The Old Adelaide Gaol

A siren mourned woefully at 8am in the north-west end of Adelaide city, marking the moment of the final throes of life of executed man, Glen Sabre Valance at Her Majesty’s Adelaide Gaol.

 The 45^th execution within the gaol walls and the last hanging undertook inside the gaol. 44 men and one woman, Elizabeth Woolcock lost their lives by hanging in the gaol for various crimes since the establishment of the gaol in 1841.

 From 1841 until 1988, The Adelaide Gaol held over 300,000 prisoners and was Australia’s longest-serving continuous gaol. It housed men, women and children, and sometimes lunatics.

 The first Governor was William Baker Ashton, who was actually appointed 2 years before the gaol opened. William and his wife Charlotte (who acted as the Gaol Matron until 1850) had 6 children, with three of them being born during their time at the gaol
 In 1854, William, a very large man, died unexpectedly in the upstairs office of the gaol, the narrow staircase could not accommodate the size of his dead body, so he had to be lowered down through a window to the ground below.
 

 Another infamous character of the Old Adelaide Gaol is the resident hangman, Mr Benjamin Ellis. Ellis acted as the executioner for 10 years at the gaol, and lived on-site at the time to help protect his identity.

 His lodgings were directly underneath the female dormitories, where he is said to haunt until this day.
 Not much is known about the man, expect he was very good at his job and undertook it in a precise and serious manner.
 Ellis would eventually leave his profession after two hangings that haunted him. The first was the only hanging of a female in the Adelaide Gaol, Elizabeth Woolcock.
 Mrs Woolcock had been found guilty of poisoning her husband with mercury and sentenced to death. There are to this day, many who claim she was not guilty of the crime, but that did not stop her execution on December 30^th 1873.

 The second hanging, and possibly Ellis last, was that of Charles Strietman in 1877. Ellis went about his work in a serious manner he always conducted his business, but for some reason, on this occasion, he forgot to secure the man’s ankles and feet. When Strietman fell through the trap door, his feet hit the trap, and he was able to pull himself back up onto the platform.
 One of the 13 witnesses present then pushed Strietmens legs off the trap until he fell and hung. It was reported in the newspapers the following day that it then took Strietman over 23 minutes before he died from hanging.
 Ellis, who is described as an ugly man with a large bulbous nose is often seen within the gaol walls, wandering aimlessly – perhaps for his part in so many executions, his afterlife is to be spent within the gaol walls, or perhaps he is looking for his next execution.
 Elizabeth Woolcock is also said to haunt the gaol walls, dressed in a long white gown, she is seen in the women’s yards and cells from time to time during the day.
 

 John Balaban was a notorious and sadistic murderer in South Australia. He came to Adelaide from Romania where he worked as an industrial chemist.
In 1953, Balaban committed a triple murder when he killed his wife Thelma, her six-year-old son from a previous marriage, Philip and Thelma’s 66-year-old Mother, Susan Ackland.in the rooms above the sunshine café where the family lived.
 He then turned his attention on Verna Maine, a 24-year-old waitress in the café.  Vera, to escape Balaban, jumped out through an upstairs window. She lay on the footpath critically injured from the fall, but was lucky to escape, with witnesses able to call the police and thus, save her life.
 Balaban was swiftly arrested and quickly confessed to another murder, that of 29-year-old Zora Kusic.

It was eventually the murder of Zora that got Balaban executed at the Adelaide Gaol on the 27^th of August 1953, but it would seem he still lingers within the walls where his body, and that of 45 other executed prisoners remain.
 Balaban has been seen on occasion near the hanging tower, looking remorsefully at his feet – perhaps contemplating his eternal fate within the foreboding walls of The Adelaide Gaol.

 Many of you will be happy to know that the ghost tours, that were run by the Adelaide Gaol Preservation Society for almost 25 years are returning this November for their famous tours...

 Adelaide Gaol Preservation Society are professional and offer unique experiences in ghost tours, workshops and other paranormal related outings.

You can find out more information through the Adelaide Gaol Preservation Website at : http://Adelaidegaol.org

Or via facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AdelaideGaolPreservationSociety

First published in MEGAscene Issue 3, Novemeber 2015.

Written and Researched by Allen Tiller.

©2015 Allen Tiller.

