An (alleged) Haunting at Carclew House, North Adelaide

 

The property on which Carclew House is situated was originally owned by George Cortis in 1837, who sold it to William Bartley in 1847.  It was owned by Edward Stephens in 1848, then by the Crawford family from 1849 until 1855 (with a year of possession by H. Mitchell in 1852).
 In 1855, Abraham Scott and Edmund William Wright owned the property for six years before selling it to James Chambers in 1861.
 James Chambers success came from buying a town acre in the first Adelaide land sale.  With his brother John, he imported horses from Van Diemen’s Land. The two men secured themselves a small fortune through their business dealings and became philanthropists in the small Adelaide community.  He opened a livery stable in Adelaide and purchased coaches from South Africa and England. He gained the mail contract to Burra (around 1845) and built a large business carting people and mail to the mining communities in Kapunda, Burra and other towns in the Mid North of South Australia.  James Chambers also supplied the horses and carts for Tolmer's gold escort from Mount Alexander to Adelaide in 1852.[1]

   Mr Chambers had a small house and stable on the land in North Adelaide, which he sold to tobacco magnate, Mr Dixson, in 1896. Dixson demolished the former home of Chambers and commissioned architect John Bruce to build a stately mansion, which he named Stalheim.

  In 1908, Dixson sold his stately home to Langdon Bonython, the wealthy owner of The Advertiser newspaper. Bonython renamed the building Carclew House and lived there with his wife, Lady Marie Bonython, and their children.[2]  The Bonython family lived happily in the newly named Carclew House from 1908 until its sale to the state government in 1965.

 

  There are numerous ghost stories associated with Carclew House, many of which are urban legends.
 The oldest being that Sir Bonython carried his disabled wife, whom he had found cheating, up into the spire and threw her out of a window. Lady Bonython allegedly hit the ground, but did not die, so Sir Bonython carried her up again and threw her out the window a second time! (An addition to this story sometimes told is that Sir Bonython bricked his wife up inside the spire wall. Another telling is that Lady Bonython caught her husband in the embrace of another woman and threw herself from the tower.)  Whether the story is true has not seemed to matter in the annals of South Australian history; some people never let the truth get in the way of a good story, and this is a story that has it all.

From a conspirator's point of view, though, such a tragic murder could easily have been covered up, with her husband’s control of the local newspaper and other media sources, a son in the Mayor’s office, and an abundance of money and power.  Sir Bonython could have easily covered up such an event, but as we all know, the truth has a way of exposing itself, and if such an event did occur, it would find its way into the public forum eventually.   There is no conclusive evidence to prove that Sir Bonython killed his wife; in fact, her death appears to be a natural one that somehow became a conspiracy against her ever-loving husband.  Perhaps the rumours persisted and became an urban legend due to jealousy over the families’ wealth and power?

 

  Other urban legends from Carclew House involve men being buried inside the walls of the house, possibly builders, one near the front door and the other in a wall at the rear of the house. Urban legends have a way of twisting over time, and the story that once involved Lady Bonython looking longingly from a turret window at the outside world has now evolved into that of a young boy haunting the spire and looking out longingly at the city below.

  What is interesting about this is that there is a ghostly tale of a young man at Carclew House, as told by Lady Wilson, the granddaughter of the Bonythons. In the story from her youth, Lady Wilson recalls sleeping in a downstairs bedroom and witnessing the spirit of a young boy.
 The spirit was that of a young man with blond hair, aged about 15, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and black shorts with knee-high socks. The spirit would enter the room and go straight to the dressing table, where he would pick up pins…and while she watched him, he would very slowly become transparent, until he disappeared.  Other reports that have come to me over the years have included phantom smells of perfume that waft through the art rooms, one witness to the phantom perfume followed her nose, and although she could not find a source, she said the smell was strongest in the spire below a trap door.

 Carclew House is one of those locations in Adelaide that every budding Ghost Hunter wishes he or she could have a chance to investigate…

 

This is an extract from my book The Haunts of Adelaide: Revised Edition – for the full story, the book is available here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Haunts-Adelaide-History-Mystery-Paranormal/dp/B08JLQLLC5

 

©2020 Allen Tiller

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[1] Australian Dictionary of Biography, Chambers, James (1811–1862), National Centre of Biography, ANU (1969) http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/chambers-james-3189/text4785, accessed 26 June 2017.

[2] Carclew, Our History, (2014), https://carclew.com.au/Our-History, accessed 14 June 2015.

 A Haunting at the Star Theatre

 145 Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Hilton.

