Kapunda – “The Hallway To Hell”

Kapunda – “The Hallway To Hell”

 

Interior of the Hallway to Hell - photo by Karen Tiller

If you’ve heard the term “Hallway to Hell” then most likely, you’ve seen Haunting: Australia episode 7: The North Kapunda Hotel, an episode that almost didn’t happen. Originally the production company was looking towards Western Australia for two episode, but when I proposed South Australia, particularly the Adelaide Arcade and Kapunda, the most haunted town in Australia, they changed their minds and went with local knowledge and a hometown story.

 If you didn’t hear about the Hallway, through Haunting: Australia, then maybe you heard about due to the Ghost Crime Tour that Karen and I brought to Kapunda. The majority of ghost tour companies in this State were too scared to touch Kapunda after all the controversy with the Warwick Moss documentary that aired in 2001, and the unaired documentary that was filmed a few years later – let me tell you, the townsfolk still haven’t forgotten who was involved!

 

 Karen and I knew that there was a right way to introduce the town to having a ghost tour, so we set up a meeting between the owners of GCT and the  Light Council, and got the ball rolling. We then invited townsfolk to see what it was all about, we introduced donations to help repair the damaged cemeteries, and slowly, the Kapunda Ghost Crime Tour was not only accepted by the Kapunda Community, but local business began to see a knock on effect from tourism.
 During our time as tour guides, Karen and I entertained Government Ministers, tourists from England who had seen the TV show, visitors from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and right across Australia. We did our best to keep it factual, entertaining and spooky, and to promote the town that everyone forgets!

 No-one is quite sure what year this wing of the North Kapunda hotel was built, but it is estimated to be somewhere between 1848 and 1855. It may have been earlier than 1848 though and built as part of the workers accommodation around the town by the North Kapunda Mining Company. The same company built the original structure that became the North Kapunda Arms Hotel, that in 1865, Mr Crase would build his new hotel around, and reopen as the North Kapunda Hotel.

Behind the scenes photo of Haunting: Australia - photo Karen Tiller

 The downstairs section of the hallway in 1865 contained the first official office of the newly formed Kapunda Council, until they moved to bigger premises on the Clare Road. There were also two large, ornate rooms used by Jenkins and Coles bursars who dealt with the horse sales that were held at the rear of the hotel.

During the late 1880’s, the upstairs section of the hallway was known as “The Bachelor’s Hall”, the following is a poem penned about it by one of its inhabitants 

Bachelor's Hall.

By H. C. DODGE.

Hurrah ! hurrah for Bachelor's Hall;

The Queen's away and I'm monarch of all;

I don't have to hang up my coat or my hat,

And when I get lonely I talk to the cat.

I come when I like, and I go when I choose.

The finest cigars help me scatter the blues;

 No bundles I carry and nothing I buy;

There's no one to care about-only big “I”

 I revel in wildest confusion around;

There isn't a thing in its place to be found;

 My books and newspapers, they litter the room

That' hasn't for weeks seen the sight of a broom.

There's clothing or something on every chair;

My bed's never made, but it's little I care;

I sleep like a top, for there's no one to call

I take solid comfort in Bachelor's Hall.

I've used all the dishes and now it's my fate

To eat, when I'm home, on the back of a plate;

I'm learning to cook, but, alas. I confess

I choose to go hungry than, swallow the mess.

But, Bachelor's Hall with its comfort and quiet,

Is almost too spooky for regular diet;

No children live in it to welcome their dad,

No supper is waiting, no wife-O, so glad.

No! Nothing but ghosts of the loved ones away

Inhabit this tomb where alone I must stay,

Compelled to break silence by having a chat

With my woeful companion, the strange acting cat.

O, gladly I'll yield my crown sceptre and all

The Kingly delights of a Bachelor's Hall

To the Queen of the Home when she comes with her train

To wisely and lovingly over me reign.

First Published in The Kapunda Herald - Tuesday 7 August 1888, page 6

The Bachelor’s Hall saw its own scandal in the 1885 when three of its inhabitants found themselves facing the magistrate at the Kapunda Courthouse for disturbing the peace.

 Murray Thomson, Robert Anderton and James Shakes Jnr. Faced the magistrate on May 12^th, with Thomson and Anderton represented by Mr Glynn, and Shakes represented by Mr Benham.

 The men had been charged because someone had been firing guns in Franklin Street at about 10 past three in the morning.

Exterior - Hallway To Hell - Kapunda - photo: Allen Tiller

 The evening of the event, many people had been in town to see the bellringers entertainment, and had then retired to the North Kapunda Hotel for a supper put on by Mr Crase, which included entertainment including sing-alongs and speeches. The bar itself was closed, but the party went on in the commercial room and on the balcony.

 More than 125 gun shots were heard in Franklin Street in about a 10 minute time frame. The police tried to frame the defendants as being the guilty parties, but witnesses declared they had seen Mr Thomson in a room upstairs, light a candle and look out the window in his night clothes at the ongoing disturbance below.

