Haunted Old Mount Gambier Gaol

South Australia is such a vast and interesting State with so many haunted locations it’s hard to choose just one place for every issue, but for this month’s issue of MEGAscene, I thought we might look at the south of the state, and visit the Old Mount Gambier Gaol.

The Mount Gambier Gaol operated from 1866 until 1995. In that time 3 men, Carl Jung (1871), William Page (1875) and William Nugent (1881). There were five suicides in the gaol and at least 4 people lost their lives inside the prison through natural causes.

 

The first execution in Mount Gambier Gaol happened on November 10th, 1871. Carl Jung, a shoemaker and wine merchant of had gone into debt because of poor sales. In June that year, bailiff, Thomas Garroway was sent to seize Jung’s property.

The two men came to an agreement, and Jung was to follow the Bailiff in to Mount Gambier the following day. When morning broke and Jung joined Galloway to leave, the bailiff seized Jung's horse and cart, and some farm animals to help settle his outstanding debts.
 Garroway then set off for Mount Gambier, expecting Jung to follow. Jung was outraged that the Bailiff had seized his property, but set off after him as agreed.
 Jung’s rage burned hot inside him, he rode up alongside the bailiff with his shotgun raised, and gave him both barrels at close range, killing him.

Jung then turned the gun on himself, but was unsuccessful with his suicide attempt, and instead, fled into the wild scrublands. Eventually, hunger got the better of him, and he made his way back to his home, only to be arrested by police, who were patiently waiting for him to return.

Jung was tried and found guilty, but not before a petition by local business people had been presented to earn him a stay of execution. Unfortunately for Jung, the law had spoken, and on November 10, 1871, Jung was hung inside the Gaol. He held a bouquet of flowers, that he asked to be given to his wife upon his death.

 19-year-old Mary Buchan was dating William Walker. Walker, keen on marrying the young lady, proposed marriage, which Mary accepted.
Over the coming months, Walker would delay the marriage many times, angering Mary’s parents, who began to demand the wedding be called off.

July 11th, 1875, May Buchan did not turn up to Church as per unusual. Her worried mother contacted police and reported her missing. Walker was questioned about her whereabouts, and told police he had saddled up her horse himself, and seen her off as she rode out to Casterton in Victoria to find her Father
 A telegram sent from a small town along the way confirmed that Mary had been seen riding through their region the day before.

 May’s mother never felt comfortable with the explanations for her leaving the town. In coming days Mary’s father began to have dreams of her. In his dream, Mary would come to him and lay a hand on his shoulder. She would command him to find her body and showed him in the dream a ploughed field with three trees planted in a triangle.
At the same time, a bed-ridden policeman’s wife, who had recently given birth, began to dream of Mary also. Her dreams were uncannily like Mary’s Father’s dreams, in which, Mary led her to a field.

Through these dreams, Mary’s body was discovered at Hedley Park. She was covered in a shawl with strangulation marks on her neck. She had been severely beaten with a blunt object around the head.

 Evidence mounted, and soon it was revealed that William Walker was her killer. It also came to light that Walker, was also known to be a married man by the name of William Page and that he had proposed with a stolen ring!
It was revealed during the trial that Page has pestered Buchan for sex outside the church, which she refused. An argument broke out, and Page hit her with his stockwhip, he then strangled her to quieten her screams.

Page was sentenced to be hung for his crimes and was executed at the old Mount Gambier Gaol on 27 October 1875.

 The last execution at the gaol was that of William Nugent on the 18th of November 1881. Nugent, also known as Robert Johnson, was arrested for supplying liquor to aboriginals in Wellington.
 A Trooper named Pearce, who knew Nugent’s identity stopped him, and asked him to follow him back to Kingston. Nugent agreed, and followed the trooper, with three horses in tow.
 Nugent knew the horses were stolen and knew he was in big trouble, so he devised a plan. He asked the trooper if they could stop and rest for a while. Trooper Pearce agreed they could. After a short rest, the trooper insisted they mount their horses and get on with their journey.
 As Trooper Pearce began to mount his horse, Nugent pulled a knife from his boot and frenziedly stabbed the trooper, before riding off, leaving him to die.