 

     A Methodist Free Church was built at 143 Sir Donald Bradman Drive in 1857. It became a Baptist Church in 1861. On the lot next door, a tin shed was built in 1923 as the Soldiers Memorial Institute. This was replaced in 1928 with a stone and brick building. During the 1930s, the institute was used for roller skating and dancing. In a precursor to night cricket, in 1936, the Hilton Institute became home to ‘Electric Light Cricket’, which was invented at Cowandilla by Alf Stone in 1933.[1] Matches were played indoors under electric lighting. Electric Light Cricket became a competitive sport in the area, which included multiple clubs using institutes and RSL Halls as their ‘home ground.’  In 1937, extensions to the Institute were completed – this included a ladies' retiring room and the projection room. The building became the Lyric Theatre and later the Windsor Theatre.
 In 1956, further additions were made to the building, allowing a larger audience to attend. For a short time, the theatre was known as the Star Theatre.
 In 1962, John Edmund and Donald Grey leased the building and turned it into a live theatre, renaming it Theatre 62.  In 1970, the Soldiers Memorial Institute was disbanded, and the library, which was still housed in the building, was removed by the Council.
 In 1981, the former church next door was purchased, and the two buildings were joined together. The complex was then known as Theatre 62. The Chapel was utilised as a youth centre by Carclew. The building was refurbished by the West Torrens Council in 1992. In 1993, Mighty Good Entertainment invested in the partnership that leased the building, and in 1999, it was decided to rename the complex Star Theatres.

 In 2015, West Torrens Council voted to retain the theatre and upgrade the building. Mighty Good Productions has been in the building for 30-plus years. The venue boasts patronage of over 80 thousand visitors a year.

 

  According to local legend, a former director of the theatre committed suicide by hanging himself in the access ladder doorway in the 1950s. Another former director of the theatre, Bob Jessop, claims to have witnessed a spectre in the building. Jessop claims that he was locking up the theatre one night when he witnessed the silhouette of a person step off the stage and into the wings. He went to see who it was, but could not find anyone. Jessop also claims that an invisible presence was often felt in the building by him and others. The ghost’s presence was always stronger when there were children present. It could also unplug the lighting.
  Another former director of the theatre, Barb Messenger, claimed that the ghost had particular tastes in theatre productions. It did not like period pieces and would cause disturbances to interrupt shows.
An incident occurred when ABC presenter John Ovendon was present in the foyer. Allegedly, a glass vase flew off a table and across the room with no living person near it!
Another incident involved Nicholas Upholske. There was repeated pounding on a rear door, but when it was opened, no one was there. Mr Upholske waited for the pounding to start again with his hand on the door lock. As soon as it began again, he swung the door open, expecting to see the culprit, but no one was there! It is not known who the ghost may be. Paranormal events continue to this day…[2]

(C) 2026 Allen Tiller
The Haunt of Adelaide

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[1] Daniel Keane, ‘ Electric Light cricket: The game Adelaide’s Alf Stone invented 85 years before the first day-night Test.’, ABC News, (2015), https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-25/electric-light-cricket-invented-by-adelaide-digger/6972582.

[2] Gordon de L. Marshall, Ghosts and Hauntings of South Australia, (2012), pp.71-2.

 A Haunting at the Gawler Railway Station

 Is the Gawler Railway Station haunted?  Recently, I have had reports of a spectre haunting the Gawler Railway Station. The first railway station was built here in 1857. The first train arrived on 5 October 1857 and was described in the Register as a ‘train of 13 first and second class carriages, plus three to four open carriages carrying approximately 900 passengers. The carriages were profusely decorated with flags and banners, and the engine was garlanded with flowers'.
  The train departed at 9:15 am, accompanied by the strains of the National Anthem, and reached Salisbury by 10:00 am, arriving at Gawler at 10:50 am.

  The 1857-built railway station was demolished, and a new one was built in 1879. The new station featured a booking office, waiting, refreshments, ladies' rooms, and station master and luggage departments.

The following is a historical sample of some of the deaths that have occurred at the historic railway station.

