 There have been numerous sightings and odd photographs since the inception of the ghost tours in the area. Some of these are simple to explain away as dust, hair or other contaminants, but there are quite a few that are not so easy to explain. It is these photos and videos that add weight to the argument that the Port Dock Hotel is indeed very haunted!

Allen Tiller © 2016