South Australia's Weird Laws

South Australia has some unusual laws, most are very old and may have been reasonable in their time period, but seem out of place in this day and age. The following is just a few of them in no specific order

Living with person of “Bad Character”

A person who is the occupier of a premises frequented by reputed thieves, prostitutes, persons without lawful means of support or persons of notoriously bad character is guilty of an offence. Maximum fine $750.

Disrupting a wedding ceremony

Under the Summary Offences Act obstructing or disturbing a wedding ceremony in South Australia can attract a fine of up to $10,000 or two years in jail.

Asking for money or goods in a public place

Asking or begging for money or goods is an offence in South Australia, with fines of up to $250.

The act also includes a person going from house to house asking for alms, encouraging children to do the same, or exposing a wound or deformity with the objective to receive money or goods.

Dont sell ya big Fridge!

A person must not sell or hire, or offer or expose for sale or hire, a refrigerator, ice chest or icebox having in it a compartment of a capacity of 42.5 litres or more unless that compartment is so constructed or equipped that every door or lid can be opened easily from the inside of the compartment when any lock or catch that can be operated from the outside of the compartment is fastened. Maximum fine $750.

Gate crashing

Turning up to a party uninvited can provide unruly and uninvited revellers with a maximum $5,000 fine or one year imprisonment.

If a person trespasses on premises that are being used for a private party and does not leave when requested to by the owner or organiser, they automatically qualify for the offence.

If the person begins to behave offensively, an extra $2,500 fine can be added.

If the name and address of the person is then requested and the person refuses, the total maximum fine could reach $10,000.

Placing advertising posters

Sticking advertising posters or 'bills' on the side of buildings, structures, roads, paved surfaces or objects of any kind without lawful authority can attract a fine of up to $2,500 or six months jail.

The person who distributes the material is guilty of the offence unless it can be proven they took precautions to ensure the posters were not placed illegally on property.

Poster-placers can also be made liable for removal costs.

Drunken tattoos

Party goers are protected from waking up with 'I love ...' tattoos the next morning under the Summary Offences Act.

Tattooists can face fines of up to $5,000 or one year in jail for performing any kind of 'body modification' on someone who appears intoxicated as a result of alcohol or drug consumption.

Faking clairvoyance or medium

If a person pretends to be a clairvoyant, spiritualist or medium, and those involved in a reading believe they are fake, the medium can be charged under the Summary Offences Act with fines of up to $10,000 or two years imprisonment.

Those who pretend to have powers of telepathy or clairvoyance can be charged with the offence - those who actually can provide the service already knew this.

Offering a 'no questions asked' reward for the return of goods

Those posting public notices requesting the return of lost property with 'no questions asked' or 'no prosecution' can themselves be fined $500.

Any person who prints or publishes an advertisement can also be guilty of the crime.

Singing A song with Profanity

A person who uses indecent or profane language or sings any indecent or profane song or ballad in a public place or police station is guilty of an offence. Maximum fine $250.

Ring and run

A person who, without reasonable excuse, decides to ring a door bell or knock on a door is guilty of wilfully disturbing another person and can be fined up to $250.

Close you car door!

A person must not cause a hazard to any person or vehicle by opening a door of a vehicle, leaving a door of a vehicle open, or getting off, or out of, a vehicle. Maximum fine $225.

Pigeon power

Homing pigeons are a law amongst themselves when it comes to protection, with an individual clause in the Summary Offences Act detailing those found guilty of unlawfully killing, injuring or taking homing pigeons may face fines of up to $250.

The gate keeper

A person who opens a farm gate and leaves it open, or in turn closes a farm gate and leaves it closed is guilty of an offence that can attract a fine of up to $750.

South-East Tiger's

 South-East Tigers

“They had short front legs, long hind legs, and were nearly as big as a fox, with long tails like a monkey,” described Mrs G Breda in an interview with The Advertiser on August 13, 1971. Mrs Breda also described the creatures she witnessed as moving “With a loping action.”