 A passer-by found the trooper on the side of the road and sent for help. A search party was sent out for Nugent, and swiftly caught the criminal as he tried to escape towards Victoria.
 24-year-old Trooper Pearce died three days later, with his mother and father at his bedside.

 Nugent was sentenced to death and spent his last few days in solitary confinement, he reported to one of his guards, that he had encountered a ghost! Nugent said, during the day, he felt as if someone was sitting in the room alongside him. He then heard the voice of Trooper Pearce state “I came to tell you I hold no grudge against you Will Nugent, no doubt others will, but I do not”.

Nugent’s only request, which happened as he walked towards the gallows, was not for forgiveness, it was that his body was to be buried in consecrated ground.

Like all three executed prisoners, Nugent’s body was buried inside the gaol, as was the law at the time. It is not known where in the gaol grounds all three men are buried.

 

Trooper Pearce is not the only ghost to make itself known in the Old Mount Gambier Gaol. Cell 4 in men’s wing is known as a hot spot for paranormal activity, with witnesses reporting being touched by unseen hands, scratching and biting by an unseen spirit, and weird sounds, noises and voices!

A lady in white is seen to walk through a courtyard between the dining room and the cellblock. This ghostly apparition is thought to be of a woman who may have died whilst giving birth inside the gaol.

Other ghostly goings-on happen in the condemned man cells near the area where the three men were executed, and where another corporal punishment was dealt out, including the whipping of 12-year-old boy john Macmaster’s who received 20 lashes in his last week of an 18-month stay in the men’s prison for forgery~!

The Old Mount Gambier Gaol is now a unique accommodation facility and music venue, and states on its website that it is not haunted, may be, if you are down that way, visit the gaol, and decided for yourself if it is haunted or not.

 

http://www.theoldmountgambiergaol.com.au/

 

Allen Tiller is Australia’s most recognised paranormal investigator, eminent paranormal historian, and star of the international smash hit television show “Haunting: Australia”.
Allen is also the founder of Eidolon Paranormal, South Australian Paranormal and the author of book and blog, “The Haunts of Adelaide: History, Mystery and the Paranormal”.
Allen is the winner of the 2017 “Emerging South Australian Historian of The Year Award” as presented by The History Council of South Australia.

Allen has also been employed as “Historian in Residence” in 2016/2017 with the Adelaide City Council Libraries and employed by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Council to write the popular, “Ghosts of the Port Self-Guided Walking Tour”

 

First published in MEGAscene issue 10 2017

 © Allen Tiller 

A Haunting at the Cornwall Hotel – Moonta

Built in 1862, The Cornwall Hotel was originally known as ‘The Globe Hotel’ and was a popular drinking, and overnight accommodation spot in the busy mining town of Moonta.
 In the late 1870s, the hotel saw an increase in patronage, which led to the hotel having extensive alterations and additions under the ownership of JK Dawson in 1881.

 The hotel was almost destroyed on March 23 1889, with only the kitchen left standing after a fire broke out in the front bar. No deaths occurred due to the fire and the hotel was rebuilt by its owners, the SA Brewing Company.

Notable deaths in the hotel include a former ostler (a man paid to look after horses in the rear stables).  Thomas Senior died in his bed in 1888, it is thought, after he had fed the horses, he may have overstrained himself. He returned to his room to lay down after complaining about severe chest pains and died only a couple of hours later.

In 1928, the 28-year-old son of the publicans, Leslie Ferguson passed away in the hotel. Ferguson had served in World War One, and upon returning to South Australia to his wife and children, became ill. He stayed with his parents in the hope the sea air would help relieve his ailment but unfortunately passed away in his bed from chronic illness caused during his timer at war.

