John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 3: Glanville to Manoora.

 

John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: 

Part 3: Glanville to Manoora.

    Saturday 16 September 1894, John Martin escaped yet again from Mr Burton's Glanville Reformatory, this time with two other lads, Patrick Quigley, and Patrick MacCabe. The boys had made it on foot from Glanville to Manoora. They had been spotted near Saddleworth. The Kapunda Mounted Police were notified and set off after them, arresting the boys on Monday afternoon.
 The three lads were sent by train back to Port Adelaide. Mr F. R. Burton, warden of the Glanville Reformatory offered his opinion that Martin’s escape had been influenced by others. He expressed his opinion in The Observer newspaper.

"He ran away three or four days after I got him last April," Mr. Burton said, "and when he was brought back he was kept under strict surveillance for a time, but for the last three months be has had full liberty, and if he had had an idea of going, he could have disappeared at any time.
  I offered to get him a situation, but he preferred to stay with me. About a week or so before he disappeared be expressed a wish to go to sea, and when I told him that I would get a ship for him to go to England and got the Judge's approval of my action he was quite pleased. No doubt the boy has been enticed away.
  It is rather annoying after struggling with him for months and seeing the end in view for someone to step in and spoil the work. A sea life is the only life for him. He is too impulsive and is too easily led away. There is not much gratitude in boys nowadays—there are very few cases of it. I do not look for it. I was surprised the way the boy has behaved, and I am sure he deserves credit for it. I'll give you an instance where he could have got away if he had wanted to do so. On the last public holiday, September 3, I took my boys down the river, and allowed each, in turn, to have a paddle in the canoe that I have there. If he had wanted to get away, he could easily have landed on the other side of the river and got a good two-hours' start of any search party.

 I don't know yet what the police will do. I would take him back. I have never given a boy up yet, and if he comes back to me, I shall carry out my intention of sending him to sea, as the Judge approved of my idea."[1]

   The boys when captured at Manoora had in their possession two greyhounds that belonged to W.J. Oliver of Norwood. Mr Oliver declined to press charges against the boys, perhaps out of fear of retaliation. Martin was returned to the care of Mr Burton at the Glanville Reformatory.[2]
   Originally Martin had been sentenced to State Children’s Department on Flinder’s Street then sent to the Industrial School, then Mr Burton’s Glanville Reformatory. All up, he had escaped 16 times, earning him the reputation of, “a cunning, daring and skilful escape artist’.

 A journalist for the Express and Telegraph went as far as writing; 

“Some of his escapes from the Reformatory were accomplished in such a daring and skilful way that many people would have preferred to see the youth pardoned and assisted into some honest situation as the regard for his extraordinary pluck than hunted by the officials and returned to the State home which he so greatly abhors.”[3]

 

 

Next Week: John Martin the Celebrity Delinquent: Part 4: Flown the Coop.

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2020

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[1] 'A DARING YOUTH.', The Express and Telegraph, (10 September 1894), p. 4. (SECOND EDITION), http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20903880.

[2] 'THE CASE OF JOHN MARTIN, THE RUNAWAY.', Adelaide Observer, (22 September 1894), p. 31. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161809938.

[3] 'A DARING YOUTH.', The Express and Telegraph.

The Haunting of Martindale Hall

 

 A visit to the Clare Valley with our good friends John & Deb from Drifter Paranormal (who are travelling the country investigating haunting phenomena) led us to Mintaro’s exceptional Georgian-styled manor “Martindale Hall”.

 The mansion was built in 1879 and took two years to finish. It is built of sandstone and has 32 rooms, including a large basement which contains seven rooms. The house was used as Mr Bowman's recreation home and featured a boating lake, racecourse, cricket pitch (which saw the English 11 play on its pitch on one occasion), and a polo ground. The property was also used for fox hunting and other hunting exhibitions.
 Its roof was designed to allow for the lady visitors of the house to sit upon and view the goings-on of the sporting achievements of the menfolk.

