A Haunting at the Cornwall Hotel – Moonta

Built in 1862, The Cornwall Hotel was originally known as ‘The Globe Hotel’ and was a popular drinking, and overnight accommodation spot in the busy mining town of Moonta.
 In the late 1870s, the hotel saw an increase in patronage, which led to the hotel having extensive alterations and additions under the ownership of JK Dawson in 1881.

 The hotel was almost destroyed on March 23 1889, with only the kitchen left standing after a fire broke out in the front bar. No deaths occurred due to the fire and the hotel was rebuilt by its owners, the SA Brewing Company.

Notable deaths in the hotel include a former ostler (a man paid to look after horses in the rear stables).  Thomas Senior died in his bed in 1888, it is thought, after he had fed the horses, he may have overstrained himself. He returned to his room to lay down after complaining about severe chest pains and died only a couple of hours later.

In 1928, the 28-year-old son of the publicans, Leslie Ferguson passed away in the hotel. Ferguson had served in World War One, and upon returning to South Australia to his wife and children, became ill. He stayed with his parents in the hope the sea air would help relieve his ailment but unfortunately passed away in his bed from chronic illness caused during his timer at war.

The haunting of the hotel is often blamed on the former publican George Walkley who took over as publican in 1926 after a long run as the publican of the Joiners Arms Hotel in Hindmarsh. The Walkleys owned the hotel into the 1940s before retiring back to Hindmarsh in Adelaide.
There really is no good reason why the former publican would haunt the hotel, other than his love for the place may have brought him back, He did not die on the site, in fact, He and his wife, both died in their Hindmarsh home a few years apart from each other.
This may, in-fact, be someone naming a ghost, when truly it isn’t that person at all…

Although Mr Walkley might, or might not, be the resident spirit, there are some odd goings-on in the hotel. After a recent talk to staff I discovered the smell of tobacco smoke (not paranormal in itself) is a common complaint, as are cold spots, taps turning on and off by themselves, dirty footprints appearing on clean floors (when no-one has been in the room) and doors opening and closing.

One staff member had the eeriest of all encounters at the hotel when they walked into the kitchen to discover a man sitting on the counter. The man, dressed in very old-styled clothing was smoking a rolled-up cigarette, looked at the staff member, hopped up, and walked out the door. He walked across a freshly washed floor, and left no footprints!

Allen Tiller is the Australian star of the international hit television show “Haunting: Australia” and author of “The Haunts of Adelaide – History, Mystery and the Paranormal” as well as being a historian, lecturer, poet, musician, Tour Guide, blogger and podcaster. Allen is also a volunteer for many different associations and groups.

You can find Allen online at:

www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller

www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia

https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

First Published in MEGAscene issue 9 2016

© Allen Tiller

A Haunting at the Cornucopia Hotel - Wallaroo

 

This month we are travelling to the Copper Coast to the historic mining seaside town of Wallaroo to visit one of my favourite haunts in the area – the Cornucopia Hotel, located at 40 Owen Terrace, right in the heart of the historic town.

This Copper Coast Hotel was built circa 1862 and first licensed to Mr R Hazelgrove.

 The hotel, boasting 52 rooms, was built in 1862 and was first licensed by Mr R Hazelgrove. It was the central meeting point in the town and had a purpose-built dance hall upstairs. It is the only hotel in Wallaroo to still retain its original opening name, having never been called anything other than “Cornucopia Hotel” (until recently when it was renamed The Copper Coast Hotel).
 It was also home, in the early days, like many hotels in that era, as the staging point for coroner inquests into local deaths. Often this would see the body laid out, with Doctors, Judges and other local dignitaries sitting around deciding if there was more to a death then an accident or natural causes.

 I have investigated the hotel on a number of occasions, both privately and with the public, and have encountered some very strange phenome within its walls.
 The upstairs section of the hotel houses the guest’s suites and shared shower facilities. This seems to be the epicentre of the haunting, particularly in the one wing containing bedrooms 11 through to 13.
 On one occasion, about the middle of the day, I was standing in the junction of the hallways, which wind and turn through the upper levels. In one spot I could smell very distinctly the smell of the ocean and old tobacco, but take a step in any direction and the smell would be completely gone. Now, not being one to jump to the “ghost” conclusion in an instant, I put it down to being so close to the ocean, and the smell of tobacco being embedded in the walls and carpets, and didn’t think any more of it, until I went downstairs to the dining room and a psychic told me that right above us was a spirit of an old Swedish sailor who had died elsewhere, but returned here as he felt this was home – (this still did not convince me the place is haunted by a Swedish sailor!).

