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 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. 

 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?

 A Haunting at Olympic Field – Coober Pedy

 Coober Pedy, South Australia is, known for its opals and underground housing. The outback location was originally home to the Antakirinja Yunkunytjatjara people, who knew the area as ‘Umoona’. Europeans first called the area the Stuart Range Opal Field, named after John McDouall Stuart, who explored the area in 1858. In 1920 a post office was established at the location, so a new name was chosen, ‘Coober Pedy’ which is an aboriginal term for ‘white man in a hole.’[1]

 On the outskirts of the town of Coober Pedy sits the Olympic Opal Field. It is claimed that during the late 1980s, in the evening, miners would report seeing the ghost of an old miner wearing a wide-brimmed hat, carrying a lantern, walking across the field. The miners would investigate, only to see the apparition disappear before their eyes.

  It is not known who the apparition may have been in life, but 3 men have died on Olympic Field. Those three men, Yanni Vosvouris, Nick Nathanael and Gregory Digaletos were killed when a cave collapsed on them in 1980. A cross marks the location of their deaths.[2]

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2025

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[1] ‘History,’ Coober Pedy Retail, Business & Tourism Association, (2025), https://www.cooberpedy.com.

[2] ‘1990 0102,’ Coober Pedy Historical Society, (2023), https://www.cooberpedyhistoricalsociety.org.au/items/1990-0102/.

 A Haunting at Bowden and Brompton

 

In 1903 the women of Brompton and Bowden became terrified of the vagaries of a ghost! Women, and some men, became afraid to leave their homes at night in fear of encountering the ghost haunting the streets. Some men began to arm themselves for self-defence if they encountered the terrifying spirit, but one has to wonder what effect a bullet would have upon the non-corporeal.

 According to The Advertiser (newspaper), the ‘ghost is everywhere, and nowhere in particular’. The ghost appeared in East Street Brompton at midnight, as witnessed by a young man in the neighbourhood.
Shortly after midnight on Saturday, the same young man witnessed the apparition again. This time the witness provided an odd statement about the ghost, when he stated, ‘The ghost of someone hath appeared to me two several times by night—at Brompton once, and this last night here in the Bowden brickfields. I know my hour is come."[1]
 

At 9pm Tuesday, the screams of a child shouting on Drayton Street, Bowden were heard. ‘The Ghost! The Ghost! It’s gone up the street!’  the child screamed, which attracted a small crowd of onlookers. None of the crowd were brave enough to chase the ghost down. Frightened women, who were witnesses to the ghost claimed it attacked the child, clasping it in its ghostly arms and almost scaring the child to death…the child lived, and the ghost escaped into the night.[2]

 

The police later ascertained that the ghost was an ‘unfortunate woman’ who could not held responsible for her actions. She was dressed in a ragged and torn white dress, with unkempt hair, and a sullen white face, which gave her a spooky appearance in the moonlight.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2024

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[1] 'A Ghost at Hindmarsh.', The Advertiser, (4 February 1903), p. 4.

[2] 'A Ghost at Hindmarsh.', The Express and Telegraph, (4 February 1903), p. 2. 

 A Haunting at Belalie North, South Australia.

 

Belalie North is famous as the birthplace of R.M. Williams. It was a town that sprang up when the train line from Peterborough (then Petersburg) to Jamestown was built. It was at the time, the highest train station above sea level in South Australia, which made it hard for steam engines to climb the steep hills. The line was eventually re-routed around Belalie, and the town went into decline.

All that stands today is the ruins of the former general store and the entrance pillars to the town which contain a memorial to local men lost in World War One.[1]

It has long been rumoured that Belalie is haunted. Legend tells of two brothers who fell in love with the same woman. During a heated argument, it is alleged one brother shot and killed the other. Once a year, on the day of the murder, the ghost of the brother, it is said, can be seen standing where he was killed. In a rage, he stands on the road and shouts, ‘I’ll kill you, you bastard!!”

 

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2024

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[1] ‘Belalie North,’ Australia For Everyone, (2017), https://www.australiaforeveryone.com.au/files/sa-midnorth/peterborough.html

The Ghosts of Stanley Grammar School – Part 3: Peppi the ghost

 The Ghosts of Stanley Grammar School – 

Part 3: Peppi the Ghost.