 

 It is said that Mr Bowman’s wealth was extraordinary and that he spared no expense in building the house, which cost somewhere around 72 thousand pounds. The extravagance is quite evident when visiting the mansion and its extraordinary coach house (which is larger than a lot of people’s entire homes). There are long-held local legends that, in Bowman's day, when only he and his two brothers lived in the home, and later just Edmund and his wife Annie, that Bowman had 14 servants, 4 of which lived on site. Much like TV shows like “Downtown Abbey” or “Upstairs Downstairs” the home had areas purely for the use and movement of servants.
 This was a man so wealthy, that he installed fully flushing toilets for his servant’s use, but insisted on using commodes for himself and his guests, which the servants would have to empty after each use.
The white Carrara marble fireplace in the drawing-room at Martindale Hall was entered into a competition in France, where it took first prize at a Paris exhibition in 1873 and was purchased by Mr Bowman for 75 pounds.

 The house is now a museum owned by the people of South Australia, and within its walls, you can find all its original fittings and grandeur. In the billiard room stands a full-sized English Billiard table (12 ft x 6 ft). It is said the 1.5-tonne pool table was placed in position, and then the north-facing wall of the building was finished.

 

 In 1885, drought overtook Australia, and Edmund Bowman's finances suffered, this was compounded further in following years with a depression lowering the price of wool, causing Mr Bowman's finances further losses. These losses eventually led to the sale of Martindale Estate to another notable South Australian, Mr William Mortlock in 1891.

 

 The Mortlocks brought their own touch to the home and the majority of the fittings and furniture that we see today were theirs. In the smoking room, one can see some of the treasures that John Mortlock returned with from his expeditions across Australia, New Guinea and Africa including a majestic 16th-century Samurai suit, Sri Lankan devil masks and carved elephant tusks. Other pieces of Mr Mortlocks collection can be found in the Adelaide Museum and Mortlock Library on North Terrace Adelaide.

 John Mortlock, who inherited the house from his parents, died in 1950, only 15 months after marrying his wife, Dorothy. After John’s death, Dorothy walked out of the house, leaving everything the way it sat, other than a few personal possessions. She locked the door and then donated the entire building and contents to the University of Adelaide, which in turn gave the entire site to the people of South Australia.
 Unfortunately, the State Government is currently trying to usurp the public and sell the site to a private consortium to start a “wellness clinic”, taking away the public’s right to visit a site that was bequeathed to them.

  Away from the politics, beauty and history, Martindale has long been deemed a significant haunted historic location in the Clare Valley region.

 Many of the staff, and some of the visitors and overnight staying guests have reported strange goings-on, and sightings of mysterious people in the grounds, and inside the home itself.
 A man has been seen, in period clothing, possibly early 1900’s, sitting on the back stairs of the home. The clothing worn, and the site where he has been seen would indicate the possibility of a servant, perhaps one who loved his masters, and the house far too much to move on after his death.
 Overnight-staying guests have reported waking up and finding a child lying in bed with them, when no children have been reported to be in the home. Other people have reported seeing children, in “olden-times” clothing playing on the front steps of the mansion, running around, not noticing the adults staring at them in bewilderment, before the children fade into the surroundings…

 The most often seen spirit in the Home though is thought to be the spirit of Valentine Mortlock. Valentine was born on Valentine’s Day, thus his name. He was born with “cretinism” which is described on Wikipedia as “a condition of severely stunted physical and mental growth due to untreated congenital deficiency of thyroid hormones”.
 Valentine lived much of his life confined to his room, perhaps this was because of his disability, but more likely it is because his well-to-do family saw his disability as a blight upon their name.
 Valentine had long blonde hair, which was common for young boys of the period, and very often, when he was seen, he would be mistaken for a little girl, this could explain the sightings of a long-haired blonde spirit girl inside the hall, mistaken identity!

 The most notable recent sighting of Valentine was recorded by the caretakers of Martindale Hall and is displayed in his room for all to read.
 It tells of a 3-year-old boy, visiting the house with his family. The boy’s mother went to take the boy out of the room, but he did not want to leave his new friend, who he described as having long golden hair, and “looking like an angel”.