 On another occasion, my wife experienced very strange disembodied footsteps in the hallway whilst she was investigating in room 10, at the same time, I was sitting on the bed in room 11 and recorded an EVP that asked the question “Hello?” – this was only the beginning of weird occurrences in the upstairs area that evening,
 Whilst in another upstairs room we all experienced equipment responses to questions. One investigator also heard a disembodied voice within the room.
 During a public event in the Cornucopia Hotel, Rob from “Cityside Paranormal” had a poltergeist event occur. Rob and his partner was staying in room 11, he put his clothes and gear in the room, and during the tour part of the event, re-entered his room to find all his belongings were strewn about the place as if someone had been recklessly searching for some mysterious object!

 So who haunts the Cornucopia Hotel? It could be Archibald Samuels, a young man, aged 14, who lost his life in a water tank that is located directly underneath the current bear garden. Archibald had gone to draw water from the tank and somehow fell in, only to be found the following day when the hotel couldn’t find him to run an errand.

 Or, perhaps it might be Mr Crawford, who had a nasty gash upon his leg that went gangrene, he died in an upstairs bedroom.
 Many of the staff have told me stories of suicides that go unreported in the local media, one involved a young woman hanging herself from the balcony in full site of the town’s main street – it is said she may be the ghost often heard speaking in room 9, that also likes the roll bars of soap across the room.

Another mysterious paranormal event occurred in February 1894 when a fire broke out in the hotel stables (as reported in The Kadina and Wallaroo Times – 3 Feb 1894).  Albert Swanski, the horse keeper locked the stables at 11pm, and when he checked the horses at 7:30am, he found the stalls and horses very badly burnt, so badly, in fact, the vet put them down immediately (they are buried in the hotel grounds). All the leather bridles, reigns etc of the horses were perfect, uncharred, no fire or smoke damage. No one knew how the fire started, or how it got put out, all the locks were still intact, and no entry points could be seen – very strange indeed!

 

The Cornucopia Hotel Wallaroo remains a popular drinking spot within the town and depending on who you talk too, one of the most haunted pubs on the Copper Coast!

My thanks to Rick and Will Parson of Flinders Ranges Paranormal Research Group for assistance with research on this historic location.

<edit> The Cornucopia Hotel is now known as the Copper Coast Hotel.

Allen Tiller is the Australian star of the international hit television show “Haunting: Australia” and author of “The Haunts of Adelaide – History, Mystery and the Paranormal” as well as being a historian, lecturer, poet, musician, Tour Guide, blogger and podcaster. Allen is also a volunteer for many different associations and groups.

You can find Allen online at:

www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller

www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia

https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

First published in MEGAscene issue 7 2016

© Allen Tiller

A Haunting at the National Railway Museum

 Located in Port Adelaide, The National Railway Museum offers a glimpse into South Australia’s railway past. Within its many sheds sit old trains from all eras of our railway past, including Steam Trains, Diesel Engines, old Red Hens and even the old Callington Railway Station, but did you know, there are also claims the site is haunted?

The National Railway Museum started originally on Railway Terrace, Mile End in 1963 and was run entirely by volunteers, who not only restored and preserved old trains but wrote and published books about them too.
 In 1988 the volunteers sought a new site where their trains could be kept undercover to keep them out of the weather, and in pristine condition. After a Government grant and help from the History Trust of SA, a new site was purchased.

 The Port Dock Station Railway Museum was opened in 1988. In 2001 a new facility was opened within the existing one that featured exhibits from the Australian National Railways and the Commonwealth Railways. With the new exhibit came a new name for the site, one that remains today “The National Railway Museum Port Adelaide”.

The original railway station stood where the Port Adelaide Police Station now sits and was opened in 1856. This was one of the first lines in South Australia and the mainline to the ports. The station closed in 1981, but the goods sheds and railway yards remained, which is now the site of the museum.
 Within the complex are a series of sheds containing many displays of railway related items, including a miniature train set and old steam train carriages one can walkthrough. There is also the original 1878 Port Dock Station goods shed on the eastern side of the complex, and the old Callington booking office, which was built in 1951 in the town of Callington, near Murray Bridge. The building was taken from Callington in 1991 and re-erected in Port Adelaide in 1994.
 The museum also has in its collection an original coffin trolley used until 1982 the Adelaide Railway Station to transport coffins by hand through the terminal.

