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]
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.
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!!”
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]
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
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 2nd 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 2nd
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 5th 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…
[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.
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]
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…
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
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!
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.
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 1st 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]
[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/.
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]
[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/
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]
Sister Doris Millard set out with friends on Saturday 24 June 1928 from Streaky Bay to visit the Talia Caves. The little travelling party, consisting of Mr and Mrs J.B. Hastings, Mr and Mrs W.H. Brownrigg and Sister Millard camped overnight at Talia, and in the morning, Sister Millard suggested she might walk to the cliffs to take photos of the ocean.[1] She walked to the cliffs with Mr Brownrigg reaching a narrow ledge that overhung a deep fissure in the rock. Brownrigg advised Millard not to walk on the ledge, but she replied, ‘If you can go there, I can”. Brownrigg walked a few steps away when he heard the rock crack. Turning, he saw Millard was gone., She had fallen ten meters in the raging waters below.
Brownrigg found his way down the cliff face to the waters below. He could see Millard trying to stay afloat in the raging waters as waves crashed over here, pulling her this way and that. He called out to her, and she got within a few feet of him, only to be washed away with the next wave. Brownrigg watched as Millard would be pushed up into the narrow flume of the caves, then dashed back out onto nearby rocks. She lasted about fifteen minutes more until she disappeared from Brownrigg’s view.[2]
Sister Millard had recently resigned from her position as a nurse at Streaky Bay. Prior to that, she had worked at Broken Hill. Originally, she was from Prahran in Victoria.
News of the tragic circumstances of Sister Millard’s death spread quickly. Stan Emery, the local police officer of the region organised a service in the sister’s honour. Emery also hand-delivered a report on Millard’s parents in Melbourne.
The West Coast Sentinel (newspaper) organised a subscription list and raised over 60 pounds to erect a memorial to Sister Millard.[3] The memorial acted not only to honour the sister but to warn of the dangers of the cliff. The memorial was unveiled on 25 November 1928.[4]
Next week: Talia Caves – Part II: Ghosts and Embellishments.
[1] 'NURSE LOSES HER LIFE', Port Lincoln Times, (29 June 1928), p. 1. [2] 'TERRIBLE DROWNING FATALITY.', West Coast Sentinel, (29 June 1928), p. 1. [3] 'SISTER MILLARD MEMORIAL', Barrier Miner, (22 August 1928), p. 2. [4] Sister D. B. Millard, Monument Australia (2022), https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/tragedy/display/51858-sister-d.-b.-millard.
Waterhouse Chambers was built by successful grocer Thomas Greaves Waterhouse, who had invested heavily in the Burra Mines and made a small fortune in return.
Waterhouse used his earnings to construct the impressive building, which was so iconic at the end of Rundle Street, that the corner became known locally as “Waterhouse Corner”, before being usurped as “Beehive Corner”, when the even more impressive “Beehive” building opened across the road. The building has seen many uses, including, at one time, being used as the head office of the South Australian Mining Company.
The building left the ownership of the Waterhouse family in 1919 after A. Waterhouse sold it to F.N. Simpson of Gawler Place through realtor J.S. Kithor. In 1921 Kithor would on-sell the building to tobacco merchants “Lawrence and Levy” who remodelled the ground floor shop front.
After ninety years of occupying a section of the building, Shuttleworth and Letchford moved their offices to the YWCA building on Hutt Street.
The building has seen many tenants over the years but perhaps one of the best-loved was the 44-year occupation by the iconic confectioner, Darrell Lea before the current Tennant, Charlesworth Nuts took over in 2013.
Ghost Stories:
Long rumoured to be haunted amongst the local paranormal community, ghost stories for this particular building are very hard to come by, but it would seem, that the majority of stories that have surfaced involve the upstairs section of the building. It has been reported that staff do not like the feeling of the upstairs room, reports of paranoia, smelling phantom pipe tobacco smoke when clearly no one is smoking, and hearing loud footsteps in rooms have surfaced. At one point this led staff from a downstairs shop, which used the upstairs as storage, to abandon the upstairs section as no one wanted to enter the rooms for fear of the unknown. If it is haunted, it has yet to be investigated by a professional paranormal investigation team or group of sceptics to find the cause of fear and paranoia!
Trivia: Before the imposing Beehive building was built the corner of King William Street and Rundle Street was known locally as “Waterhouse Corner”.
This story was originally written for the Adelaide City Library project "Haunted Buildings in Adelaide." For a more complete history of the building and eyewitness accounts of ghost stories at this building please refer to my book "Haunted Adelaide" available via Amazon here: Haunted Adelaide
At the end of my first post in A Haunting at the Mount Remarkable Hotel, I mentioned that there were several recorded deaths at the hotel. Each week I have supplied research on those deaths. Starting with watchmaker Dugald Wilson who fell into the basement, dying in the hotel that evening. Then Margaret ‘Maggie’ Salmon who suicided by poison in 1866. The next death was another suicide, that of August Fix who shot himself in an outlying building in 1908. In 1915 George Moran, son of the original owner, Thomas Moran died suddenly from a cerebral haemorrhage, and in 1931, the death of Irene Wight, followed by her husband Harry Castle Wight in 1932, who died ‘suddenly’.
So how do these deaths fit in with the local ghost stories?
The Mount Remarkable Hotel is alleged to be haunted by three (or more) ghosts. The first is a young woman who it believed may have drowned in the cellar. The second is thought to be the spirit woman and the third is a male who presents himself as a shadow person. Owners have reported hearing people running through the unused upstairs section of the hotel. Poltergeist-like activity is also reported, with witnesses claiming to watch a bar stool topple over of its own volition, and cups from the pokies room being found on the floor in the morning during the opening of the room, which wasn’t there the night before.