Or – visit the Martindale Hall website to plan your visit: - http://www.martindalehall-mintaro.com.au/

 

 Allen Tiller is the Australian star of the international hit television show “Haunting: Australia” and author of “The Haunts of Adelaide – History, Mystery and the Paranormal” as well as being a historian, lecturer, poet, musician, Tour Guide, blogger and podcaster. Allen is also a volunteer for many different historical associations and groups.

You can find Allen online at:

www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller

www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia

https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

First published in MEGAscene issue 4 Jan 2016

©Allen Tiller

A Haunting of the Miners Home Hotel – Armagh

 

 A Haunting at the Miners Home Hotel – Armagh

The tiny hamlet of Armagh, north-west of the township of Clare in South Australia is thought to have been founded by Irish Catholics who arrived in the area in the 1840s.[1] It is not known who exactly named the region, but it is thought one of three people, Patrick Butler, E.B. Gleeson, or Henry Clark may have named the valley after their hometown in Ireland.[2]

The Royal Mining Company, on the hunt for copper, opened the Emu Plains Mine in the area. As part of their prospects in the area, and in the hope of a mining boom, they planned the town of Armagh, with provisions for a school, a church, a blacksmith shop, and two hotels.

In 1849 John and William Day, hoping to profit from the opening of a new mine built the Miner’s Home Hotel. At the same time, Patrick Butler built his own hotel, named the Emu Inn.
Only one license was granted by the Bench of Magistrates, which went to Patrick Butler’s hotel. The Days then launched an appeal and sought signatures from friends of influence, which saw the Magistrate board overturn their ruling, granting a license to the brothers to operate their hotel[3]

The Miners Home Hotel operated for only two years, from 1850 until 1851. The license changed from John Day to his brother William in 1851.[4]   After the hotel closed the land was bought by Patrick Butler, who lived in the building and built a larger house on the land. Patrick Butler went on to become a Councillor in the Clare region. Perhaps one of his bigger claims to fame was in 1844, when the then Archbishop of Adelaide, Dr Murphy, assisted by Father Michael Ryan, celebrated the Mass in the Clare district at the Butler residence.


It is claimed that in 1870 the body of a seven-year-old girl was found to be laid to rest under the bar of the old hotel. A headstone now sits in the floor, marking the spot where she is buried.  In recent times, the old house has been a museum, and now, again a private residence.

 For almost twenty years, from around 1850 until 1870, it was thought the hotel was cursed with a haunting. It is claimed that horses would not enter the property at all, and this led to the closing of the original hotel.
 It is also claimed that poltergeist activity was a regular occurrence in the building, with objects being moved around inside, in full view of the occupants. All poltergeist activity is said to have ceased upon the discovery of the little girl’s body buried underneath the old hotel bar.

How she came to be laid to rest there is still, to this day, a mystery!

© Allen Tiller 2017

Bibliography

[1] “Armagh South,” Irish Place Names in Australia, accessed July 14, 2017, http://irishplaces.flinders.edu.au/items/show/184.

[1] 1850 'LOCAL NEWS.', South Australian Gazette and Mining Journal (Adelaide, SA: 1847 - 1852), 19 December, p. 3. , viewed 15 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195941359

[1] 1851 'BENCH OF MAGISTRATES.—QUARTERLY ISSUE OF LICENCES.', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA: 1839 - 1900), 10 June, p. 3. , viewed 15 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38450812

[1] Australian Heritage Places Inventory, 2017, Dwelling and Museum (former Miner's Home Hotel & Outbuilding), SA State Heritage Register, viewed 15 July 2017, https://dmzapp17p.ris.environment.gov.au/ahpi/action/search/heritage-search/record/SA13052

1852 'LOCAL COURT, CLARE.', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA: 1839 - 1900), 18 October, p. 3. , viewed 15 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38459187

1943 'LINKS with THE PAST and Historical Notes.', Northern Argus (Clare, SA: 1869 - 1954), 12 November, p. 4. , viewed 15 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article97266692

Branson, Vern M & Phillips, Arthur, 1938- 1974, Clare and district sketchbook, Rigby, Adelaide

Broad, Sue 1986, Back to Armagh, Armagh Soldiers Memorial Hall Inc. Committee, [Armagh, S. Aust.]

