Allen Tiller's Blog, page 26

The Salisbury Hotel

The Salisbury Hotel Salisbury Hotel circa 1882
   Opening originally as the New Road Inn, the Salisbury Hotel was built by John Harvey the founder of Salisbury Township. It was the first hotel in the township and was situated on the only road that led to a bridge over the Para River. Harvey had designed his new town, and a new road to lead people away from the Main North Road, back through Salisbury.  This hotel was used for meetings that decided much of Salisbury’s future. Local laws and legislation were decided here, local council formation, the location of Mills, Post Offices and even how the train line would pass through the township were all decided in this hotel.
 Usually, I write about spooky stuff, ghosts, hauntings, etc, but in this case, I couldn’t find any local legends or ghost stories associated with this hotel. I spoke to the current publican of the hotel very recently, and she assures me this hotel Is not haunted, however, it has some interesting history, including the story of an inquest into the suicide death of Scottish immigrant James Carstairs.
Salisbury Hotel 2019 - Allen Tiller   On the 14th of Oct 1854, James Carstairs, known locally as ‘Scotch James’, hung himself a bedroom of the Birchall family home. Evidence at trial indicated that Carstairs had been overseeing the kitchen of the Birchall farm. During that time, he had gotten Fanny, the 16-year daughter of Mr Birchall pregnant. When Fanny’s father heard of her condition, he left the vowing never to return. This, it is claimed led to Carstairs suicide.
 On the day in questions. Carstairs woke at 6am went into the kitchen, lit the fire and set the kettle on the stove. He then left and went back to his room.
 At 7am, Elizabeth Birchall (Fanny’s sister) and another staff member, Elizabeth Symes awoke. For whatever reason, the girls peered through Carstairs window and could see him standing motionless behind the door. The two women called out to him, but he did not react or reply. They called over My Symes and Mr Munday who went to check on Carstairs. They found he had hung himself with a very thick rope.
  Salisbury Hotel circa 1890Fanny Evett, during the inquest, claimed she had only ever had consensual sex with Carstairs, however, she had been raped in her fathers front garden, but stated in court, she was already pregnant at the time. She was unmarried, and had never told Carstairs the child was his, nor pressured him for marriage. Carstairs body was cut down by Mr Webb and placed on a couch until a doctor arrived to examine it. Carstairs body was then moved to the New Road Inn for an inquest. No Judge could be found in the area to preside over the inquest.
  It took two full days for a mounted constable to search for someone to hold the inquest. Otto Schomburgk J.P. eventually presided over the inquest, but, in the meantime, Carstairs body had come to decompose.
 The inquest into the suicide of Scotch James was the first held in the New Road Inn. Later the same year, 1854, the hotel changed its name to the Salisbury Hotel.
Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019
Sources: 'CORONER'S INQUEST AT SALISBURY.', Adelaide Observer, (28 October 1854), p. 11.
'CORONER'S INQUEST AT SALISBURY. —SUICIDE.', Adelaide Times. (26 October 1854), p. 3.
Shields, Brian P 1983, History of Salisbury, Salisbury Public Library Service, Salisbury
'SOMETHING DISGRACEFUL.', Adelaide Times, (18 October 1854), p. 2
 'CORONER'S INQUEST AT SALISBURY.', South Australian Register, (26 October 1854), p. 3.

The White Ghost of Port Wakefield

The White Ghost of Port Wakefield

Last week I featured a story about the Grey Ghost of Port Wakefield and how it may, or may not have actually been a grey horse terrorising the local community. Just a week after the grey ghost caused fear and pandemonium, another ghost story popped up in Port Wakefield.
 It was a hot summer night, and in the newer part of Port Wakefield, a lady was walking around her yard as she could not sleep. She checked her garden, and a newly stacked pile of wood delivered that day.
 As she glanced over at the wood she noticed a man stealing smaller logs and putting them in his bag. She let out a small scream, startling the man.
 The man, who had not noticed her previously, looked up to see a woman dressed in white, glowing in the full moonlight, with wide eyes, and open mouth who was letting out a scream. Shocked and scared, he turned and ran. He bolted without looking where he was going and ran straight into an iron fence, rebounded so hard, he flung back into the wall of the stone wash house and fell inside. In a panic at the ghost he had just witnessed, he kicked the washing copper over and sent dust and ashes everywhere from the fire pit used to heat it. He managed to stand up, and then jumped through a window, collided with a wheelbarrow then fell into a heap after rolling across the lawn.
 The ladies small dog attacked the man, who suddenly stood up, trouser-less, and fled into the night, the dog tore the trousers, and a well worn left behind slipper, to pieces. The woman, who had regained her composure, reported the incident to police the following morning.
Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019