  In 1875, Station Porter Charles Woods died at the station after suffering a fit and falling from a train carriage onto the rails and stones below.[1]   In 1896, Porter, Donald McAuley tried to jump from the platform onto a moving engine – something he had successfully performed many times before. This time, McAuley slipped and went under the train. His right leg was instantly amputated by a train wheel, while his left leg was shattered at the ankle. Despite medical treatment, McAuley died just a few days later.[2]
 In 1893, the Broken Hill express was leaving Gawler, with Guard Peter Power standing on the footboard of the breakvan. As the train left the platform, Power was struck by a water column, causing him to lose balance and fall under the last wheels of the carriage. His legs were almost severed at the ankles. Power was taken to the Adelaide Hospital by train, but expired the following day.[3]  In 1911, George White, an engine driver, died suddenly at the Gawler Station. White was sitting on a seat talking to a fellow employee when he suddenly leaned back and died.[4]

  The reported ghost is often seen sitting on the benches of the station. From the description given, it appears to be male and dressed in an older style suit. The entire apparition is grey in colour and stares south, as if waiting for the train to arrive. It is now known who the apparition was in life.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2026

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[1] 'ACCIDENTAL DEATH AT GAWLER.', The Express and Telegraph, (15 December 1875), p. 2.

[2] 'Accident at the Railway Station.', Bunyip, (30 October 1896), p. 3.

[3] 'Fatal Accident at the Gawler Railway Station.', Bunyip, (4 August 1893), p. 2.

[4] 'SUDDEN DEATH.', The Register, (18 January 1911), p. 5. 

 Pelberre Railway Station

 

  Pelberre Station was a stop on the railway line between Gawler and Angaston. Pelberre is believed to be the Kaurna word for fruit. The station was situated near Bella Street, Gawler East, one stop from what is now Gawler Central (formerly Gawler North Railway Station).
Other stops that existed between Gawler and Lyndoch included Kalbeeba Station, Kalperri Station, Sandy Creek, Warpoo and Wilamba.[1]

 In 1947, Nancy Haese (24), her mother Amy Haese and Robert Lee (38) were travelling in their car when they were hit by a train at Jolly’s crossing. The mother and daughter were in the front seat, and Lee was in the back of the 1927 open touring car.
 According to the News,

The railcar struck the motor car alongside the steering wheel. The car was then crushed against the cattle pit guard rails, and carried 40 yards before it was hurled down a 15-ft. embankment. The 60-1b rails forming the cattle pit guard were bent and broken.
 With the exception of the engine and bonnet, the car was a twisted mass of steel and wood after the accident.
 The rear axle was ripped, out and carried along by. the railcar's cowcatcher, until it slid down the embankment when the railcar stopped 125 yards past the point of collision.[2]

  Nancy Haese was driving the car back to the family property. Lee was an employee; the three had been picking grapes on the Adelaide Road side of the railway line at Warpoo. The gate to the Haese property was just 20 feet from the crossing where the car was struck.
 Nancy was killed instantly. Mrs Haeses and Lee both suffered fractured skulls and died later in the Hutchinson Hospital, Gawler.
 In an article in The Register Newspaper, it states that the original stop at Warpoo was known as Haese’s, and was little more than a flattened piece of ground where the train stopped to pick up and drop off passengers.[3]

  The Angaston line from Gawler opened in 1911. Regular passenger services ceased in December 1968. In November 1996, Transadelaide introduced Sunday services to Nuriootpa, and in 1998, Bluebird Rail Operations ran the Barossa Wine train on the line, which ceased in 2003.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller (c) 2025

S.A.R. 1938 train timetable courtesy of Martin Walker.

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[1] Manning G.H., A Compendium of the Place Names of South Australia, State Library of South Australia, p. 669.

[2] 'Three Killed in S.A. Crossing Smash', News, (30 April 1947), p. 1.

[3] 'Country News.', The Register, (7 May 1925), p. 13. 

McDonald, J., & Johnson, B., ‘Barossa Valley Lines to Truro, Penrice Quarry, and Angaston.‘ Lost in South OZ, (2024), https://lostinsouthoz.jarmlibrary.me/.

  Emmy’s Ghostly Photograph

  Novelist, screenwriter, television scriptwriter, playwright, columnist and lecturer, John Pinkney, was one of Australia’s foremost authors on the paranormal. Pinkney wrote the ‘Haunted’ series, the ‘Unsolved’ Series and the ‘Mysteries’ series.
   In 1982, he was approached by Emmy Barnes in Adelaide with a ghost story regarding her deceased husband. Emmy stated that as her husband Jimmy lay dying, he predicted she would remarry after his death. Jimmy stated she would marry a man with the initials B.B.
 Just a few months after Jimmy’s death, Emmy met Bernard Barnes, whom she married. After their wedding, their photos from the day were printed

  In 1982, an Adelaide woman told paranormal writer John Pinkney about how her deceased husband appeared in a photo a year after his death. While Emmy Barnes' husband, Jimmy, lay dying, he predicted she would remarry and that her new husband's initials would be BB. Emmy stated to Pinkney,

