A Haunting at the Hamley Bridge Railway Station.

 

In 2018, the owner of the former Hamley Bridge Railway station, Ms Jenny Lee-Justine, decided to sell her property. News coverage in the Advertiser newspaper claimed the home was haunted!
 The original Hamley Bridge railway station was further north of the 1880-constructed station located at 9 Railway Terrace.[1] Originally, the station was known as Alma Station, but this caused confusion and numerous complaints were received, which resulted in a name change to Hamley Bridge Station.[2]

The foundation stone for the Hamley Bridge over the River Light was laid by Mrs Hamley on Saturday, 25^th of July 1868.[3] His Excellency, Lieut-Colonel Hamley, Acting Governor at the time, and a small group of Government Ministers travelled from Adelaide to witness the foundation stone laying.[4]

In 1898, 28-year-old William Woods was killed at Hamley Bridge Station. Woods had previously worked at Gawler Railway Station, close to where he lived and was described as 'a careful and conscientious servant of the Railway Department.’[5]

In December 1910, the guard of the 3 o’clock train from Hamley Bridge to Port Pirie, while readying his train for departure, noticed something under the train between the station and carriages.[6] Upon closer inspection, he discovered the mangled body of a male. M.C. Hannam of Gawler was called for. Papers on the victim identified him as James Ried. It was believed Reid had fallen under the train and lost consciousness, the train being readied for departure had moved further along the platform, dismembering Reid's body and killing him.[7]

The Hamley Bridge station closed in 1984 and became private property.  The owner of the property in 2018, Jenny Lee-Justine, claimed that she once had a lady stay with her in the former railway building who was woken by a ghost. The ghost was wearing a railway uniform and carrying a lantern. Ms. Lee-Justine had a few photographs of railway workers at the station from 1911 from which they were able to identify the ghost.[8]

 

Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2023

[1] 'Latest News.', Evening Journal, (14 April 1869), p. 2.

[2] 'TO CORRESPONDENTS.', The Express and Telegraph, (15 January 1870), p. 2.

[3] 'GENERAL NEWS.', The Express and Telegraph, (22 July 1868), p. 2.

[4] 'NEWS OF THE WEEK', South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail, (25 July 1868), p. 10.

[5] 'HAMLEY BRIDGE ACCIDENT.', The Express and Telegraph, (20 January 1898), p. 3.

[6] 'MAN KILLED AT RAILWAY STATION.', Daily Herald, (22 December 1910), p. 6.

[7] 'FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.', The Advertiser, (22 December 1910), p. 6.

[8] Lydie Kellner, ‘Historic railway station-turned-home for sale in Hamley Bridge.’, The Advertiser, (Feb 2018), https://www.realestate.com.au/news/historic-railway-stationturnedhome-for-sale-in-hamely-bridge/?rsf=syn:news:nca:aa:article.

 A Phantom at Moonta

 

Many people have been reporting a phantom hitchhiker appearing in their headlights on Moonta-Wallaroo Road; and sometimes on the Moonta end of the Spencer Highway.
There have been reports of a phantom man wearing a large black coat. The ghost stands in the middle of the road, staring straight up at the sky. When the witness’ stops, he disappears. Others have seen the man walking in the middle of the road, a black silhouette in the distance, and as you get near him, he vanishes from sight.
 Some people who have stopped and checked the area, thinking the man in black has just moved to the side of the road, have reported after getting back into their cars, witnessing an ashen white face against their passenger side window. The face looks at the witness with absolute horror, before vanishing into the night!!!

 

Have you experienced this phenomenon? I would love to hear your story!

 Formication – Feelings of Cobwebs on the Skin

 

Some people report the sensation of feeling as though they have just walked through a cobweb, only to find no cobweb present.

 This is a common sensation felt by many ghost hunters in the paranormal community. The explanation expressed by experienced ghost hunters is that the sensation is caused by an ion change in the atmosphere, but there is no empirical data to verify this claim. However, psychology explains the phenomenon as Formication (sometimes known as Paraesthesia), which is a type of tactile hallucination. It is most commonly reported as a feeling of 'bugs walking on or under the skin'. In more recent times it has been reported as the sensation of one’s mobile phone vibrating in a pocket against the skin when no phone is present. [1]

 

Formication is also a common side-effect of amphetamine usage with many heavy users reporting instances of it. Sometimes referred to as “meth-mites”, formication can lead to sores, gouges in the skin and ulcers. The wounds come from the drug user picking, scratching or digging at their skin trying to remove the imaginary insects they feel walking across their body.[2]

 

Formication can sometimes be experienced in other ways, such as skin itching, pins and needles, and tingling sensations.  It is also claimed that sometimes the cause can be static electricity, but in most cases of Formication, there are no physical triggers for the sensation.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2018

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[1] Tim Jewell & Timothy Leg PhD, (2017), Formication, Healthline Red, https://www.healthline.com/health/formication

[2] Jerome Litt M.D, (2009) Formication: So What’s Bugging You?,  Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/odd-curious-and-rare/200911/formication

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.

 Talia Caves – Part I: Sister Doris Belle Millard

 

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.

Researched and written by  Allen Tiller © 2023

[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.

A Haunting at Gawler's Pioneer Park. 

  Pioneer Park was in the original town plan for Gawler designed by Colonel William Light. The first recorded burial, Ellen Fielding, was in 1847. The cemetery saw a steady influx of deaths over the next 20 years until it was deemed unfit for service because it was too close to the town centre.

A year after opening, in 1847, a visiting journalist stated of the cemetery:

 “The Gawler Town Cemetery is still a disgrace to any civilized community. It not only is unfenced, and thus at the mercy of pigs and every other description of intrusive beast, but drays and horsemen make a thoroughfare in precincts which even the untutored savage holds tabooed!”

The intersection of Cowan Street with Murray Street was a small hill prior to 1870. It was eventually cut away to make the slope easier to navigate, which saw many burials along the western boundary of the cemetery being relocated to other areas within the grounds, and others relocated to Willaston Cemetery which was opened in 1866 to replace the Gawler Cemetery.

Many Gawler pioneer family members were buried in the cemetery, with 471 recorded burials in the short time it was used, and many of those burials are still present under the mound today. In 1933, the cemetery was declared parkland. A dedication service was held in October 1936, in which the cemetery was renamed Pioneer Park.

There have been reports of ghosts witnessed on the hill over the years, with one witness describing a man in old Victorian mourning clothing standing on the hill, looking out towards Cowan Street, while the witness watched the man from across the road, he faded away from sight.

Written and researched by Allen Tiller for the 'Haunted Gawler' talk at the Gawler National Trust Museum © 2023

 

The Pirate Bushrangers

This is a true story that starts with the Little Para Bushranger who terrorised Salisbury South Australia, was captured, and then sent to Port Arthur Penal Colony.

The Pirate Bushrangers is a true story of murder, robbery, and bloodshed across three Australian States. Patrick O’Connor and Henry Bradley were convicts sent to Port Arthur in Tasmania. Both were noted for increasingly bad behaviour and sent to the notorious penal colony on Norfolk Island to be broken. After serving their time in the infamous Norfolk penal colony, they were transported back to Tasmania within weeks of each other. They met again as 'ticket of leave' men and began a murderous rampage in northern Tasmania as bushrangers. They stole a ship at Circular Head van Diemen’s Land becoming pirates, sailed to Cape Schanck, and returned to bushranging in Victoria, where they were eventually caught and hung.
This is the story of the pirate bushrangers who for 40 days were two of the most brutal, bloodthirsty villains in southern Australia’s history.

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