 My father worked in the railways, as did both his parents, so trains were a big part of my life growing up. My wife and I, and my Mother-In-Law had investigated the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre in 2011, and had some great experiences, so when we were invited to join Lyon Paranormal, Paranormal Spectrum and The Ghosts Within to investigate the National Railway Museum for paranormal activity, my whole team made themselves available for the opportunity!

 There had been ongoing reports of spooky thing happening at the site, including reports of a shadow person, and of phones ringing when they are not plugged into the wall.
 It is thought that one of the trains, the “Y 12” may, in fact, be the very train that was involved in Australia’s first terror attack, at Silverton, near Broken Hill. On New Year’s Day 1915, two Turkish men opened fire into the carriages this locomotive which was hauling, a picnic train, killing a number of passengers. It is believed by some parties that the spirits of those deceased may linger near the locomotive.
 Other deaths onsite include railway workers killed while working in the rail yard shunting trains. There is also an unconfirmed story of a man who fell asleep on the rails whilst very drunk and was run over by a train.

 

We investigated as many carriages and trains as we could enter on the night, but for us, it seemed the spirits did not want to communicate. However, Paranormal Spectrum’s investigators did manage to collect an EVP during their sessions.

The National Railway Museum Port Adelaide is located at 76 Lipson Street Port Adelaide – you can find more information about exhibits and the train via their website at: http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/

 

Allen Tiller is the Australian star of the international hit television show “Haunting: Australia” and author of “The Haunts of Adelaide – History, Mystery and the Paranormal” as well as being a historian, lecturer, poet, musician, Tour Guide, blogger and podcaster. Allen is also a volunteer for many different associations and groups.

You can find Allen online at:

www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller

www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia

https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

First published in MEGAscene issue 6 2016

© Allen Tiller

Haunted Highercombe Hotel Museum

Haunted Highercombe Hotel Museum

 

Investigating the Highercombe Hotel Museum, Tea Tree Gully

Every year I have the pleasure of visiting haunted locations around Australia. In 2015, my travels were no exception. That year included investigations at Boggo Road Gaol in Queensland, Geelong Gaol and Beechworth Lunatic Asylum in Victoria, a return to Woodford Academy in New South Wales, and numerous South Australian sites such as the Old Adelaide Gaol, the Cornucopia Hotel in Wallaroo, and investigations in Willunga, Kapunda, Gladstone and Edinburgh. Among these, one of the most intriguing locations was a small‑scale investigation at the historic Highercombe Hotel Museum in Tea Tree Gully.

A Brief History of Highercombe

The Highercombe Hotel was built in 1853 in the township then known as Steventon—today’s Tea Tree Gully. Although the population was respectable for the time, it was not large enough to support two hotels: the Highercombe Hotel and the Tea Tree Gully Inn, which stood directly opposite. As a result, the Highercombe Hotel’s life as a public house was short‑lived, closing just twenty‑four years after opening.

The Tea Tree Gully Inn prospered after the main road was diverted to pass directly in front of it, becoming a major stopping point for stagecoaches and horse riders.

The Highercombe building, however, found new purpose. From 1879 to 1963, the northern side served as the local post office and residence for the postmaster. From 1875 to 1934, the southern side housed the headteacher of the Tea Tree Gully Public School. Later, from 1930 for roughly twenty years, the southern portion was rented to the Hughes family as a private residence.

In the 1960s, the building briefly served as the library and office for the Tea Tree Gully Council. In 1967, it was bequeathed to the National Trust, beginning its life as a museum. In 2015, the site was renamed the Tea Tree Gully Heritage Museum and continues to be operated entirely by volunteers.

Haunting Theories and Attachments

My research has uncovered no recorded deaths within the building that might directly support a haunting. However, the museum contains numerous personal effects—objects deeply connected to their former owners. This lends itself to the theory of attachment, held by some paranormal investigators. The idea suggests that certain objects, cherished or significant during life, may retain a spiritual connection after death. The spirit, unable or unwilling to part with the object, remains near it. Several experiences within Highercombe seem to align with this theory.

