Caust's Angel

Charles Arnold Caust was born on August 11 1878 at Chain of Ponds in the Adelaide Hills. Caust’s family were devoted Methodists. Caust left the Adelaide Hills, and for five years lived with his sister at Goodwood and later Hindmarsh.
At age 19, Caust had a vision of an Angel. The Angel told him “You will not live another ten years.”
Although he was not a superstitious man, the visitation made him uneasy.
Two years later the same angel appeared, saying the same thing. In the weeks before his death, Caust spoke to his wife and his brother Ray about the Angel vision, stating he was not troubled by it, as he believed it was God calling him to work.[1]

William Strapps took his sons Claude and Frank, and Frank's friends Gordon Miller and Leslie Heming out for a sail in a canvas canoe at about 4pm. As the boat turned, it capsized, spilling all inside into the sea. Witnesses on the shore and jetty watched on as Claude Strapps swam to the shore, and the others struggled in the deep water.
 Caust was sitting at Henley Beach on Saturday 8 January 1906, with his friends and family. A boat with five people aboard capsized a fair distance out. Caust, who was holding his child kissed her and said ‘God will help you if I fail." He handed his daughter to a friend, ran down to the water, stripped off and jumped into the sea. He swam towards the upturned canoe in heavy seas. Large waves tumbled him, but he struggled on. Another wave crashed over Caust, and he disappeared from sight. His wife, now standing on the shore watching, screamed in uncontrolled grief – her husband was gone…

 The boys and their captain, nearing exhaustion were rescued by Stanley and Herbert Scrymgour. In a newspaper interview, William Strapps called Caust ‘one of nature’s noblemen,’ and went on to state,

as being unacquainted with boats or with the sea he was unaware that we were in no immediate danger. Our craft is a good life raft when capsized, and none but swimmers are ever allowed aboard. The fact that he could not manage a boat, and was not an expert swimmer, only increases one's admiration of his futile efforts.[2]

Causts body was found the following day at Grange Jetty.[3]It had been nine and half years since the angel visited Caust, foretelling his death. He was buried at Hindmarsh cemetery.

A monument was also erected at Chain of Ponds in honour of Charles Caust on 15 December 1907. Between 200 to 300 people attended the dedication service. The monument is of Italian marble and is erected adjacent to the gate of the Methodist church.[4]

 

Front Inscription

A tribute to the heroism and self-sacrifice of - Charles Arnold Caust who was drowned on Jan 6th 1906, at Henley Beach while endeavouring to rescue others in peril

Aged 21 years.

He being dead yet speak.[5]

 

In 2003, Chain of Ponds Winery in the Adelaide Hills released a single vineyard shiraz called ‘The Ledge’ in honour of Charles Arnold Caust. You can find out more about it here: https://www.chainofponds.com.au/our-wines

 

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2023

 

[1] 'In Memoriam.', Australian Christian Commonwealth, (26 January 1906), p. 5.
[2] 'DROWNED AT HENLEY BEACH.', Chronicle, (13 January 1906), p. 39.
[3]'HENLEY BEACH DROWNING CASE.', The Age, (9 January 1906), p. 5.
[4] 'A MEMORIAL TO THE LATE CHARLES ARNOLD CAUST.', Australian Christian Commonwealth, (4 January 1907), p. 11.
[5] ‘Charles Arnold Caust’, Monument Australia, https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/tragedy/display/116440-charles-arnold-caust#:~:text=The%20monument%20commemorates%20Charles%20Arnold,Henley%20Beach%2C%20on%20Saturday%20afternoon.

 

Ship Ahoy! A Murderous Scoundrel.

 

Charles La Lievre

Inspector Charles Le Lievre was a member of the South Australian Mounted Police Force between 1877 and 1929. He was stationed at various outposts, including Henley Beach, Salisbury, Nairne, and Renmark. Before coming to Australia from the Channel Islands, Le Lievre was a sailor.