‘While my husband Jimmy lay dying,' Mrs Barnes recalled, ‘he made several predictions to me – predictions which later came true in considerable detail. Jimmy's first prediction was that I’d marry again, and that my new husband’s initials would be B.B.  Jimmy said I’d make my first contact with him after being introduced to an Irish woman born in India. I’d know who that woman was, because within moments of meeting her, she'd invited me to look at her new lounge suite which would be covered in bottle green fabric.’^[1]

 Emmy said that her husband promised to be present when she remarried,

 ‘I didn't take much notice. I was too grieved, and anyway, I imagined his forecasts were the wanderings of a dying man. But the following year it all began happening. A friend at the hospital where I worked invited me to a party. I was hardly inside the door when the hostess, whom I’d never met, urged me to the next room to see what her husband had bought her. ‘It was a three-piece lounge suite, covered in bottle green. That was only the start. When we began to talk, I found my new acquaintance was of Irish descent, but had been born in Delhi, India – just as Jimmy had foretold. ‘At that party, Jimmy's dying forecasts kept falling into place. I met a man there named Bernard Barnes and within a few months I was to accept his marriage proposal.'

  As a wedding present, several of Emmy’s friends paid for a professionally shot family portrait. Within the family portrait, a silhouette of Jimmy could be seen in the sideboard mirror. Emmy stated that, ‘I knew then Jimmy had kept his promise.’

 Pinkney inspected the negative of the photograph for tampering or trickery. He said of the photograph,

 ‘I didn't doubt my correspondent's sincerity, but I reserved judgement until the following month, when I was able to study the picture for myself. As an analysis of the negative would subsequently confirm, the dead man's image was indeed prominent in the photograph.’

 

Story and images: John Pinkney's "A Paranormal File" (2000).

Image 1: Emmy Barnes holding wedding photo showing silhouette of deceased former husband Jimmy in mirror.

Image 2: close-up of Jimmy's silhouette in the mirror.

Image 3: Jimmy before his death.

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[1] John Pinkney, ‘A Paranormal File.’, (2000). 

 Lost Hotels: Black Horse Hotel, Leigh Street, Adelaide.

 

1926: Leigh Street, Adelaide. SLSA [B 3424]

 The Black Horse Hotel was located on Leigh Street, about halfway between Hindley and Currie Streets. The hotel opened in 1841 as the Foresters Inn and was renamed the Black Horse Inn two years later. It was built by Mr Whyles in 1841, who came to South Australia via Tasmania.[1] During the 1870s, the hotel was known as a place for musicians and actors to congregate.[2]

 In 1897, The Black Horse Inn was at the centre of a smallpox scare in Adelaide. An outbreak of smallpox among passengers onboard the ship Ninevah led to a call for those passengers to report to doctors. Some of the passengers had transferred to another ship heading to Western Australia, and two passengers were missing, Fleming and McPherson. A search in Adelaide was called. The two men were later captured in Port Adelaide by Detective Segerlind when he noticed them walking by the police station.
 The two men had purchased tickets to travel to Western Australia on the Buninyong, using the aliases William Haig and Robert Thompson. Upon their arrest, it was found they had stayed in the Black Horse Inn, which led to staff and patrons being assessed for smallpox. Meanwhile, the two culprits were shipped off to the Torrens Island Quarantine Station for observation.[3]

 

In November 1898, George Sutherland was brought before the courts accused of stealing jewellery to the value of 30 pounds from Jane Bristow at the Black Horse Hotel.[4] Sutherland, who also went by the alias H. Williams was well known to Adelaide police for stealing watches. He was brought before the courts in October 1899, and found guilty, receiving six years imprisonment with hard labour at Yatala Gaol.[5]
 Jane Bristow was the licensee of the hotel at the time of the theft. She had left her bedroom door unlocked, which was not her usual routine, and noticed her belongings missing later that day. Sutherland was arrested in Sydney and sent back to Adelaide for trial. He admitted to stealing the items and selling them in Melbourne.[6]

  It was alleged in 1905 that a fisherman named J. Nelson was accosted at the Inn. Nelson had worked on one of Daw’s fishing cutters and had travelled to Adelaide from Port Adelaide to sell some fish. He received his payment and was readying to leave for Port Adelaide when two men approached him outside the Black Horse Inn asking for a match. Nelson lit their cigarette, and the men invited him inside for a drink, which he refused. The two men hustled Nelson into the bar and ordered three drinks. One of the men then put Nelson in a headlock while the other rifled through his pockets, stealing a cheque for £9 10s, a £5 note, five sovereigns and some loose silver. The men then ran off into Leigh Street, leaving Nelson in the hotel.[7]

