Closed Hotels of South Australia: The Windsor Castle Hotel

The Windsor Castle Hotel 

Situated on Victoria Square in Adelaide's West End, the Windsor Castle Hotel stood for 103 years. It operated as one of the city's most notorious watering holes. The hotel developed a reputation as a rough establishment, with its proprietors and barmen becoming well known locally for their involvement in fights and frequent run-ins with the law.

Illegal gambling, after-hours trading, and the unlawful sale of alcohol were just some of the offences associated with the hotel over the years. Its clientele also had a reputation for being somewhat rowdy.

One patron, an elderly drinker named James Turner, caused such a disturbance that it made the pages of The Advertiser. According to reports, Turner had consumed a little too much alcohol and became enraged inside the hotel. During the commotion, he hurled two glasses at the barman, smashing four others in the process.

When the matter came before the court, Turner admitted he had been intoxicated before entering the hotel. He complained that someone had cut the string securing his waistcoat and stolen his watch, although he was unsure exactly when the theft had occurred. After being refused further service at the bar, he flew into a rage, grabbed a decanter, threw it at members of the hotel staff, and stormed from the premises.

The Windsor Castle had witnessed more serious incidents in earlier years. On one occasion, a near shoot-out occurred in the rear stables when a customer refused to leave after being ordered out by the proprietor. The disgruntled patron drew a revolver and threatened to kill the owner if he did not get his way. He was eventually subdued and handed over to police. During the subsequent court proceedings, the accused reportedly launched into an uncontrollable tirade and was ultimately sentenced to a term of imprisonment for his threats.

The hotel grounds were also the scene of a tragic accidental death. An elderly stable hand was standing on a platform approximately eight feet above the ground when he lost his footing and fell backwards. The fall fractured his skull. Although he was rushed to hospital, he died the following morning.

In the late 1940s, the hotel was purchased by the Mutual Life and Citizens Assurance Company Ltd. (MLC), which intended to redevelop the site. After waiting for the hotel's licence to expire, the building was finally demolished in 1954. Many of its internal fittings and fixtures were sold at auction before demolition commenced.

The Windsor Castle Hotel had endured for 103 years, having originally been licensed to Thomas Chalk on 3 April 1851. Local legend maintains that the land on which it stood was purchased for just £50 and a wagon with an oxen team.

Today, the MLC Building occupies the corner of Victoria Square and Franklin Street. Completed in 1957, it was considered a strikingly modern structure and was, at the time, the tallest glass-fronted building in Adelaide. It also featured a weather beacon on its roof, a notable innovation for the era.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2015

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

Celebrating South Australian's – Yett Soo War Way Lee

Celebrating South Australian's – Yett Soo War Way Lee

 Yett Soo War Way Lee was born in Tungkun near Canton in China in 1853. The son of a rice-miller, Way Lee married early and had a son with his wife, named Yett King Sum.

By 1874, Yett Soo had made his way to Sydney Australia. He had travelled alone, and whilst in Sydney lived with his uncle Way Kee. He travelled the eastern states seeking education in schools in Sydney and Brisbane, before making his way to Adelaide.

  In Adelaide, he studied English language at the Adelaide City Mission and founded his own company “Way Lee Co.” an import company bringing in Tea, china and other imported goods and fireworks.

Way Lee's business was hugely successful in an era when the rise of racism against the Chinese in Australia was steadily on the rise (which would eventually lead to the anti-Chinese riots in gold mining towns like Ararat in Victoria )

 Way Lee's business was incredibly successful he opened stores right across the South Australian colony and in the Northern Territory and New South Wales. In South Australia, his main store was located in Rundle Street, but he also had a store in Currie Street. Stores could also be found in South Australia at Quorn, Hawker, Millicent. In New South Wales at Beltana, Broken Hill, Wilcannia, Wentworth and Menindee and in the Northern Territory at Daly River.

Way Lee was a supporter of his community often giving money to local charities, and supporting local events. He always supported Chinese New Year, offering dinners for Adelaide's dignitaries and politicians and supplying fireworks for  celebrations.

Way Lee was the first Australian to really open the way for trade between China and Australia. A fighter for the rights of Chinese immigrants, he fought for Chinese settlers to be offered a district solely for Chinese use.

 Way Lee also offered to bring to Australia, Chinese labourers to work at the Daly River Plantation in the Northern Territory.
 Way Lee was a great promoter of education to the  Chinese community, and worked hard to improve the working conditions and rights of his Chinese compatriots in Australia. He also worked to stop the import of Opium into the colony.

 Way Lee also raised money, and donated much of his won money, to be sent back to China to help feed people after chronic flooding, then droughts that were decimating the people of his homelands.

Way Lee was a Freemason and a respected member and leader of the local Chinese Community. He offered homes for many Chinese immigrants in Adelaide, way houses until they could afford better homes themselves.

 In 1889 Way Lee married Margaret McDonald, and together they had 4 children, Vera, Pretoria, Lily and Jack.

He spoke openly in the public about the treatment of his fellow-countrymen in Australia by the Government, law and people and is quoted as saying “The Australian people are always very kind to me, but the law worse then the people”.

Way Lee died in 1909 of chronic nephritis and amyloid disease on August 21^st 1909. Many of Adelaide's population travelled to West Terrace cemetery to witness the funeral of Way Lee, expecting odd Chinese death rites, but they were bitterly disappointed, as Way Lee was buried under common Presbyterian funeral rights.

For more on Yett Soo War Way Lee, please visit the following links:

adb.anu.edu.au/biography/way-lee-yet-soo-war-9015

www.chia.chinesemuseum.com.au/biogs/CH00005b.htm

migration.historysa.com.au/biography/yett-soo-war-way-lee

© Allen Tiller 2015