 Le Lievre recounted many stories about his time in the police force to local newspapers after his retirement. This is one of them.

 

While at Nairne in 1897, and making my usual round in the township, I heard someone shouting,- 'Ship ahoy!', I went up to see what was the matter and saw a man in a drunken state near the hotel. I asked him what was the matter? He told me he was calling, for his mate. I said to him, 'You had better come, with me and have a camp,' and took him to the station.
  When there he asked me if I would give him a feed, as he had not had anything to eat that day. ' I gave him a good feed and' two pannikins of hot tea.

He sat eating what I had given him on the sill of the cell door. After he had finished, I said to him, 'You bad better go in and have a camp.'
He got up and said, and said, “What do you take me for, a ____ mug?” and made a violent blow at me.
A scuffle took place, and I bundled, him into the cell. Shortly afterwards several local men came to me and informed me that a man was going about the street vowing that he would “knife the ____ trooper that had caged his mate,' and that he would knife him if he attempted, to arrest him; and, that whatever I did to be sure and take my revolver with me, as he appeared to be mad drunk.

I thanked them for telling me, as forewarned was forearmed. I took my staff, which I placed inside my jacket; and went in search of this man.

I asked one of the men to follow me in case I needed assistance. I had not proceeded far when I heard a man using vile and blasphemous language under the verandah of one of the hotels further down the street. As I approached him he said, “You're the ____ that caged my mate,' and so on.
  He kept his hand on his side and the handle of a sheath knife; which was in his belt. '

There are various stages of drunkenness, such as helplessness and maudlin, but this man was mad drunk and was like a perfect demon. I could see that he would not hesitate to knife me.
I had to use stratagem with him: but I was determined at all costs to arrest him.
 I said, “I don't know what you mean by caging your mate. He has just had a feed, and is now having a camp at the station.”
 “Well,“ he said, 'there's his ______ swag, you can take that too.”
  I was taking no risk in doing that, for I saw that he was waiting for an opportunity to take me off my guard, and knife me. I turned around to the landlord, who was standing by, and said to him, 'Take the swag inside, and give the owner of it a pint of beer at my expense when he calls for it.”
 He said to the landlord, with an oath, 'Leave the swag alone; I'll take it to him.' - I said, “Very well, you can do that if you like.”

He seemed to be nonplussed at the cool way I was acting towards him, for I remained calm and collected. He slung the swag over his shoulder and walked with me towards the station. I kept close to him and was determined that at the slightest attempt he made to draw his knife I would use my baton on him.
 After proceeding a little way, I said to him, “I hear that you are a sailor and that you have a knife you are going to put into me. Do you' call yourself an English sailor?''
 He replied with an oath that he was. I said to him, “I too have been a sailor, and I never yet knew an English sailor who would use his knife against another. I want you to hand me that knife, let me have a look at it.”

 With that, he drew it out of its sheath. Simultaneously as he raised his arm, I caught hold of his wrist, giving it 'a sharp twist, and took possession of the knife. I was then master of the situation. He was taken by surprise, and said, “'Oh, matey, you're not going to keep my knife, that is the only one I have to cut my tobacco with.”
 I told him I would cut what he wanted.

At the station, I arrested him and placed him in the cell with the other 'prisoner.

He stamped and swore and acted like a madman. He opened the swag and drew out from it a new tomahawk, put it on the cell floor, and walked to where his mate was lying asleep. I nodded to the man who was with me to get it. He swiftly crossed the cell floor and brought it out.
 I immediately bolted the cell door. Seeing what we had done he used blasphemous language. In the morning I opened the cell door, but was prepared for any emergency, and asked them for their names. The prisoner I had taken the knife from asked “What's the charge, sergeant; no knifing I hope, for I'm a ____ when in drink?' I replied, 'Fortunately for you, it is not.”
 They were both sentenced to a term of imprisonment at the Nairne Police Court.