Stanley Grammar School 1897 [SLSA: B 16781]

There are always local legends about buildings that become derelict in small country towns, the former Stanley Grammar School is no exception. It is claimed that the stairway that allowed boys access to the male dormitory on the first floor, was narrow and very steep.
Legend states that one small boy either fell or was pushed down the staircase, dying from his injuries (there is no record I can find for this). It is alleged this boy, dubbed ‘Peppi’ haunts the old school.

There have been claims by witnesses to Peppi’s haunting of hearing a small boy crying out in pain, sometimes he calls for help, sounding as if he is in great pain. Other witnesses state that the cry for help is more of a plea, than one of pain, like Peppi is lost, or alone, and pleading for someone to help him. One former owner of the building claimed to have heard Peppi but never saw the ghost.
 

According to Geraldine Pearce, in the book, Ghosts and Hauntings of South Australia, by Gordon de L. Marshall, the only witness to sight Peppi is Michelle Dohnt, who, ‘thought she saw the vague outline of a small boy at the dormitory window.’[1]

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2024.

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[1] Gordon de L. Marshall, ' WATERVALE: Stanley Grammar School,' Ghosts and Hauntings of South Australia, (2012) p. 288.

The Ghosts of Stanley Grammar School – Part 1: History

 The Ghosts of Stanley Grammar School – 

Part 1: History

 

Old Stanley Grammar School, Watervale c. 1975 [SLSA: B 31688]

The construction of the Stanley Grammar School began in 1863. The school was built by its founder, Joseph Cole. Cole founded his school in 1858, teaching from the Watervale Bible Christian Chapel. A new public school opened in Watervale in 1859 where Cole also taught.|
Cole purchased land between the school and Commercial Street on which he built a four-room private school building. In 1867, the school officially adopted Stanley Grammar School as its name. The school operated as a boarding house for boys, who were schooled there, with girls allowed access to schooling during the day. The school had a 30-acre recreation area that featured a gymnasium.[1]
 In 1871, the school was extended, with a second story, new ground-floor rooms, and further dormitories. Lessons taught included practical mathematics, Logarithms, chemistry, assaying, surveying, linear and perspective drawing, brokerage, bookkeeping, typewriting, drawing theodolite and chain surveying, music, and field subjects.

Miss Susan Roach was an assistant teacher of Mr Cole. In every room was a list of rules and regulations of the school, which were sacrosanct, and woe to those who disobeyed. Coles taught his students to read parliamentary newspapers so that they could be informed about politics when it became their time to vote. He also encouraged his students to uphold moral standards when students went home to their own districts; that a man would be judged by their actions, conduct and manner.[2] Many of his students went on to be important people in South Australia, including; Sir David Gordon, Dr William Torr, Sir John Duncan, Sir Frederick Young, H C Mengeson, J Harmer, Dr W Jethro Brown and Emile Sobels.[3]

Mr A.H.  Wehrmann recalled in The Recorder newspaper in 1949, that two school mottos were hung in the classroom. The first, ‘Let the boy learn so he may be able to teach,’ and the second, ‘Learning is wealth to the poor and an ornament to the rich.’[4]

Stanley Grammar School 1880 [SLSA: B 12274]

The building lay empty for 30 years, Cole’s daughter, Jessie, lived in the family house built next door until her death in 1949. After her passing the family belongings and property were sold at auction.[5]
the building has been utilised by the Girl Guides, by artists, by numerous owners who wanted to restore it, but it fell into disrepair. One potential buyer wanted to demolish it and use the stone in other projects. In the 1980s, it was The Three Roses Restaurant. The building was sold to Adelaide heart surgeon, Dr John Knight, who restored it to its former beauty. The property was sold to Denise and Frank Kluss in 2007, who now offer the site as a deluxe boutique accommodation.

Next week: The Ghosts of Stanley Grammar School – Part 2: Family History

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2024.

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[1] 'Old Stanley Grammar School at Watervale', Northern Argus, (28 April 1949), p. 1.