 

  The hotel proprietor, Mr M. Whelan wrote to the Advertiser to dispute the Nelson story. Whelan claimed the story was untrue and may have a damaging effect on the reputation of his establishment. He wrote,

On Friday afternoon in answering the bell from a parlor, which is situated a long distance from the bar—there being a long dining-room intervening—this parlor is entered from a side door off the right-of-way on the northern end of the hotel. I supplied one round of drinks, and no more, to four men (all of whom were perfect strangers to me), and in about five minutes afterwards the man, who I presume is Nelson, came into the bar and said he was robbed by those men in his company.
 He was somewhat excited and wanted' to know who the men were. I told him they were strangers to me, as was also himself, and advised him to interview the police. This is all I know of the case, and I consider I am entitled to an apology from your informant.

It is not a nice thing to have it said that a man was robbed in a public bar; it would give the public an impression that the Landlord was a consenting party. I may also state that I heard no noise whatever in the parlor, it being such a distance from the bar.

M. WHELAN,

Black Horse Hotel,

Leigh-street, Adelaide.[8]

 

  When Whelan was the publican at the Black Horse Inn, the property was owned by the Anglican Church, whose head office was directly across the road.[9] In 1906, Newton, McLaren Ltd. purchased the property. They traded under the name J.A. Newton and Co.  In 1921, J.A. Newton made the first radio receiver for commercial sale in South Australia.[10]  In 1907 the old hotel was demolished to make way for a new warehouse.[11]

 

  By the 1930s, the property was occupied by the S.A. Paper Bag Company.[12] Today, the building is known as Aston House, located at 15 Light Street. It contains a variety of shop fronts. The building was significantly renovated by the Ginos Group in 2010 to provide ground-floor retail space and two levels of office accommodation.[13]

 

 Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2025

 

 

Visit the State Library of South Australia to view more photos of South Australia

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[1] 'Correspondence.', The Advertiser, (4 April 1907), p. 6.

[2] 'Bits for Boniface.', Quiz, (18 January 1907), p. 8. 

[3] 'Two Men Quarantined At Torrens Island.', Evening Journal, (11 February 1897), p. 3. 

[4] 'An Adelaide Robbery.', The Advertiser, (15 July 1899), p. 8.

[5] 'The Criminal Sittings.', The Express and Telegraph, (11 October 1899), p. 3.

[6] 'Police Court-Adelaide.', Chronicle, (12 August 1899), p. 15. 

[7] ‘Garrotted in a Hotel.’ The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times’, (10 August 1905), p. 3.

[8] 'To The Editor.', The Narracoorte Herald, (15 August 1905), p. 2. 

[9] 'Our Notebook.', The Journal, (27 May 1916), p. 12.

[10] 'Passing By', News, (29 March 1951), p. 12.

[11] 'Topical Trifles.', Gadfly, (15 May 1907), p. 6.

[12] 'Death of Mr Robert Gillies', Border Chronicle, (30 June 1939), p. 3.

[13] ’15 Leigh Street.’, Ginos Group, (2025), https://ginosgroup.com.au/properties/leigh-street/. 

 Haunted Playford

The City of Playford is a relatively new area, but within the city are many older suburbs such as Smithfield, Angle Vale, One Tree Hill and Uleybury. Within these older towns lie some of the area's most haunted locations.

Join paranormal historian Allen Tiller as he investigates ghosts, hauntings and monsters in the City of Playford. Learn about Di Klose and the infamous Bikini Ghost of Elizabeth, or about the ghost of a cat that haunts a former schoolhouse. Haunted Playford unlocks old and new true ghost stories from around the greater City of Playford area.

REVIEW:

I recently came across Haunted Playford and was immediately intrigued by its unique focus on the supernatural history within one of Australia’s youngest cities. The blend of urban modernity and age-old hauntings creates a fascinating contrast, reminding readers that even new places can hold ancient echoes and restless spirits beneath their surface.

Your storytelling doesn’t just catalogue ghost tales; it roots them in local lore, giving each haunting a human heartbeat. From the Bikini Ghost of Elizabeth to the spectral cat of a former schoolhouse, Haunted Playford paints a vivid map of mysteries where everyday streets conceal stories of tragedy, wonder, and the unexplained. It’s the kind of book that captures both the devoted paranormal enthusiast and the curious history buff looking for that eerie spark of the unknown.

-Elena

Haunted Playford: https://www.amazon.com.au/Haunted-Playford-Allen-Tiller/dp/B0FWCCRR4N?