 The knife, an ugly looking one was handed over to the Commissioner of Police, and he ordered it to be placed in the police museum, which contains almost all the weapons with which the murders and attempted murders and suicides recorded in the State have been committed. Each article is numbered, and a concise record kept of the circumstances surrounding the tragedy with which that exhibit, is associated.
  One of these knives had been included in the collection not on the account, as it says, of association with a crime, but it testifies to the bravery of a mounted constable' (M.C; Le Lievre) when at one of our southern townships Upon being told that a sailor, had threatened to use his sheath knife if he attempted to arrest him, the officer determinedly faced the man took possession of the knife and arrested him. I heard no more of this man until the Stepney Tragedy, which occurred a year or more after this incident.^[1]

 

Next week: The Stepney Tragedy.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2020

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[1] 'MEMORIES OF AN OLD POLICE OFFICER.', The Register, (6 October 1925), p. 12. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64246910.

An Influx of South Australian UFO Sightings in January 1954

An Influx of South Australian UFO Sightings in January 1954

Port Road, Hindmarsh, January 8th January 1954. Delicatessen owners, the Hornby family, witnessed a flying saucer, fly across the northern sky.
Witness, Mr W.J. Hornby, stated; “Suddenly my son John shouted that he had seen a flying saucer flash from west to east.”
He added; “ We didn't believe him and were discussing it when 10 minutes later the object reappeared, this time flying from east to west.”
The object was described as “crescent-shaped and coloured orange.”[1]

On the same evening, (Jan. 8) at about 9pm, Mr C.C. Vonow of Ormonde Avenue, Colonel Light Gardens reported seeing a glowing parachute shaped object moving very slowly southwards as he and a companion were driving down Waymouth street in the Adelaide.

Three UFO sightings were reported on January 9th. 15 Kilometres from Morgan in the Riverland, Captain W. Booth, piloting a DC3 for Guinea Airways, reported a strange object in the sky. No other aircraft were reported in the immediate vicinity. The object appeared to dart constantly across the pilot's line of flight.
On the same evening, Mr and Mrs Sherek of Seaview Road, Kirkcaldy (now Henley Beach) witnessed a bright “planet-like” object moving from left to right on the horizon from 2:20am, for about 45 minutes. The object moved vertically sideways about 15 degrees above the western horizon.

A banana-shaped UFO with flashing lights down its side was witnessed just before midnight on Thursday the 14th of January 1954. Witness, Mr C.D. Dallow of Strathmore Street, Ferryden Park saw the object flying at “terrific speed” from the Adelaide Hills, near Magill, westward toward, then over St Vincent Gulf.[2]

Mr Darrow was quoted as saying in The News; “I was looking at the sky for any sign of a weather change when I noticed the object. It was visible for seven to eight seconds, then it appeared to dip down, then rise again, before moving along the horizon towards the sea.”[3]

A report was made to the Flying Saucer Investigation Committee, which was one of many UFO investigation groups in 1954. As previously reported on this blog, A UFO was also seen over Gawler in 1954 (read about it here: https://hauntedadelaide.blogspot.com/2014/11/gawler-flying-saucer.html)

On January 12th, two separate witnesses both reported seeing an object streaking across the sky at 10am in the morning, leaving behind it a trail of white smoke over the Burra region.
Two days later, on the 14th of January, Mallala Fire Brigade Officer, Mr C.W. Huxtable witnessed a shiny silver object at 11:25am, moving horizontally across the sky, it suddenly shot upwards at high speed and disappeared from sight!