The haunting of the hotel is often blamed on the former publican George Walkley who took over as publican in 1926 after a long run as the publican of the Joiners Arms Hotel in Hindmarsh. The Walkleys owned the hotel into the 1940s before retiring back to Hindmarsh in Adelaide.
There really is no good reason why the former publican would haunt the hotel, other than his love for the place may have brought him back, He did not die on the site, in fact, He and his wife, both died in their Hindmarsh home a few years apart from each other.
This may, in-fact, be someone naming a ghost, when truly it isn’t that person at all…

Although Mr Walkley might, or might not, be the resident spirit, there are some odd goings-on in the hotel. After a recent talk to staff I discovered the smell of tobacco smoke (not paranormal in itself) is a common complaint, as are cold spots, taps turning on and off by themselves, dirty footprints appearing on clean floors (when no-one has been in the room) and doors opening and closing.

One staff member had the eeriest of all encounters at the hotel when they walked into the kitchen to discover a man sitting on the counter. The man, dressed in very old-styled clothing was smoking a rolled-up cigarette, looked at the staff member, hopped up, and walked out the door. He walked across a freshly washed floor, and left no footprints!

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

First Published in MEGAscene issue 9 2016

© Allen Tiller

A Haunting at the Cornucopia Hotel - Wallaroo

 

This month we are travelling to the Copper Coast to the historic mining seaside town of Wallaroo to visit one of my favourite haunts in the area – the Cornucopia Hotel, located at 40 Owen Terrace, right in the heart of the historic town.

This Copper Coast Hotel was built circa 1862 and first licensed to Mr R Hazelgrove.

 The hotel, boasting 52 rooms, was built in 1862 and was first licensed by Mr R Hazelgrove. It was the central meeting point in the town and had a purpose-built dance hall upstairs. It is the only hotel in Wallaroo to still retain its original opening name, having never been called anything other than “Cornucopia Hotel” (until recently when it was renamed The Copper Coast Hotel).
 It was also home, in the early days, like many hotels in that era, as the staging point for coroner inquests into local deaths. Often this would see the body laid out, with Doctors, Judges and other local dignitaries sitting around deciding if there was more to a death then an accident or natural causes.

 I have investigated the hotel on a number of occasions, both privately and with the public, and have encountered some very strange phenome within its walls.
 The upstairs section of the hotel houses the guest’s suites and shared shower facilities. This seems to be the epicentre of the haunting, particularly in the one wing containing bedrooms 11 through to 13.
 On one occasion, about the middle of the day, I was standing in the junction of the hallways, which wind and turn through the upper levels. In one spot I could smell very distinctly the smell of the ocean and old tobacco, but take a step in any direction and the smell would be completely gone. Now, not being one to jump to the “ghost” conclusion in an instant, I put it down to being so close to the ocean, and the smell of tobacco being embedded in the walls and carpets, and didn’t think any more of it, until I went downstairs to the dining room and a psychic told me that right above us was a spirit of an old Swedish sailor who had died elsewhere, but returned here as he felt this was home – (this still did not convince me the place is haunted by a Swedish sailor!).

 On another occasion, my wife experienced very strange disembodied footsteps in the hallway whilst she was investigating in room 10, at the same time, I was sitting on the bed in room 11 and recorded an EVP that asked the question “Hello?” – this was only the beginning of weird occurrences in the upstairs area that evening,
 Whilst in another upstairs room we all experienced equipment responses to questions. One investigator also heard a disembodied voice within the room.
 During a public event in the Cornucopia Hotel, Rob from “Cityside Paranormal” had a poltergeist event occur. Rob and his partner was staying in room 11, he put his clothes and gear in the room, and during the tour part of the event, re-entered his room to find all his belongings were strewn about the place as if someone had been recklessly searching for some mysterious object!