[2] 'Early Teaching In Watervale', Chronicle, (29 April 1948), p. 32.

[3] Lantana, ‘History,’ Stanley Grammar Country House, (2023), https://www.oldstanleygrammar.com.au/history/.

[4] 'MR. OSBORNE'S MEMORIES', Recorder, (10 October 1949), p. 3. 

[5] 'Old Stanley Grammar School at Watervale', Northern Argus, (28 April 1949), p. 1.

 The Bent Tree Haunting - Watervale

 

On the Horrocks Highway, between Leasingham and Watervale there once stood a landmark, a bent tree, which marks the spot of a tragic accident.

 Andrew Sands came to Australia on board the passenger ship Epaminondas, arriving at Port Adelaide on 2^nd August 1852. Andrew was a 30-year-old Scottish-born Miner, his wife, Margaret was 28, they had (at the time) three children, David, aged 8, James, aged 4; and 1-year-old Margaret.[1] The couple had one South Australian-born child, Archibald in March 1866.

 

On Tuesday 2^nd February 1869, Andrew Sands was thrown from his horse during a thunderstorm, near the Bent Tree, a local landmark at the time. Sands was found and taken to the Auburn Hotel, where he was attended by Doctor Wall. He was diagnosed with a severe concussion of the brain.
 On 4 February 1869, Andrew Sands died. Sands had a fractured skull, and his brain had swelled, eventually killing him. He was buried the following day 5^th of February 1869, in the Auburn Cemetery, overseen by Reverend Crawford.[2]

Since his untimely death, a local legend states that on moonlit nights, the exact spot where he came off his horse, the ghost of Andrew Sands appears.  Before the time of motor cars, it was claimed that Sand's ghost would try and stop passersby. He walks with his arms out, pleading for a lift. Horses would rear up at the sight of the ghost, bolting, and often throwing their rider to the ground, just as Sands horse had done many years before.

Sand's ghost is not seen as much these days. As cars speed by on the Horrocks Highway, but every now and then, a report of an oddly dressed man, arms outstretched, as if pleading, begging for someone to stop and save him, is seen…

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2024

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[1] Robert Janmaat, ‘Epaminondas’, The Ships List, SA Passenger Lists, 1847-1886, (2008), https://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/epaminondas1852.shtml.

[2] 'AUBURN.', Kapunda Herald and Northern Intelligencer, (5 February 1869), p. 3.

 A Ghost Named Clark.

 

Kadina 1933 {SLSA B 8738}

 In August 1880, Kadina on the Yorke Peninsula was haunted by a ghost. The ghost was seen in the evenings. It purposefully scared women and children, jumping out from behind trees, and around corners.

 One evening, Foot Constable Murray of the Kadina police patrolled the streets. He spotted the ghost as it floated through the town and followed it. He approached the ghost, and grabbed it, expecting to pass through it - as you do – but the ghost was solid. He unmasked the Kadina spectre, a man in a white bedsheet, and took him to the police station! FC Murray may have been South Australia’s first ‘ghostbuster!’

Hosiah Clark was charged by Foot Constable Murray with ‘unlawful use of a disguise to frighten women and children.’[1] Clark was deemed idle and disorderly, he was sentenced to pay 15s for his crime and serve fourteen days in the Wallaroo Gaol.[2]

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2024

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[1] 'POLICE COURT—KADINA.', The Wallaroo Times and Mining Journal, (18 August 1880), p. 3.

[2] 'NEWS OF THE MONTH.', The Illustrated Adelaide News, (1 September 1880), p. 1. 

 

Gawler National Trust Heritage Museum

In the past year, I have held 3 presentations at the Gawler Heritage Museum, raising close to $2000 for the museum. Many people still don’t seem to know Gawler has a museum in Murray Street, so I thought I might share a ghost story to see if it generates some interest and gets some people visiting…

This building started as Gawler’s Telegraph Station and was built in 1860. Pre-internet and telephones, A wire signal was installed that allowed a tapped, morse code message to be sent to Gawler from Adelaide or Port Adelaide when the mail arrived.
Eventually, the Post office moved next door and this building became the Gawler School of Mines and the Gawler Adult Education Centre. From 1915 until 1953 it was the Commonwealth Government Electoral Office. In 1966, the building was transferred to the National Trust. It is now Gawler’s National Trust Museum.