 Mr Shakes wasn’t even within the town boundaries when the incident happened, so the case fell apart, instead, the Magistrate went after Mr Crase, under the guise of the act happening outside his hotel, he would be responsible for the people there. Mr Benham quickly shot down this argument as Mr Crase was entertaining upstairs privately, and may not have known who these people were, nor had they been inside his hotel drinking.

 The case was eventually thrown out of court.

Interior - Hallway to Hell - Kapunda - photo: Karen Tiller

 Interestingly though, the story that circulated through the town was slightly different to the story that surfaced in court. It would seem a number of young men had been drinking in the hotels, and had gone to the bellringers event. After the event they began walking the town trying to entertain themselves. 
 About 15 of these young men were heard in Main Street, and were asked to move on by William Thomas when they congregated in front of his bookshop, it was within the next hour the gun shots occurred in Franklin Street, which may have come about because these young men were refused entry in the North Kapunda Hotel.

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

The Tantanoola Tiger

In the 1880s, South-East South Australia was overrun with speculation about what could be killing so many sheep in the area. Reports of a mysterious predator with stripes on its back began to be filed with local police. Rumour had it a large Bengal Tiger was on the loose, and soon fear spread that the wild beast may soon kill a human. By 1893, reports were so common that they started to make it into local newspapers.


The Advertiser reported in 1895,

“The tiger is reported to have been seen again at Tantanoola.

An employee of Mr Wehl who was out hunting last week reported that he had seen a strange animal, but was some distance off and did not care to make a closer acquaintance. He, however, sent his dogs forward and says they returned in great fright.

He then proceeded homeward, believing that discretion is better than valour when an unknown danger is ahead.”

In August 1895, Thomas John Donovan managed to shoot and kill a beast thought to be the predator big cat. The animal upon closer inspection, appeared not to be a Bengal Tiger but resembled something closer to Tasmania's Thylacines.
The animal was inspected by a zoologist and was determined to be a wolf. This led to a lot of speculation about why, and how, an Assyrian Wolf came to be hunting in South Australia. It is thought the wolf may have been a passenger upon a ship that wrecked off the coastline of Robe many years earlier.  The wolf, somewhat of a trophy, became legend – it was duly stuffed and put on display in the Tantanoola Hotel, alongside the gun used to shoot it.

 

 

The mysterious Tantanoola Tiger was dead, but sheep in the district were still going missing. This mystery was solved however when the culprit was found. A local man, Charlie Edmondson was caught red-handed stealing 78 sheep, and upon arrest admitted to stealing over 4000 more!
You can see the Tantanoola Tiger in the Tantanoola Hotel in South Australia's South East at 265 Railway Terrace East.

The Ghost of the Lochiel Nurse

The Ghost of the Lochiel Nurse

I first heard this story many years ago, and travelled up to Lochiel very early on in my career as a paranormal investigator, for a private house investigation. Whilst there I looked diligently for the vehicle that I am about to speak of but to no avail.

Lochiel is a little town located about 125kms north of Adelaide on Highway 1. The area has an interesting history and has been home to coal mines, wheat farmers and the salt farmers, who collect salt from Bumbunga Lake Nearby.…the area even spawned the micronation of “The Province of Bumbunga”

Many years ago, Lochiel used to have its own town ambulance, an old 60’s style machine that saw many many years of service. Often patients would get to the hospital and ask who the nurse was that had

been caring for them, as she seemed a little old fashioned, and wore a uniform that seemed out of date and very much, unlike modern nurses uniforms. Of course, the driver and attendants would have no clue what the patient was talking about – but over the years it happened so often it could no longer be ignored – however, no-one ever solved the mystery of who the nurse could be, or why she chose to help the people of Lochiel.

 I heard many years ago that the ambulance in question was put into retirement a long time ago, and sat in the yard of local for many years – I have no clue to its whereabouts today, but would love to know what happened too it. So if you know, or you experienced a ride with this ghostly nurse, please feel free to drop me a line at eidolon@live.com.au

© 2015 Allen Tiller

Dead Dog Creek - Adelaide Botanic Gardens

Dead Dog Creek - Adelaide Botanic Gardens

 

   In 1868, Benjamin Ellis was a local dog catcher employed by the Corporation of Adelaide (Adelaide Council). He was given carte blanche to shoot any unlicensed dog he found in the city boundaries and dispose of them as he saw fit.

   Either lacking a good burial site or just being plain lazy, Mr Ellis decided it was perfectly fine to dispose of the dead dog bodies under a bridge in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

  The little bridge, which crossed a little creek, was near the rear entrance of the gardens and was often used by the public. The smell was overwhelming, and complaints began to come into the main office of the Botanic Gardens. Doctor Schomburgk inspected the bridge and counted 13 dead dogs – he quickly wrote a letter of disgust to Mr Ellis – and the dead dogs soon ceased to be left in the gardens.

The following story was printed in Adelaide Observer, April 11^th 1868;

From Dr Schomburgk, stating that the person employed by the Corporation for killing dogs threw the carcases in the creek below the Botanic Garden, I and requesting that the nuisance might be removed.