 So who haunts the Cornucopia Hotel? It could be Archibald Samuels, a young man, aged 14, who lost his life in a water tank that is located directly underneath the current bear garden. Archibald had gone to draw water from the tank and somehow fell in, only to be found the following day when the hotel couldn’t find him to run an errand.

 Or, perhaps it might be Mr Crawford, who had a nasty gash upon his leg that went gangrene, he died in an upstairs bedroom.
 Many of the staff have told me stories of suicides that go unreported in the local media, one involved a young woman hanging herself from the balcony in full site of the town’s main street – it is said she may be the ghost often heard speaking in room 9, that also likes the roll bars of soap across the room.

Another mysterious paranormal event occurred in February 1894 when a fire broke out in the hotel stables (as reported in The Kadina and Wallaroo Times – 3 Feb 1894).  Albert Swanski, the horse keeper locked the stables at 11pm, and when he checked the horses at 7:30am, he found the stalls and horses very badly burnt, so badly, in fact, the vet put them down immediately (they are buried in the hotel grounds). All the leather bridles, reigns etc of the horses were perfect, uncharred, no fire or smoke damage. No one knew how the fire started, or how it got put out, all the locks were still intact, and no entry points could be seen – very strange indeed!

 

The Cornucopia Hotel Wallaroo remains a popular drinking spot within the town and depending on who you talk too, one of the most haunted pubs on the Copper Coast!

My thanks to Rick and Will Parson of Flinders Ranges Paranormal Research Group for assistance with research on this historic location.

<edit> The Cornucopia Hotel is now known as the Copper Coast Hotel.

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

First published in MEGAscene issue 7 2016

© Allen Tiller

A Haunting at the National Railway Museum

 Located in Port Adelaide, The National Railway Museum offers a glimpse into South Australia’s railway past. Within its many sheds sit old trains from all eras of our railway past, including Steam Trains, Diesel Engines, old Red Hens and even the old Callington Railway Station, but did you know, there are also claims the site is haunted?

The National Railway Museum started originally on Railway Terrace, Mile End in 1963 and was run entirely by volunteers, who not only restored and preserved old trains but wrote and published books about them too.
 In 1988 the volunteers sought a new site where their trains could be kept undercover to keep them out of the weather, and in pristine condition. After a Government grant and help from the History Trust of SA, a new site was purchased.

 The Port Dock Station Railway Museum was opened in 1988. In 2001 a new facility was opened within the existing one that featured exhibits from the Australian National Railways and the Commonwealth Railways. With the new exhibit came a new name for the site, one that remains today “The National Railway Museum Port Adelaide”.

The original railway station stood where the Port Adelaide Police Station now sits and was opened in 1856. This was one of the first lines in South Australia and the mainline to the ports. The station closed in 1981, but the goods sheds and railway yards remained, which is now the site of the museum.
 Within the complex are a series of sheds containing many displays of railway related items, including a miniature train set and old steam train carriages one can walkthrough. There is also the original 1878 Port Dock Station goods shed on the eastern side of the complex, and the old Callington booking office, which was built in 1951 in the town of Callington, near Murray Bridge. The building was taken from Callington in 1991 and re-erected in Port Adelaide in 1994.
 The museum also has in its collection an original coffin trolley used until 1982 the Adelaide Railway Station to transport coffins by hand through the terminal.

 My father worked in the railways, as did both his parents, so trains were a big part of my life growing up. My wife and I, and my Mother-In-Law had investigated the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre in 2011, and had some great experiences, so when we were invited to join Lyon Paranormal, Paranormal Spectrum and The Ghosts Within to investigate the National Railway Museum for paranormal activity, my whole team made themselves available for the opportunity!