Ghosts

The building is allegedly haunted by twin girls who sit on chairs on
the upper level. A witness claimed to have walked into the room and saw the little girls sitting there,
talking to each other. They did not seem to notice the living lady, and vanished before her eyes, as she
stared at them in shock!

Another ghostly occurrence is linked to the old piano upstairs, during a paranormal investigation, the piano was heard to tap out a few notes – perhaps this was a ghost playing a tune…or typing our morse code…

Kandy House - Parabanks - Paranormal Investigation

Kandy House - Parabanks 

- Paranormal Investigation

 Parabanks at Salisbury was developed in 1962 when Arndale Developments negotiated with the Salisbury District Council to acquire 30 acres of land near the Salisbury CBD. Historical houses including that of Salisbury founder, John Harvey were bulldozed for 'progress’. Also lost in the razing of buildings was the original Hepzibah church and presbytery.

I have been contacted many times about unexplainable incidents in the Parabanks. One of the more common stories is that of a ghost of a child seen on the western side of the shopping complex, so I was intrigued when South Australian Ghost Investigations invited Karen and I to investigate with them at Kandy House.

 

I was aware of the alleged haunting, as a friend, Alex had put me on to it. I had watched the alleged paranormal activity videos on the Kandy House Facebook with interest. We investigated at Halloween. We spoke directly to the owner and staff about what they believed had been happening at the shop. We had a visiting psychic, Bea, who felt a presence, which would later prove an interesting connection to a local crime.

 We used a variety of meters and received no interaction. While in the back storeroom, which was reported as highly active, I personally witnessed a very strange light. I tried through various means to recreate the light and could not – I am still intrigued by the light, as it made no sense how it could be where I witnessed it!

We concluded our investigation. We were told a few days later that the alleged paranormal activity had subsided after our initial visit, but we will be remaining in contact with the owner to evaluate if further investigation is needed.

In the meantime, check out Kandy House online – they have an awesome range of hard-to-get lollies!

South Australia Ghost Investigations: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1539033312782383

Kandy House: https://www.facebook.com/KandyHouseADL/

https://kandyhouse.com.au/

A Paranormal Investigation at Kapunda Museum

A Paranormal Investigation at 

Kapunda Museum

 Built in 1866, the main building of the Kapunda Museum served the Kapunda Baptist community until 1948. From 1949 until the mid-1960s the building was utilised as a technical school. It was then sold to the Kapunda Council. The council donated the building to the Kapunda Historical Society which reopened the building as the Kapunda Museum in 1971. In the years that followed the nearby building that once housed the Kapunda Herald newspaper was incorporated into the museum and renamed Bagot’s Fortune.

 The museum hosts Kapunda’s mining, religious and business history, and is considered one of the finest folk museums in Australia. I have my own personal connection to the collection with my grandmother, Audrey Tiller (nee Tremaine) donated numerous items from her properties around Kapunda, including her bedroom suite, my father’s schoolbooks, and my great grandfathers, H.J.B. Tremaine’s crystal radio set. Other items in the museum include photos of my relatives from the Hazel, Cole, Rowett, Datson and Adams families.

In the Hawke Gallery, one can see foundry products from an era long gone, including a cross-compound steam engine. The museum contains a collection covering every facet of Kapunda's history including an extensive display of machinery, agricultural equipment, an old local Kapunda Ambulance, and a collection of old record players, including wax cylinders.

Karen and I were invited by Chris and Deano of Spirit Crew South Australia to investigate with them at the museum on September 29, 2023. We started in the main building on the ground floor. Karen and I also tried to contact my grandmother in the room set up as her bedroom, but there were no discernible responses. Eventually, we head into the basement.
 