What were these creatures that were spotted in South Australia's South-East in the late 1960s into the 1970s?
Numerous sightings of these strange “cat-like” animals were reported, with most descriptions being similar to the “Tasmanian Tiger”, or Thylacine, the last of which was shot in 1933.

The Thylacine had been extinct on the Australian mainland for over 2000 years according to scientific studies.

  In 1966, Mr C. Barker of Mt Gambier witnessed a “great overgrown cat” in his headlights as he drove a stretch of road from Keith to Naracoorte. He described it as about the same size as a sheepdog, with “black white, or black grey vertical stripes across its back”. The animal bound across the road “like a tiger” according to Mr Barker. The report reminded some people of the earlier sightings of the Tantanoola Tiger – could this be a descendent?

The animal was sighted again in 1966 by a 9-year-old boy named Richard Weckert in Kingston SE. Whilst on a hunting trip with his Father, the boy witnessed a cat-like creature in the wild, what was unusual, and stuck out most in his mind, was the very unusual tusks protruding from near its mouth.

In 1967, a sighting of the creatures happened near Naracoorte, when an animal fitting the previous description was seen “loping” across a field.

Reports followed over the years, coming from as far as Beachport, Robe and the Coorong.

The following year the creature was seen again near Naracoorte, and “Jumped onto a fence post like a cat”. It was then spotted by children on a school bus near Lucindale.

A witness described the animal after watching it through a telescope near the Coorong as; “He was a large animal, a bit like a fox and a kangaroo, but neither ... he had a dog’s head and ran with a long, loping gait. His torso was striped in grey, the rest of his body was brown.”

The last sighting of these animals was in 1971 near Mt Gambier. Did they die out, were they hunted down...or did they go further into the scrub as humans moved into their hunting grounds?

Have you seen a cat-like creature in South Australia's South-East – we would love to hear about your experience over on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

The Haunted Halfway Hotel at Beverly, South Australia

 Halfway Hotel - Beverly

With over 165 years of history, the Halfway Hotel at Beverly is one of Adelaide's longest licensed hotels, with only The Edinburgh Castle in Currie Street serving longer, opening it's doors in 1837.

The hotel has no only been a favourite drinking hole, but accommodation for many weary travellers, immigrants and dignitaries coming into Adelaide.

The hotel got its name from being the halfway point for travellers coming from Port Adelaide into the City of Adelaide.

The hotel has long been rumoured to have ghosts. Reports of strange whisperings, lights switching on and off, alarms sounding when no-one is there, and sightings of a wispy figure floating through the bar. There are even reports of bottles flying off the shelves in the drive-through of their own volition.

Urban legends have grown around this pub, with one being the rumour of a man hanging himself in the cellar. This unreferenced event is the alleged source for all the reported paranormal goings-on in the hotel, unless you talk to former staff and caretakers, who cite a former patron they have named “George”.

George has been reported to have the ability to move large objects, much like a poltergeist. His biggest move was to turn all the kegs in the cellar upside down one night, which was found the following morning by staff.

George is also attributed to disembodied footsteps heard walking through various areas of the hotel. He also loves to move furniture around, rearranging whole rooms.

Although most staff agree the hotel is haunted, George is not known for being evil, vindictive or nasty, but rather he is a jokester and a friendly ghost who likes a little recognition now and then.

©2015 - Allen Tiller

The Willamulka Brute a.k.a. "The Kadina Wherwolf"

The Willamulka Brute A.K.A. The Kadina Wherwolf

The Yorke Peninsula in 1919 saw a loss of sheep occur in such a way, and in such a short time, that it drew comparisons to the Tantanoola Tiger sheep killings thirty‑odd years earlier.

For more than nine months, sheep were found slaughtered in fields near Kadina. Farmers described the beast as “wolf‑like, but immense in size.” Sydney’s The World’s News published an article on 19 June 1943 titled There Are Queer Creatures in This Australia by V. Molesworth, in which the creature was referred to as the “Kadina Wehrwolf.”

Wolf‑like howls and shrieks filled the night air, and by morning a farmer or two would discover some of his sheep torn to pieces. A reward of ten pounds was offered for the capture of the beast, which rural locals described as “big enough to devour a child.”