 There had been ongoing reports of spooky thing happening at the site, including reports of a shadow person, and of phones ringing when they are not plugged into the wall.
 It is thought that one of the trains, the “Y 12” may, in fact, be the very train that was involved in Australia’s first terror attack, at Silverton, near Broken Hill. On New Year’s Day 1915, two Turkish men opened fire into the carriages this locomotive which was hauling, a picnic train, killing a number of passengers. It is believed by some parties that the spirits of those deceased may linger near the locomotive.
 Other deaths onsite include railway workers killed while working in the rail yard shunting trains. There is also an unconfirmed story of a man who fell asleep on the rails whilst very drunk and was run over by a train.

 

We investigated as many carriages and trains as we could enter on the night, but for us, it seemed the spirits did not want to communicate. However, Paranormal Spectrum’s investigators did manage to collect an EVP during their sessions.

The National Railway Museum Port Adelaide is located at 76 Lipson Street Port Adelaide – you can find more information about exhibits and the train via their website at: http://www.natrailmuseum.org.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 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 6 2016

© Allen Tiller

Haunted Highercombe Hotel Museum

Haunted Highercombe Hotel Museum

 

Every year I have the pleasure of visiting locations haunted locations around Australia. 2015 was no different, with investigations at the Boggo Road Gaol in Queensland, Geelong Gaol, Beechworth Lunatic Asylum in Victoria and a return to Woodford Academy in New South Wales. In South Australia, the journey has taken in Old Adelaide Gaol, The Cornucopia Hotel in Wallaroo, investigations in Willunga, Kapunda, Gladstone and Edinburgh, but one of the more interesting locations for me, this year has been a small scale investigation in a historic location, the Highercombe Hotel Museum in Tea Tree Gully.

In 1853 when the Highercombe Hotel was built in the town of “Steventon”, now known as Tea Tree Gully. The population was of a reasonable size, but not one big enough to support the Highercombe Hotel and the Tea Tree Gully Inn which stood across the road. The Highercombe Hotel had a short-lived existence as a local pub, closing its doors as a hotel only 24 years after opening.

 The Tea Tree Gully Hotel became a major stopping point for stagecoaches and horse riders after the main road in the area was diverted right past its front door.

 The northern side of the Highercombe Hotel building served as the local post office and post-masters residence from 1879 until 1963. From 1875 until 1934 the southern side of the building was lived in by the headteacher of the Tea Tree Gully Public School. After this, for 20 years from 1930, the southern side was rented to the Hughes family as a private residence.

 For a small period in the 1960s the building served as the library and office for the Tea Tre Gully Council, until it was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1967 when it’s life as a museum was imagined.

In 2015 the site has been renamed “The Tea Tree Gully Heritage Museum” and is run entirely by volunteers

Whilst I have found no deaths in my current research on the building that could lend credence to a possible haunting, the building contains a number of personal effects that could promote the theory of “attachment”. “Attachment” is the theory that some paranormal investigators subscribe too, that some objects are so loved and adored by their owners or had such importance in their lives, that, in death, they still cannot bear to part with the object. This, in turn, leads to sightings of the spirit near its beloved object – as would appear to be the case here in this building.

 One sighting has been of a young girl sitting in front of the fireplace in the large downstairs sitting-room at the entrance side of the Hotel. This teenage girl has been seen briefly by volunteers, sitting quietly, as if enjoying, or warming herself in front of the fire.

 Whilst investigating with my team, Eidolon Paranormal, and friend Karina Eames, we had our own brief unexplained experience in an upstairs room when reading poetry that was bequeathed to the museum in an estate. Whilst Karina and Karen were reading the poetry aloud, another investigator witnessed a small white light pass between two investigators and then vanish – at the same time goosebumps and coldness was felt by the investigators.

 At this stage we are still reviewing our investigation data, and looking towards further investigations in the former hotel to uncover who could possibly be haunting the building.

 

The museum can be visited by the public on open days or through group bookings by visiting the volunteer society’s website at – http://www.highercombemuseum.on.net/

  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

First published in MEGAscene issue 5 2016

© Allen Tiller

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

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