 The basement was quiet. At one point in the evening, we noted what sounded like footsteps walking through the room above us, when everyone present was accounted for and in eyesight of each other in the basement. However, this could easily be disregarded as temperature changes in the late evening affect the woodwork in the building.
 At the roadside end of the basement, there is a small schoolroom display consisting of some desks, mannequins, and a blackboard. It was in this room that movement was noticed. First was a chain moving of its own volition. Ghosts? Possibly, but there is also the chance one of us knocked it and did not notice, or that building movement, or airflow caused the movement.
 While investigating this schoolroom display movement was noticed near the mannequins. It seemed as though a dark shadow moved from the right to the left wall behind the mannequins. We tried our best to communicate but received nothing. We then tried to recreate the movement but were unsuccessful. We do not have a reasonable explanation as to what caused the shadowy movement in the schoolroom display – further investigation is required.

 

 It has previously been reported that the museum is haunted. Many years ago, local Reggie Rawady (R.I.P) told me he once experienced the ghost in the old newspaper office. He didn’t elaborate much on the ghost, only that it was in the rear of the building where a movie plays (a movie featured Reggie!)
 This building is also infamous for the suicide of former newspaper editor, Leonard Samuel Curtis. In 1911, 52-year-old Curtis was found dead in his office by his apprentice, Albert Patterson. Curtis had swallowed a large quantity of Lysol and then shot himself in the neck four times with a revolver. No note was left… Curtis’s ghost is sometimes reported to be seen peeking out the window of the building.

 

If you get the chance to visit Kapunda, do consider spending some time in the museum. There are some amazing displays, including an operating table from the Kapunda hospital and out the back, and an old hearse!

 Watch our investigation here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lv2FVQIfzc

 

A huge thank you to Chris and Deano for inviting us to investigate – check out their pages on Facebook:
Spirit Crew South Australia: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084997001604

Smithfield Paranormal: https://www.facebook.com/SmithfieldParanormal

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1_Bxn_uJ1MM_xc_iOz39zw

Researched and written byAllen Tiller © 2023

Ghostly Gawler - History Month Presentation 2021

 

Ghostly Gawler

As part of the South Australia History Festival, paranormal historian Allen Tiller presented a talk on ghosts, hauntings and other paranormal events in the Town of Gawler for the Gawler History Team. 

A Haunting at Melrose - St George’s Folly

 

 The original owner, and builder, of the North Star Hotel at Melrose, was William St. George. The North Star Hotel was originally licenced in 1854, operating from a simple log hut.[1] Such were the profits from his hotel, which allowed St George to build his mansion. The house featured cedar fittings throughout and was believed to be the first in South Australia to have a corrugated iron roof. Unfortunately, St. George never got to enjoy his home, as he was killed in an accident at Roseworthy.

St. George was carting furniture from Adelaide to George’s Knob, ten kilometres south of Melrose in the Flinders’ Ranges when his horses fell into an unseen railway ballast pit, toppling his cart and killing him. William St George was buried at Gawler Cemetery, which is now Pioneer Park in 1863.[2]

His house became derelict and was frequented by squatters. A 1904 newspaper article in the Evening Journal detailed graffiti on the internal walls of the house, one stated ‘I can’t sleep here tonight; this great windy house seems to haunt a fellow.”[3]
It became rumoured that the house was haunted. The Evening Journal claimed that “a party of superstitious people recently slept on the premises with loaded guns, but the ghost did not come that night.”[4]

Eventually, the property was purchased by J. H. Angus and became a part of the Willowie Pastoral Company. It was renovated and lived in by a pastoral overseer for the company John Ross and his wife Lyn. The house then became known as Rosslyn Estate.[5]

From the 1^st of November 1920, the house was occupied by Ernest Benjamin Pitman.[6]Pitman received the property from the Soldier Settlement Branch. Soldiers who were honourably discharged from Australia’s Imperial Forces and served overseas were entitled to assistance from the South Australian Government purchased land and assisted in erecting buildings, purchasing seeds and general improvements of the property.
In his book, Ghosts and Haunting of South Australia, author Gordon de L. Marshall interviewed Keith Pitman, son of Ernest. Keith stated that in the 1920s his father first witnessed a ghost. During daylight, the ghost came out from the cellar, it was a skeleton dressed in a shroud. According to Keith, his father was sitting near a window when he witnessed the ghost walk alongside the house, through a 3000-gallon water tank, and out to a paddock, some 400 meters from the house. There it stopped.
Ernest went and investigated the location and found the remnants of an old grave, but no headstone.[7]

