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 was a local dog catcher employed by the Corporation of Adelaide (Adelaide Council). He was given carte blanche to shoot any unlicensed dog he found in the city boundaries and dispose of them as he saw fit.

   Either lacking a good burial site or just being plain lazy, Mr Ellis decided it was perfectly fine to dispose of the dead dog bodies under a bridge in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

  The little bridge, which crossed a little creek, was near the rear entrance of the gardens and was often used by the public. The smell was overwhelming, and complaints began to come into the main office of the Botanic Gardens. Doctor Schomburgk inspected the bridge and counted 13 dead dogs – he quickly wrote a letter of disgust to Mr Ellis – and the dead dogs soon ceased to be left in the gardens.

The following story was printed in Adelaide Observer, April 11^th 1868;

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

In reply, Benjamin Ellis wrote, admitting that some dogs had been thrown there, but that since the complaint he had removed them.

His Worship said the Act distinctly required that the carcases should be buried. Mr. Sundry considered that Mr. Ellis was deserving of severe censure; but he apprehended he was employed by the Registrar of Dogs.

The Town Clerk, in reply to Mr. Bundey, said the man had received fees for the dogs upon making declaration that they were buried.

Mr Bundey considered certainly some steps should be taken, and if the thing was brought before the Council again he would see that steps were taken to prosecute the party for obtaining money under false pretences.

His Worship pointed out that according to the Act the fee was only to be paid on a declaration being made such as to satisfy a Justice of the Peace. Then, if the man committed perjury, he could be prosecuted.

The Council resolved that no fees be paid without a certificate from a Justice of the Peace.

  An interesting side note to this story is that a Benjamin Ellis, in this same period was also the hangman at Adelaide Gaol, and is today rumoured to haunt the gaol. 

Links:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/158930409?searchTerm=%22benjamin%20ellis%22&searchLimits=l-state=South+Australia|||sortby=dateDesc

©2015 - Allen Tiller

Ghost of the Hangmans Noose

Ghost of the Hangmans 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 hangman at Mount Gambier Gaol in the same period took exceptional pride in his efforts to make sure he did his job precisely.

  The Adelaide Gaol hangman lived on-site within the gaol, part payment for being the most unpopular man in Adelaide, and doing the dirtiest job of all. Partly to keep him safe from the general public, and from released prisoners who may have made promises to condemned prisoners.

 His quarters were in a small apartment under the female dormitory. In an observation in an Adelaide newspaper in the late 1860s, it was noted how filthy Mr Ellis kept his room. It was also noted that fires would often break out inside, or near his particular dwelling.

 Mr Ellis only had one execution go wrong in his time as hangman, and that was of prisoner Charles Streitman in 1877. In this particular instance, Mr Ellis was hasty in his preparations and didn’t go about his job in his usual way. When it became time for the trap door to drop, Streitman, rebounded and got caught on the platform – it took him 22 minutes before death took him from hanging – an insufferable way to die.

 Ben Ellis was described in one old newspaper as;  "a hulk of a man with “alcohol” blemishes on his nose, a whisp of grey head and a shabby beard. A grumpy looking fellow who lived in squalid conditions."

 Ellis went about his job without no complaint, until 1873, when Elizabeth Woolcock was due to be hung in the gaol. The first woman to be executed in Adelaide. Ellis protested her execution and from then on questioned his position as executioner.

 It wasn’t too much longer until Ellis found himself unemployed, and unemployable. Ellis ended up in the district court for vagrancy. His solicitor stated that he could not get a job anywhere in Adelaide due to his incredible unpopularity, from his previous career, and since being released from his position, had lived on the streets of Adelaide.

Ben Ellis would eventually pass away a vagrant, and be buried in a paupers grave in West Terrace Cemetery.

  It is alleged Mr Ellis now haunts the Adelaide Gaol. The spirit of a person matching his description is often seen around the area of the old bakery, and in the tunnel that joins the main gaol to the 'New Building' yard.

© 2015 - Allen Tiller