The Grey Ghost of Port Wakefield

The Grey Ghost of Port Wakefield

 February 1918, and the small town of Port Wakefield was under siege from a grey ghost that had descend upon the town. It was first spotted on a Monday night at about 9:30pm when it was seen between the railway line and Smiths corner.
 A young lady returning home was the first to encounter the ghost when it accosted her in the street to ask; “how are you?”. She promptly sped home and collapsed once inside. At 10pm the same evening, a young man returning home after being out fishing encountered the grey ghost. As he walked past a large haystack, the grey ghost, at least seven-feet tall, appeared from inside the bailed hay, and let out a number of low sounding moans. The young man spirited home and locked his door!
 The following night, a young couple was walking home in the evening when a cold hand was placed upon their heads. It turned their young bodies, so they were looking straight into the ghost’s eyes. It stood at least seven feet tall and was surrounded by a fine mist. The young man, leaving his paramour, scaled a nearby fence and fled into the night. The young woman screamed and ran to the nearest house forcing the door open and locking herself inside.
 Wednesday night, the ghost again made its presence known. Stories had gone through the town of the mysterious grey ghost, and two young men took it upon themselves to capture it. They armed themselves and waited. Two hours later the ghost appeared. It rose from the ground and then walked over to a horse, which it mesmerised, making it lay on the ground and fall unconscious. The ghost then passed over several walls and fences, before it disappeared into an old quarry. The two young men decided to abandon their chase, rather than descend into the dangers of the disused quarry.
 Thursday night, two men passing near the boundary of the quarry were having a heated discussion about Russia, when they suddenly noticed they were not alone. Joining them was a seven-foot grey ghost, wearing clothing resembling smoke. The two men ran into the night, making it back to their respective homes in record time!
 Friday night and the hot summer air left most houses to stifling to sleep indoors. One man decided to sleep outside on his veranda. In the middle of the night, he woke up and noticed the grey ghost standing just past his picket fence making strange signs at him and groaning loudly. He quickly shuffled inside his house and locked the windows and doors.
 All the witnesses agreed of the same description of the ghost. It was tall, at least seven to eight feet, it had fear-inducing eyes, it was grey, and it seemed to emanate mist from its body. It produced a pungent stench, was able to go through or scale walls and fences and made low rumbling moaning sounds.
 The grey ghost of Port Wakefield put terror into the townsfolk for a whole a week, but it took a young boy to solve the mystery of the ghost. This young lad was riding home on his bike when he accidentally ran into an old grey horse feeding on the side of the road. The horse reared up on its hind legs and tried to hit him and the fence with its front legs before it fled into the night. It was grey, it smelled bad, and it was at least seven to eight feet tall on its hind legs…
Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019
Bibliography

1918 'More " Ghost" at Port Wakefield.', The Areas' Express (Booyoolee, SA: 1877 - 1948), 15 February, p. 3. , viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article218935444

1918 'A "Ghost" at Port Wakefield.', Burra Record (SA: 1878 - 1954), 13 February, p. 4. , viewed 17 May 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39138198

1918 'More "Ghost" at Port Wakefield.', The Wooroora Producer (Balaklava, SA: 1909 - 1940), 14 February, p. 3. , viewed 17 May 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207...

A Black Mass at North Adelaide.

A Black Mass at North Adelaide.   This remarkable eyewitness account was published in the Evening Journal newspaper in 1904.  A person identifying themselves as only “B.S.S.” witnessed an apparition of a funeral near the corner of Barnard Street some years prior and recounted it for the newspaper.
 The witness had walked down Molesworth Street, along Hill Street, and when at the corner of Barnard Street, near the hospital, witnessed an intensely black shape moving in the street. On this night, a very well-known lady in the area, lay dying in the Calvary Hospital just metres away from where the witness was standing.
 The witness watched on as the black shape paused in the road, then marched onto vacant land nearby. Walking closer to get a better view, the witness realised it was a funeral procession occurring in the night in front of them. A coffin, covered in black velvet was being held by four men, while two walked in front, and four behind. All the men wore ‘hose and doublet’, small cloaks or capes, swords at their sides and feather in their caps.
 The funeral procession stopped. They turned back to towards the hospital, and slowly vanished as they returned toward it, and where the dying woman lay.

 The women would not die, and in her final hours, called desperately for her individual ancestors. Was it them, dressed in black, bearing swords and the holding the coffin, or was it death coming to collect his dues?



Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019


Bibliography

1904 'GHOSTS, OR WHAT:', Evening Journal, 18 October, p. 1. , viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200...

A Haunting at Alberton

A Haunting at Alberton

A mysterious apparition was causing havoc in Queenstown, Alberton and Woodville in 1906. A young man returning home after a night out encountered the “awful spirit” and was cared out of wits. As he walked through Queenstown, the ghost sprang from a darkened corner, suitably garbed in white. It danced around with its arms outstretched and mumbled in a weird fashion, menacing the young man. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone into the night.
 Every night from that time on, the ghost was seen by someone in either Queenstown, Alberton or Woodville, always dressed head to toe in white, waving its arms around frantically and making strange sounds. A local police officer set about to capture the ghost in the act, but the ghost must’ve heard of his pursuit, and disappeared for a couple of weeks. It suddenly reappeared in Woodville. A well-respected man of the area, who was riding his bicycle one evening, witnessed the ghost, arms outstretched, covered in white, mumbling. It was enough for the man to pedal home quicker than he had ever pedalled before! The ghost made an appearance one night in Port Adelaide appearing to the local conductor of the Albert Park Tramway Company. A few nights later the ghost scared women and children at Queenstown. The ghost was also spotted hanging around the Woodville and Alberton Cemeteries…and a few nights later it was seen on Torrens Road near the Cheltenham Racecourse. A posse of locals soon took to the streets to find and exorcise the ghost…but it miraculously never appeared again…
Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019
Bibliography.