The family believed that another ghost haunted the old home, that of William St George. They believed St. George would open doors in the house. The family never felt uncomfortable around this ghost. Keith Pitman sold Rosslyn in 2002.[8]

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2023

[1] North Star Hotel, Melrose Community Development Association, (2022), https://www.melrose-mtremarkable.org.au/historic-buildings/
[2] 'MOUNT REMARKABLE', South Australian Register, (29 October 1863), p. 3.
[3] 'WHEN MELROSE WAS YOUNG.', Evening Journal, (29 September 1904), p. 2.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] ‘PITMAN Ernest Benjamin Hundred of Wongyarra, Sections 381/3 1 Nov 1920.’, GRG35/320 Record of land held by soldier settlers - Soldier Settlement Branch 1917-1931, State Archives of South Australia, vol 2, (2019), p. 83, https://archives.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/public/documents/GRG35_320_1917-1931_Record_of_land_held_by_soldier_settlers.pdf.
[7] Gordon de L. Marshall, Ghosts and Haunting of South Australia, (2012), p. 214-15.
[8] Melrose land sale sets new record, The Flinders News, (2017), https://www.theflindersnews.com.au/story/5124039/melrose-land-sale-sets-new-record/.

Old Goolwa Police Station and Court House

The Goolwa Police Station was erected in 1859. It was designed by Colonial Architect E.A. Hamilton. The police station had its own water supply, via a well. In 1867 the courthouse was erected next door, and in 1874 a store for Aboriginals was built alongside it.[1]

The Goolwa Police Station was closed in 1993 when a new purpose-built police station was opened. At the time the Goolwa Police Station was the oldest operating police station in Australia.[2]

 

Goolwa Radio Alex FM run a local ghost tour every Halloween. That ghost tour takes in the old Goolwa Police Station and courthouse complex which is now the SA Coast Regional Arts Centre. During one of many tours, a person on the tour snapped a photograph of the front of the building which shows what looks to be a person looking out at them. It is claimed that no one was inside the building at the time the photograph was taken.

“The photo below was taken on a previous Ghost Tour outside the Old Police Station. Witnesses at the event insist there was no one in the doorway when the photo was taken! The figure is thought to be that of a Police Constable who drowned at the Murray Mouth in 1880.” – Radio Goolwa Alex FM[3]

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2023

[1] Department for Environment and Heritage, ‘Police Station & Courthouse and Outbuildings’, Government of South Australia, (2012), https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/goolwa_police.pdf.
[2] 'Force defends station', Times, (25 June 1993), p. 1.
[3] Goolwa Historic Ghost Walk’, Pet Let, (2021), https://petlet.net.au/goolwa-historic-ghost-walk/

Talia Caves – Part II: Ghosts and Embellishments.

 Talia Caves – Part II: 

Ghosts and Embellishments.

 

 In January 1961, Shirley and Bruce Baldwin were enjoying a seaside holiday on the Eyre Peninsula. Stopping at Talia, Bruce decided to get some photographs of the coastal cliffs and Talia caves. The film was developed and Bruce noticed an unusual figure standing in the ocean. He gave the negative to his friend Michael Leyson who had the image printed. Leyson submitted the print to be published in the book Haunted: The Book of Australian Ghost Stories, giving full credit to Bruce. However, Leyson claims that the author of the book disregarded the true story, misquoted Leyson and wrote a new story about the nurse that puts her reputation in disrepute. That book is by respected author John Pinkney, who, unfortunately, has since died and cannot defend himself against accusations of dishonesty, exaggeration, and embellishment.  

 Pinkney states in his book that Sister Millard’s death occurred in 1923. That her death was a murder, “A nurse became pregnant to a respected married man. He was so terrified of the scandal that might engulf him that he tried to solve the problem by hurling her from the high cliffs.’[1]

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2023

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[1] John Pinkney, ‘Haunted: A Book of Australian Ghosts”, (2005), p. 22.