In reply, Benjamin Ellis wrote, admitting that some dogs had been thrown there, but that since the complaint he had removed them.

His Worship said the Act distinctly required that the carcases should be buried. Mr. Sundry considered that Mr. Ellis was deserving of severe censure; but he apprehended he was employed by the Registrar of Dogs.

The Town Clerk, in reply to Mr. Bundey, said the man had received fees for the dogs upon making declaration that they were buried.

Mr Bundey considered certainly some steps should be taken, and if the thing was brought before the Council again he would see that steps were taken to prosecute the party for obtaining money under false pretences.

His Worship pointed out that according to the Act the fee was only to be paid on a declaration being made such as to satisfy a Justice of the Peace. Then, if the man committed perjury, he could be prosecuted.

The Council resolved that no fees be paid without a certificate from a Justice of the Peace.

  An interesting side note to this story is that a Benjamin Ellis, in this same period was also the hangman at Adelaide Gaol, and is today rumoured to haunt the gaol. 

Links:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/158930409?searchTerm=%22benjamin%20ellis%22&searchLimits=l-state=South+Australia|||sortby=dateDesc

©2015 - Allen Tiller

SYFY USA - Haunting: Australia - The North Kapunda Hotel

The North Kapunda HotelSYFY USA airing:

Long known as Australia’s Most Haunted Pub – The North Kapunda Hotel is situated at 50 Main Street Kapunda.

  Kapunda has long held the title “Australia’s Most Haunted Town” and gained national notoriety after the release of the documentary “Kapunda: Most Haunted Town in the Western World” in 2001.
  The documentary featured investigations by television host Warwick Moss of 1990s supernatural TV show “The Extraordinary”.

The North Kapunda Hotel garnered international interest after it was featured on TV show Haunting: Australia in episode 7. The show featured local paranormal investigator, Allen Tiller, founder of Eidolon Paranormal, SA Paranormal and The Haunts of Adelaide investigating in his local pub alongside team members Robb Demarest, Ray Jorden, Gaurav Tiwari, Rayleen Kable and Ian Lawman.

The hotel has operated since 1849 and received extensions and upgrades in 1866 by then-owner James Crase.
  Over the years the hotel, which is the central focal point of the town, has seen its rooms used by Prince Alfred, 2^nd son of Queen Victoria, State Parliament, Circus troops, travelling salesmen, social clubs and much much more!

The hotel is said to be haunted by a number of spirits, including Sir Sidney Kidman, Dr MHS Blood, former owners Henry Fairclough & Denis Horgan, a former travelling scissor-grinder, prostitutes, children and a dark shadow man with a bad temper!

If you are visiting South Australia, head north on the Max Fatchen expressway to Gawler, then onto the Theile highway to Kapunda – and whilst in the town don’t miss the Museum, the haunted Information Centre, the Haunted Court House, The basement museum in the Kapunda Bakery and just a little out of town the amazing Anlaby house and gardens!

Allen Tiller outside the North Kapunda Hotel

You can stay in Kapunda at the Station B&B, Anlaby House, The Kapunda Tourist Park, Ford House or The Sir John Franklin Hotel!

The Northfield Crop Circle 1994

The Northfield Crop Circle 1994

 December 1994, the suburb of Northfield had its own encounter with Aliens after a large crop circle was spotted when Alison Light flew into the city on December 9^th.

 Using a street directory, Alison was able to track down the wheat crop by the street patterns of the area, and found it in a field owned by the Department of Agriculture.

The Crop Circle measured 15.3 metres wide, with the wheat flattened in an anticlockwise direction

all the stalks were unbroken, with no human tracks in or out of the shape. It's outer appendages had all the stalks facing back to the main shape, and the entire pattern was perfectly aligned to the Earth’s own magnetic fields in a north-south direction.

 A friend of mine, Mr Good, who I met through a site we both worked at, actually experienced this crop circle for himself first hand, being offered the chance to step inside it when he was working in the areas as a security guard

 Mr Good said, that when he stood inside it you could feel a very weird electrical vibration. Government tests conducted to measure for radioactivity and magnetic charge disputed this evidence, but one has to wonder, as in all UFO related cases, is the Government telling the truth, as it is well known Governments worldwide will cover up any kind of UFO contact wherever possible– (One only has to site the recent release of UFO related material released by the New Zealand and UK Governments over previous years)

 This particular crop circle drew the attention of Mr Colin Norris (known locally as “Mr UFO”) who described the circle as “Marvellous” and stated to the Advertiser Newspaper when asked if it could be a hoax

“It’s ‘it’ as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing about this that’s a hoax. It’s perfect”.

Local radio station SAFM claimed they had made the crop circle as a joke, but retracted their statement of involvement when a Government Official said charges could possibly be laid over the incident.

A few days later, the wheat was harvested and the circle removed by the blades of a combine harvester.

 The land is now entirely covered by homes