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Bronte Lloyd’s 1988 UFO Encounter – Spalding, South Australia

Bronte Lloyd’s 1988 UFO Encounter

 – Spalding, South Australia

 Spalding, a “blink and you miss it” town near the Clare Valley in South Australia, is known more for its sheep runs than it’s UFO sightings, but in 1987-1988 that dramatically changed when local farmer, Bronte Lloyd reported a UFO sighting and abduction encounter.

 In May 1987, whilst out seeding a paddock, Mr Lloyd and his son-in-law witnessed a group of UFO’s hovering over the farm. His son-in-law chose not to hang around and investigate the phenomena, but left Mr Lloyd to finish the job, and then investigate the strange lights by himself.

 The next morning Mr Lloyd awoke early before sunrise, the following is his description of events, as told to a journalist from the Sunday Mail in 1988. (Mr Lloyd underwent hypnosis to ‘relive’ the experience)

 “I was lying in bed. It was as though Time and space were suddenly suspended: I was suddenly aware of pitch blackness, total blackness, and freezing cold. I couldn’t move, and thought I was having a heart attack. Then I felt myself floating upwards, and felt something being pushed against either side of my cheeks. I battled against whatever it was that was pinning me down, and tried to reach for the light switch, and to brush away the pressure against my cheeks. I knew ‘something’ was close to me, and that it was moving backwards and forwards just out of my reach.”

  When Mr Lloyd awoke a little later in the morning, he did not remember the experience of the night before. It wasn’t until he was shaving that he noticed three sore marks on his cheek, and four more on his nose.
 (It would come out during further hypnosis that the small wounds were from hard plastic tubes that had been forced underneath his skin.)

A month later, in June, Mr Lloyd and his son had been out seeding a field, night was approaching when a bright red light flew over their heads, and then hovered over some trees about 30 meters from the house, then flew away.

 Mr Lloyd’s son returned to his own home, whilst he himself went back to the farm house for dinner. While sitting there, his dogs suddenly went berserk, jumping about and barking, then cowering and howling. He looked out the window to see what the problem was and noticed there was something on the ground at a nearby grove of trees.

Under the nearby trees he saw an object, that at first, he took to be a car, but on further investigation, realised it was an object unlike any he had seen before.
 The object, which he described as being “3.6 meters across and 2 meters high with a circular body and square base”, appeared to be sitting on support legs. The object had portholes at regular intervals around it, and three large “head-lights” at what he considered the front of the object.

  Rather than try his luck entering the object, he retreated to the safety of his house and phoned his family, who were visiting a nearby farm, and told them not to return home that night.

 Mr Lloyd hung up the phone after speaking with his wife, and slouched in his chair, trying to make sense of recent events when he suddenly heard “footsteps”, which he describes as “Short, close together, and sounded like someone was walking in or on plastic.”
  Lights suddenly came on in the house, and Mr Lloyd opened the hallway door to see what was going on, he witnessed two small “men-like” creatures racing about at blurring speed. The next thing he remembers is waking the next day when his wife woke him up.

 The police were called and upon inspecting the property, found a very large depression in the ground amongst the trees, 30 meters from the house. Unexplained footprints were also found near the tree line where the object had been witnessed.

 Samples were taken from Mr Lloyd by Biochemist Tom Coote, who discovered electrolyte anomalies in Mr Lloyd’s samples. Mr Lloyd’s facial wounds never healed properly, and when one would seem to recede, another would grow larger. Unfortunately Mr Lloyd passed away only a few years later, before any definitive answers from his bio-testing and hypnosis regression could be found.

For more on this story please visit the websites below (WARNING: the websites below information does conflict in some places)

http://www.project1947.com/forum/bctrace2.htm

http://www.ignaciodarnaude.com/ufologia/Creighton,Gordon,FSR,Biography,FSR1991V36N3.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding,_South_Australia

Books:

A Paranormal File. An Australian Investigators Case Book - John Pinkney