One reported sighting involves a young girl seated before the fireplace in the large downstairs sitting room near the hotel’s entrance. Volunteers have glimpsed her briefly, sitting quietly as though warming herself by the fire.

Our Investigation

During our investigation—conducted by Eidolon Paranormal alongside my friend Karina Eames—we experienced our own unexplained moment in an upstairs room. We were reading poetry that had been bequeathed to the museum as part of an estate. As Karina and Karen read aloud, another investigator observed a small white light pass between two team members before vanishing. At the same moment, several investigators felt sudden coldness and goosebumps.

We are still reviewing our data and intend to return for further investigation. The identity of any spirit within the former hotel remains unknown, but the building’s layered history and personal artefacts make it a compelling location for continued study.

Visiting the Museum

The Tea Tree Gully Heritage Museum is open to the public on designated open days and also accepts group bookings. Details can be found on the volunteer society’s website: http://www.highercombemuseum.on.net/

You can find Allen online at:

www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller

www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia

https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

© Allen Tiller

The Haunting of Martindale Hall

 

 A visit to the Clare Valley with our good friends John & Deb from Drifter Paranormal (who are travelling the country investigating haunting phenomena) led us to Mintaro’s exceptional Georgian-styled manor “Martindale Hall”.

 The mansion was built in 1879 and took two years to finish. It is built of sandstone and has 32 rooms, including a large basement which contains seven rooms. The house was used as Mr Bowman's recreation home and featured a boating lake, racecourse, cricket pitch (which saw the English 11 play on its pitch on one occasion), and a polo ground. The property was also used for fox hunting and other hunting exhibitions.
 Its roof was designed to allow for the lady visitors of the house to sit upon and view the goings-on of the sporting achievements of the menfolk.

 

 It is said that Mr Bowman’s wealth was extraordinary and that he spared no expense in building the house, which cost somewhere around 72 thousand pounds. The extravagance is quite evident when visiting the mansion and its extraordinary coach house (which is larger than a lot of people’s entire homes). There are long-held local legends that, in Bowman's day, when only he and his two brothers lived in the home, and later just Edmund and his wife Annie, Bowman had 14 servants, 4 of which lived on site. Much like TV shows like “Downton Abbey” or “Upstairs, Downstairs”, the home had areas purely for the use and movement of servants.
 This was a man so wealthy that he installed fully flushing toilets for his servants’ use, but insisted on using commodes for himself and his guests, which the servants would have to empty after each use.
The white Carrara marble fireplace in the drawing-room at Martindale Hall was entered into a competition in France, where it took first prize at a Paris exhibition in 1873 and was purchased by Mr Bowman for 75 pounds.

 The house is now a museum owned by the people of South Australia, and within its walls, you can find all its original fittings and grandeur. In the billiard room stands a full-sized English Billiard table (12 ft x 6 ft). It is said the 1.5-tonne pool table was placed in position, and then the north-facing wall of the building was finished.

 

 In 1885, drought overtook Australia, and Edmund Bowman's finances suffered; this was compounded further in the following years with a depression lowering the price of wool, causing Mr Bowman's finances further losses. These losses eventually led to the sale of Martindale Estate to another notable South Australian, Mr William Mortlock, in 1891.

 

 The Mortlocks brought their own touch to the home, and the majority of the fittings and furniture that we see today were theirs. In the smoking room, one can see some of the treasures that John Mortlock returned with from his expeditions across Australia, New Guinea and Africa, including a majestic 16th-century Samurai suit, Sri Lankan devil masks and carved elephant tusks. Other pieces of Mr Mortlock's collection can be found in the Adelaide Museum and Mortlock Library on North Terrace, Adelaide.

 John Mortlock, who inherited the house from his parents, died in 1950, only 15 months after marrying his wife, Dorothy. After John’s death, Dorothy walked out of the house, leaving everything the way it sat, other than a few personal possessions. She locked the door and then donated the entire building and contents to the University of Adelaide, which in turn gave the entire site to the people of South Australia.
 Unfortunately, the State Government is currently trying to usurp the public and sell the site to a private consortium to start a “wellness clinic”, taking away the public’s right to visit a site that was bequeathed to them.

  Away from the politics, beauty and history, Martindale has long been deemed a significant haunted historic location in the Clare Valley region.