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 associations and groups.
You can find Allen online at:
www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller
www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia
https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

Dead Dog Creek - Adelaide Botanic Gardens

Dead Dog Creek - Adelaide Botanic Gardens

In 1868, Benjamin Ellis served as a dog‑catcher for the Corporation of Adelaide. His job was simple and brutal: he was authorised to shoot any unlicensed dog found within the city boundaries and dispose of the bodies as required under the Act. Ellis, however, took a rather questionable approach to the “disposal” part of his duties.

Rather than burying the dogs — as the law clearly required — Ellis began dumping the carcasses beneath a small bridge in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The bridge crossed a creek near the rear entrance of the gardens and was frequently used by the public. Before long, the stench became overwhelming, and complaints poured into the Botanic Gardens office.

Dr Richard Schomburgk, Director of the Botanic Gardens, inspected the site and found thirteen dead dogs rotting beneath the bridge. Outraged, he wrote immediately to the Corporation, demanding the nuisance be removed.

The Adelaide Observer of 11 April 1868 reported the exchange:

“From Dr Schomburgk, stating that the person employed by the Corporation for killing dogs threw the carcases in the creek below the Botanic Garden… requesting that the nuisance might be removed.”

Ellis replied, admitting that “some dogs had been thrown there,” but claimed he had removed them after receiving the complaint.

His Worship reminded the Council that the Act required carcasses to be buried, not dumped. Councillor Sundry stated Ellis deserved “severe censure,” while Councillor Bundey suggested Ellis might be prosecuted for obtaining money under false pretences, as he had been paid fees only after declaring the dogs were properly buried.

The Town Clerk confirmed Ellis had indeed received fees upon making such declarations. Bundey warned that if the matter came before Council again, he would push for prosecution. His Worship noted that the fee was payable only upon a declaration “to satisfy a Justice of the Peace,” meaning Ellis could be charged with perjury if he knowingly lied.

The Council resolved that no fees would be paid without certification from a Justice of the Peace — a direct response to Ellis’s misconduct. An intriguing twist to this story is that a man named Benjamin Ellis, during this same period, also served as the hangman at Adelaide Gaol — a figure now rumoured to haunt the site. Whether the dog‑catcher and the hangman were the same man is still debated, but the overlap in name, era, and reputation certainly adds a macabre edge to Adelaide’s colonial history.

©2015 - Allen Tiller

Ghost of the Hangmans Noose

Ghost of the Hangman's Noose
Ben Ellis: Executioner at Adelaide Gaol

Most people take pride in their work, but Ben Ellis — hangman for the Adelaide Gaol from around 1860 until the mid‑1870s, and also executioner at Mount Gambier Gaol — took an exceptional pride in performing his grim duties with precision. In an era when the hangman was the most despised man in the colony, Ellis approached his role with a meticulousness that set him apart.

The Adelaide Gaol hangman lived on‑site, partly as payment and partly for protection. His position made him deeply unpopular, and living within the walls of the gaol kept him safe from the public — and from former prisoners who might have vowed revenge on behalf of the condemned.

Ellis’s quarters were in a small apartment beneath the women’s dormitory. A newspaper report from the late 1860s described his living space as filthy, noting that small fires frequently broke out inside or near his room. Despite this, Ellis remained committed to his work.

Ellis’s record was marred by only one botched execution: that of Charles Streitman in 1877. On this occasion, Ellis was hasty and failed to follow his usual careful preparations. When the trapdoor fell, Streitman rebounded and became caught on the platform. It took 22 agonising minutes before death finally claimed him — a horrific end that haunted Ellis’s reputation.

One newspaper described Ellis as:

“a hulk of a man with alcohol blemishes on his nose, a wisp of grey hair and a shabby beard — a grumpy‑looking fellow who lived in squalid conditions.”



Ellis carried out his duties without complaint until 1873, when he was ordered to execute Elizabeth Woolcock — the first woman hanged in South Australia. Ellis protested the execution, and from that moment began questioning his role as hangman.

His discomfort grew, and before long he found himself unemployed — and unemployable. His solicitor later told the District Court that Ellis could not secure work anywhere in Adelaide due to the stigma of his former occupation. He had become a social outcast, living on the streets.

Ben Ellis eventually died a vagrant and was buried in a pauper’s grave at West Terrace Cemetery. His life, once defined by grim duty, ended in poverty and obscurity.


  Today, it is alleged that Ellis haunts the Adelaide Gaol. A spirit matching his description is often seen near the old bakery and in the tunnel connecting the main gaol to the New Building yard. Whether this is truly the ghost of Ben Ellis or simply a lingering echo of the gaol’s dark past, the sightings continue to add to the building’s long and unsettling history.

© 2015 - Allen Tiller