I can find no corroborative evidence for death by drowning in the cellar. One would expect that such an event would require an inquest and that the inquest would be published in a newspaper. The second alleged spirit, without a description of what she looks like, could literally be anyone, but one could assume that the female spirit may be Maggie Salmon or Irene Wight. The third alleged spirit that appears as a shadow person could literally be anyone, but again, one can make an assumption that the spirit may be Dugald Wilson, George Moran or Harry Wight. Without a proper description and a proper paranormal investigation done by professionals, it is hard to identify or conclude who any spirit is in any location.
Other alleged ghostly activity at the Mount Remarkable Hotel is poltergeist activity. With claims that cups appear in places they shouldn't be on opening the hotel. Often, things like cups left in a room are related to memory or misinterpretation. A person closing a hotel may think everything is away, having a brief look before locking up, then return the next day and be surprised when something is where it should not be, having missed it the night prior. However, there is always the possibility of a spirit moving things – there has been prior evidence of this in South Australia at the North Kapunda Hotel, The Port Admiral Hotel (Port Adelaide), and The British Hotel (North Adelaide).
Although I have linked ghosts to known deaths and made assumptions, this is unreliable and should not be regarded as evidence of the named people being ghosts in this location. If there are spirits haunting this hotel, they remain unidentified, and could literally be anyone who has passed through the building, or simply urban legends...
Harold Wight served during World War One in Egypt, where he contracted Malaria. At the time of his embankment, he and Irene were living at 162 Jetty Road, Glenelg.[1]Harold Castle Wight and Irene Pearson Wight (nee Taylor) had one child Nina Marie Castle Wight.
Prior to owning the Mount Remarkable Hotel, Harry and Irene owned the Aurora Hotel at Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide. Harry was prosecuted in court for illegally supplying liquor on Christmas day and fined 10 pounds and 1-pound costs.[2]
Only a few years later the Wights were in trouble again for the illegal supply of liquor, however, this time they were found innocent.
Harry Castle Wight (48), on complaint, charged with a breach of the Licensing Acts, 1917 to 1927, section 183, at Mount Remarkable Hotel, Melrose; complaint dismissed. Tried at Melrose on 22/1/29. Evidence obtained by M.C. Jones.[3]
Wight bought the Mount Remarkable Hotel from Clarence Fuller in 1928. In 1929, Wight tried to sell the Mount Remarkable Hotel and its furniture and fittings.[4]
Irene died at the Mount Remarkable hotel on 25 august 1932, aged 43 years. Harry died on 29 March 1932 at the Mount Remarkable Hotel, aged 46 years.[5]They were both buried at Saint Jude’s Cemetery in Brighton, South Australia.[6]
After the deaths of the Wights, the hotel was sold to Herbert Ey.[7]
Next Week: A Haunting at the Mount Remarkable Hotel - Part VII - Conclusion + Ghost Stories.
[1] ‘WIGHT Harry Castle: Service Number - 15400: Place of Birth - Adelaide SA: Place of Enlistment - Adelaide SA: Next of Kin - (Wife) WIGHT Irene,’ National Archives of Australia, https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/records/418631. [2] 'ILLEGAL SUPPLY OF LIQUOR.', The Advertiser, (26 January 1926), p. 7. [3] ‘Harry Castle Wight’, South Australia, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1862-1947, AU5103-1929 SA Police Gazette, (1929). [4] 'Advertising', The Advertiser, (18 December 1929), p. 9. [5] 'Advertising', The Advertiser, (30 March 1932), p. 4. [6] 'Family Notices', News, (26 August 1931), p. 12. [7] J.L. (Bob) Hoad, Hotels and Publicans in South Australia, (1986), p. 390.
On 12 November 1908, Martin Jacobson was doing his rounds as an ostler at about 6am for Moran’s Hotel, Melrose, when he came across August Fix. Fix was an elderly local resident who worked for the Willowie Pastoral Company. Fix was in an outside room of the hotel that Jacobson had neglected to lock. Fix was very drunk, but not disturbing anyone, so Jacobson let him be and got on with his job. Later that evening, at 8am, Jacobson returned to check on Fix. He found the man dead. Fix had shot himself through the right temple with a small-bore rifle.
Mounted Constable Siggins deposed during the inquest that he had been summoned to the hotel at 9:20am. Siggins examined the crime scene and waited for Coroner Lewis George to arrive.[1]
Dr Hann gave medical evidence that there was,
a small bullet wound in the right temple. Edges of the wound were scorched. The course of the bullet seemed to travel through the base of the brain. There was no wound of exit, but bleeding from the left cut and from the nose and mouth. In his opinion, a cartridge of the size produced would be sufficient to make the wound and to cause death. It was quite possible for the deceased to have fired the rifle according to the direction of the wound.[2]
Mr H. M Mair, manager of the Mount Remarkable Station deposed that Fix had not worked since October 31st. He had taken to drinking heavily and had a wife living in Nuriootpa, to whom Fix had sent a telegram the morning of his suicide. In another report, it is stated Fix’s wife lived in Angaston.[3]
After a short retirement the jury found:
We are unanimously of opinion that the deceased met his death by a bullet wound in the head, fired, from a rifle by his own hand while in a fit of temporary insanity.[4]
Next week: A Haunting at the Mount Remarkable Hotel – Part V – Like Father, Like Son.
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