 Many of the staff, and some of the visitors and overnight guests, have reported strange goings-on and sightings of mysterious people in the grounds and inside the home itself.
 A man has been seen, in period clothing, possibly early 1900’s, sitting on the back stairs of the home. The clothing worn, and the site where he has been seen, would indicate the possibility of a servant, perhaps one who loved his masters, and the house far too much to move on after his death.
 Overnight-staying guests have reported waking up and finding a child lying in bed with them, when no children have been reported to be in the home. Other people have reported seeing children, in “olden-times” clothing, playing on the front steps of the mansion, running around, not noticing the adults staring at them in bewilderment, before the children fade into the surroundings…

 The most often seen spirit in the home, though, is thought to be the spirit of Valentine Mortlock. Valentine was born on Valentine’s Day, thus his name. He was born with “cretinism” which is described on Wikipedia as “a condition of severely stunted physical and mental growth due to untreated congenital deficiency of thyroid hormones”.
 Valentine lived much of his life confined to his room; perhaps this was because of his disability, but more likely it is because his well-to-do family saw his disability as a blight upon their name.
 Valentine had long blonde hair, common for boys of the period, and very often, when he was seen, he would be mistaken for a little girl; this could explain the sightings of a long-haired blonde spirit girl inside the hall, mistaken identity!

 The most notable recent sighting of Valentine was recorded by the caretakers of Martindale Hall and is displayed in his room for all to read.
 It tells of a 3-year-old boy visiting the house with his family. The boy’s mother went to take the boy out of the room, but he did not want to leave his new friend, who he described as having long golden hair and “looking like an angel”.

Or – visit the Martindale Hall website to plan your visit: - http://www.martindalehall-mintaro.com.au/

 

 Allen Tiller is the Australian star of the international hit television show “Haunting: Australia” and author of “The Haunts of Adelaide – History, Mystery and the Paranormal” as well as being a historian, lecturer, poet, musician, Tour Guide, blogger and podcaster. Allen is also a volunteer for many different historical associations and groups.

You can find Allen online at:

www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller

www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia

https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

First published in MEGAscene issue 4 Jan 2016

©Allen Tiller

The Old Adelaide Gaol

A siren mourned woefully at 8am in the north-west end of Adelaide city, marking the moment of the final throes of life of executed man, Glen Sabre Valance at Her Majesty’s Adelaide Gaol.

 The 45^th execution within the gaol walls and the last hanging undertook inside the gaol. 44 men and one woman, Elizabeth Woolcock lost their lives by hanging in the gaol for various crimes since the establishment of the gaol in 1841.

 From 1841 until 1988, The Adelaide Gaol held over 300,000 prisoners and was Australia’s longest-serving continuous gaol. It housed men, women and children, and sometimes lunatics.

 The first Governor was William Baker Ashton, who was actually appointed 2 years before the gaol opened. William and his wife Charlotte (who acted as the Gaol Matron until 1850) had 6 children, with three of them being born during their time at the gaol
 In 1854, William, a very large man, died unexpectedly in the upstairs office of the gaol, the narrow staircase could not accommodate the size of his dead body, so he had to be lowered down through a window to the ground below.
 

 Another infamous character of the Old Adelaide Gaol is the resident hangman, Mr Benjamin Ellis. Ellis acted as the executioner for 10 years at the gaol, and lived on-site at the time to help protect his identity.

 His lodgings were directly underneath the female dormitories, where he is said to haunt until this day.
 Not much is known about the man, expect he was very good at his job and undertook it in a precise and serious manner.
 Ellis would eventually leave his profession after two hangings that haunted him. The first was the only hanging of a female in the Adelaide Gaol, Elizabeth Woolcock.
 Mrs Woolcock had been found guilty of poisoning her husband with mercury and sentenced to death. There are to this day, many who claim she was not guilty of the crime, but that did not stop her execution on December 30^th 1873.

 The second hanging, and possibly Ellis last, was that of Charles Strietman in 1877. Ellis went about his work in a serious manner he always conducted his business, but for some reason, on this occasion, he forgot to secure the man’s ankles and feet. When Strietman fell through the trap door, his feet hit the trap, and he was able to pull himself back up onto the platform.
 One of the 13 witnesses present then pushed Strietmens legs off the trap until he fell and hung. It was reported in the newspapers the following day that it then took Strietman over 23 minutes before he died from hanging.
 Ellis, who is described as an ugly man with a large bulbous nose is often seen within the gaol walls, wandering aimlessly – perhaps for his part in so many executions, his afterlife is to be spent within the gaol walls, or perhaps he is looking for his next execution.
 Elizabeth Woolcock is also said to haunt the gaol walls, dressed in a long white gown, she is seen in the women’s yards and cells from time to time during the day.
 