Also, in January 1954, a UFO was sighted on the 24th of January by three male witnesses. The witnesses reported seeing an unusual object in the north-eastern sky shaped like a diamond, that was shining what appeared to be a searchlight, which was scanning the ground for a few minutes before it eventually faded away.
The men claimed emphatically that the light was not a star or other “heavenly body”, nor could it have been an aircraft due to the terrific speed it was travelling.[4]


Have you witnessed a UFO over South Australia? Let us know on the Haunts of Adelaide Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide/

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019

[1] 1954 'Suburban Family See Flying Saucer', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 - 1954), 9 January, p. 3., viewed 15 Sep 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47568816
[2] 1954 'FLYING SAUCERS IN THE SA AIR', The Mail (Adelaide, SA: 1912 - 1954), 16 January, p. 8., viewed 15 Sep 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58095169
[3] 1954 'Now it's a flying banana?', News (Adelaide, SA: 1923 - 1954), 15 January, p. 26., viewed 15 Sep 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134473724
[4] 1954 'Unusual Object in Sky', Quorn Mercury (SA: 1895 - 1954), 28 January, p. 1. , viewed 15 Sep 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213711009

Estcourt House

Estcourt House 

Frederick Bucknall, Founder of The South Australian Rowing Club and one of the men involved in the acquisitions and subdivisions of land that eventually became the suburbs Grange and Henley Beach near Adelaide.

Frederick was a businessman who, in the late 1860s ran The South Australian Boating Company from Port Adelaide in an old Malthouse in Grey street. He converted the shed into the “Australian Clubhouse hotel” in 1869, known locally as “The Kerosine Tin” because of its galvanised iron walls.

Frederick placed a lot of money in placing boats on the River Torrens just after the first dam had been built, but the river flooded and washed the majority of his boats away, leaving him out of pocket.

In 1874, he met Rosa Haussen, the widow of Henry Haussen of the brewers, Haussen and Company.

With his new found bride came a large sum of money, estimated to be around 40, 000 pounds, and a new job at the family Brewery, plus nine children to look after.

Frederick and Rosa built Estcourt house at Grange in 1883 on the foreshore at a cost of 12, 000 pounds, but three years later, the family were facing financial difficulties and were forced to sell the house.

In 1886 the new owner of Estcourt was the Australian Mutual Provident Society, better known to us today as AMP. AMP owned the house for quite some time, in that time it remained empty, its isolation and size made it unwanted and unaffordable to most.

Eventually, the house was sold and in 1892 was purchased by the James Brown Memorial Trust, a trust fund set up by the widow, Mrs Jessie Brown, in her late husband's honour. The house was to help people in need. It officially opened in 1894, and by December of that year had eight children aged between four and twelve, and twenty-three visually impaired or blind people elderly people in its care.

Eight years later, in 1900 it had grown to forty-five people in its care.

By 1931, the facility was provided with a teacher from the education board and had become a convalescent home for children suffering from TB, polio, rheumatic fever and other ailments.
In 1978 the Government bought Estcourt House and it became part of Strathmont Centre, then in 1981 the house was upgraded and children were moved from North Adelaide, Estcourt House became known as Ru Rua Nursing Home until its closure in 1989.

With Tb, Scarlet Fever and other such ailments, death was not too far away for some children, and unfortunately many did die in Estcourts walls, one story of a young man named Anthony Nolan, a sufferer of bone marrow disease, was well documented in a 1979 issue of Woman’s Weekly, unfortunately Anthony died at just 8 years of age.

Another tragic death was that of a 17-year-old nurse, Hazel Fryar in 1939. Young Hazel contracted laryngeal diphtheria, a rare disease that eventually blocks the airways.

South Australian Register Tuesday 9 June 1896, page 7

These tragic deaths are just two I found quickly whilst searching on the National Library website “Trove”, there were many, many more deaths from Tuberculosis, children with heart problems, amputees and other ailments.

After the closure in 1989 the house stood empty for many years, attracting ghost hunters and thrill seekers, the majority of ghost stories surrounding this location extend from this period and can most likely be dismissed as the hypersensitive, adrenalin rush state someone trespassing might endure, but there is always the possibility that the little ghost children seen playing hide and seek at the time might not be stories.

Estcourt house was eventually sold to a private buyer and the hospital wings removed, the house now looks like many other mansions on the street, as for the ghosts, as of yet, the new owners have not stated anything publicly.

© 2013 Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

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