A Ghost in The Old Mill Hotel – Hahndorf

 

Old Mill Hotel - 98 Main Street, Hahndorf
2021 - Allen Tiller

In July 2021, I presented a talk at the Mount Barker Library on ghosts and hauntings in the Adelaide Hills. That evening, Karen and I stayed overnight in the Old Mill Hotel at Hahndorf, where the staff told us of a ghost!

2021 - Allen Tiller

The Meek family recently leased the hotel, and they own the incredibly popular bars and nightclubs The Woolshed, Downtown, and Blackbull. The Meeks have begun renovating the hotel, which, as some of you may know, is alleged to trigger some hauntings.

 The hotel has several older cars, including Model T Fords as part of its unique decor.^[1]

Friedrich Wittwer built the mill in 1854; an earlier mill built on the site burned down in 1853.[2] It ran for 60 or so years and processed famous brands of flour such as ‘Pride of the Hills’, Windmill' and 'Phaultless’.^[3]

In 1971 it became a German food-themed restaurant with a motel at the rear.

 An old piano used to sit in the hotel. It is claimed that a spirit liked to ‘tickle the ivory’, playing piano tunes at random times, day and night. When staff went to check who was playing, no one was there. (The piano is no longer in the hotel.)

For more information on the Old Mill, visit their website here: https://hahndorfoldmill.com.au/

 

© 2021 Allen Tiller.

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[1] The Forager, Nightclub owners bringing new life to Hahndorf's Old Mill Hotel, In Daily, (31 March 2021), https://indaily.com.au/eat-drink-explore/the-forager/2021/03/31/nightclub-owners-bringing-new-life-to-hahndorfs-old-mill-hotel/.

[2] Anni Luur Fox, 'Hahndorf - A Journey through the Village and its History', (2002), https://localwiki.org/adelaide-hills/Old_Mill_%28Wittwer%29_-_Hahndorf.

[3] Hahndorf, Old Mill Hotel, (2021), https://hahndorfsa.org.au/business/old-mill-hotel/.