 John Balaban was a notorious and sadistic murderer in South Australia. He came to Adelaide from Romania where he worked as an industrial chemist.
In 1953, Balaban committed a triple murder when he killed his wife Thelma, her six-year-old son from a previous marriage, Philip and Thelma’s 66-year-old Mother, Susan Ackland.in the rooms above the sunshine café where the family lived.
 He then turned his attention on Verna Maine, a 24-year-old waitress in the café.  Vera, to escape Balaban, jumped out through an upstairs window. She lay on the footpath critically injured from the fall, but was lucky to escape, with witnesses able to call the police and thus, save her life.
 Balaban was swiftly arrested and quickly confessed to another murder, that of 29-year-old Zora Kusic.

It was eventually the murder of Zora that got Balaban executed at the Adelaide Gaol on the 27^th of August 1953, but it would seem he still lingers within the walls where his body, and that of 45 other executed prisoners remain.
 Balaban has been seen on occasion near the hanging tower, looking remorsefully at his feet – perhaps contemplating his eternal fate within the foreboding walls of The Adelaide Gaol.

 Many of you will be happy to know that the ghost tours, that were run by the Adelaide Gaol Preservation Society for almost 25 years are returning this November for their famous tours...

 Adelaide Gaol Preservation Society are professional and offer unique experiences in ghost tours, workshops and other paranormal related outings.

You can find out more information through the Adelaide Gaol Preservation Website at : http://Adelaidegaol.org

Or via facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AdelaideGaolPreservationSociety

First published in MEGAscene Issue 3, Novemeber 2015.

Written and Researched by Allen Tiller.

©2015 Allen Tiller.

Allen Tiller is the Australian star of the international hit television show “Haunting: Australia” and author of
“The Haunts of Adelaide – History, Mystery and the Paranormal” as well as being a historian, lecturer,
poet, musician, Tour Guide, blogger and podcaster. Allen is also a volunteer for many different associations and groups.
You can find Allen online at:
www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller
www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia
https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide

Terowie Train Station - Hidden Secrets

Terowie Train Station - Hidden Secrets

<Begin Transcript> 

The mid-north town of Terowie sits 220 kilometres north of Adelaide, in South Australia. It is an important landmark town in the state for its many historical buildings. Terowie Train Station opened in 1880 when the broad-gauge railway line from Adelaide reached the town. The first train arrived on December 14, 1880, carrying Sir William Jervois, Governor of South Australia
 Not long after, a narrow-gauge line from nearby Peterborough was extended to Terowie station. Terowie railway station, from then on, was used to unload goods from the broad-gauge line onto trains on the narrow-gauge line, to move goods through the state and interstate.

 The Adelaide to Red Hill railway line was extended to Port Pirie in 1937, taking away some of Terowie’s train traffic.  When Leigh Creek Coalfields opened, traffic through Terowie increased again, but this line was soon made obsolete with a new Stirling to Maree line opening in 1957. The Port Augusta to Broken Hill line was converted to a standard gauge, which saw railway lines north of Terowie converted to broad gauge in1970, making Peterborough the breakpoint of gauges and rendering Terowie obsolete.

During World War Two. A large military camp was established close to the railway station, enabling the military to move troops and ammunition swiftly across Australia to wherever needed. The break of gauge at Terowie meant that the town was vital for the Silverton to Burra, Adelaide to Perth and Adelaide to Alice Springs routes. During the War, all northbound men and goods were transhipped at Terowie.

While changing trains on the 20^th of March 1942 at Terowie, U.S. General MacArthur made a speech about the Battle of the Philippines, in which he said: “I came out of Bataan, and I shall return”.

The Terowie line was reduced to a crossing loop, with the line closing in July 1988,

Today Terowie is a historical town much loved by its residents. The train station stands as a monument to the railway workers that opened up the outback to exploration, commerce and tourism. <End Transcript>

Researched by Allen Tiller