Farmers and hunters began lying in wait, hoping to be the one to bring the creature down. The beast was often heard but never seen—until, twenty‑one days later, Mr. D. Tully finally witnessed it.

Mr. Tully had set out to check watering holes, troughs, and dams in his area. With him were a pack of stag hounds and greyhounds. He spotted the wolf and set his dogs after it, but they refused to give chase, overcome with fear.

He next saw it while riding his horse. He pursued the beast and came within thirty yards of it before its odour overwhelmed his horse, which reared and bolted.

Determined not to give up, Mr. Tully set several rabbit traps around his property. Eventually he found the beast caught by the foot near a fence. As he approached, it snarled and gnashed at him. Tully raised his shotgun and fired into its mouth. Believing it dead, he stepped closer—only for it to rise and lunge at him again. This time he fired both barrels directly down its throat, killing it.

The “Kadina Wehrwolf” was no more. The beast weighed over 30 kilograms and measured 1.3 metres from nose to tail. It stood 68 centimetres tall. Its chest and neck were noted for their strength. The head was described as wide and short, with pricked ears. Its coat was brindle, coarse, and medium‑length, with alternating black and tan striping on the rump and forelegs.

The animal was female, and a small litter of pups was later found near a railway culvert, drowned by floodwaters they could not escape. Mr. Tully kept the hide and intended to take it to the Adelaide Museum, though whether he ever did so remains unconfirmed.

 

© 2015 Allen Tiller

The Legacy of Sir Sidney Kidman

The Legacy of Sir Sidney Kidman

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the death of Sir Sidney Kidman
(1857), once Australia's wealthiest man, and largest property owner, who conducted the worlds largest horse sale at the rear of the North Kapunda Hotel.
Kidman never swore, and instead would say "Jolly Tinkers" in the place of swears...

We thought it prudent to share some of the charities that Sir SIdney and Lady Isabel Kidman distributed their wealth too over their lifetimes, and after Sir Kidmans Death
May their legacy inspire and their memory live on....
The Will of Sir Sidney Kidman
Upon the anniversary of the death of Sir Sidney Kidman, here is a list of the benefactors of his generosity, in life, and also in death
During the First World War Sir Kidman donated 3 Ambulances, 2 Fighter Planes, 200 Horses, wool and meat for the Australian troops. He also promised all his workers who served, a job upon their return. His donations also extended to wives who lost their husband in war.
Donations were made to the Salvation Army and the Red Cross – and also the Royal Flying Doctors.
The Kidmans also donated their house and estate in Kapunda, “Eringa” to the education department in 1920 – to this day the grounds are still the Kapunda High School, with the old Manse the front office.
From Sir Kidmans Last Will and Testament:
£500 Salvation Army Adelaide
£500 Home for Incurables, Fullarton
(Adjusted for inflation this is equivalent to about $45,000 today)
£250 Minda Home
£250 Adelaide's Children Hospital
£250 The Institution for the Blind – Brighton
£250 The Protestant Children's Home
£250 The Royal Institute for the Blind at North Adelaide
£250 The Australian Inland Mission
£250 The Adelaide Benevolent and Strangers Fund
£250 The Queens Maternity Home
£250 The Adelaide Hospital
(Adjusted for inflation this is equivalent to about $22,792.68 today)
£150 Methodist Children’s Home at Magill
£150 The Angorichina Hospital for Tubercular Soldiers.
£150 The Adelaide Central Mission
(Adjusted for inflation this is equivalent to about 13,675.61 today)
£100 Kapunda Congregational Church
£100 The Kapunda Hospital
£100 The Orphan Home at Mitcham
£100 The Courthouse for Invalid children and Aged People
(Adjusted for inflation this is equivalent to about $9,117.07today)
£15,000 was distributed between old employees of Sir Kidman
(Adjusted for inflation this is equivalent to about $1,367,560.85 today)
Written by Allen Tiller
Calculations made via: http://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/annualPreDecimal.html