'A MYSTERIOUS APPARITION.', The Register (14 June 1906), p. 4., viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55639689

'A MYSTERIOUS APPARITION.', Evening Journal (13 June 1906), p. 1. , viewed 17 May 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200846481

'AN ALLEGED GHOST.', The Express and Telegraph (13 June 1906) p. 1. (4 O'CLOCK EDITION.), viewed 17 May 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208809209

1906 'General News.', Chronicle (16 June 1906) p. 37., viewed 17 May 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88123539

Ghosts of the Barossa: The North Kapunda Hotel

North Kapunda Hotel
The North Kapunda Hotel was built in 1848 by the North Kapunda Mining Company. ‘The Northern Arms Hotel’ as it was then called, was a small single-story hotel situated on Franklin Street Kapunda, the first publican was a man named John Bickford.
  James Crase: 1879 - Photo SLSA: B76601In the early 1850's the hotel was sold to a local butcher, James Crase. Mr Crase was a wealthy local man with big dreams for the town of Kapunda. He also had big plans for his newly purchased hotel. His first step in changing the hotel was a rebranding from the Northern Arms Hotel to The Garland Ox Hotel. In 1865, Crase invested heavily in his hotel, expanding the basement area, and building the second story of the hotel, which also linked the previously built miners quarters at the rear (now referred to as the “Hallway From Hell”, but once known as the Bachelors Hall).
  The new hotel featured the most expensive kitchen in Australia at the time, located in the basement, which now also had living quarters and a rainwater tank. Upstairs now contained a living area for the Crase family, a new meeting room known as The Commercial Room, and hotel and display rooms for travelling salesmen. Crase also built a new two-story building at the rear of the hotel that could house banquet dinners and roller skating, as well as a small bowling alley. Mr Crase sold the hotel in the early 1880's, but not after dealing with much controversy, with members of his staff caught selling alcohol outside of hours, prostitution, and gambling in his establishment. Later owners were also caught doing similar things, and in 1923, under the ownership of Mr Pearce, the hotel lost its liquor licence for a year. To survive, the downstairs and rear accommodation served as a brothel.
Basement North Kapunda Hotel 2009:
Photo by WISPA  Paranormal The Hotel has seen numerous deaths in its 165 plus years of service, including scissor grinder Martin Jansen who choked to death in the ground floor Parlour.
 Henry Binney Hawke, a very well respected man in Kapunda, who died in the billiard room of the hotel after suffering a heart attack.
 Joseph Caddy, a local music teacher and a politician who died of natural causes in an upstairs bedroom.
 In 1912 Mr Henry Fairclough, publican of the hotel for 14 years became very ill, and by November of that year had been confined to his bed as his condition worsened. On Monday 17 November 1912, Henry Fairclough lost his battle with illness and passed away in the upstairs bedroom he shared with his wife.
 Dennis Horgan, was publican of the hotel from 1913 until 1919, then again in 1925. Horgan died from a heart attack in the hotel in December 1925 in an upstairs room he shared with his wife.
 Other deaths reported include that of servants, at least two young prostitutes, a travelling salesman, and at least 3 young children.
 The North Kapunda Hotel was featured in the 2000 Documentary “Kapunda: Most Haunted Town in the Western World”, in episode 7 of Haunting: Australia, and in 2015 gained international attention when tourism website Travel MSN listed it as the 8th most haunted bar or pub in the world!
The hotel has numerous ghost stories, too many to cover here – so here are a few of my own personal experiences from investigating and visiting the hotel from 2009 until now.
Ghostly fingers across a guests face in 2015
(date in photo is incorrect)I had many ghostly experiences in the hotel after tours and on private investigations, but the most memorable for me happened one night after a tour. As the last guests were leaving. Karen and I were doing our “after-tour” walkthrough, to lock up the hotel and make sure no-one had been locked inside. As I went to close the tour room door, I turned and saw a young girl, I would estimate around 7 years old, standing in the hallway looking at me. She didn't appear “ghostly”, she looked like a real little girl, except her clothing was very old, much like a pinafore, similar in style to the clothing actress Shirley Temple would've worn near the beginning of her movie career. My first instinct was that someone’s child from downstairs had somehow gotten upstairs. The girl suddenly turned and ran towards room 1, a room we have now dubbed “The Nursery Room”. I quickly followed, knowing she was trapped as I had just locked from the outside the only other exit door to the rooms she was running toward. I made my way down the hallway, into the Nursery Room, the Dressing room and back into the Drawing room, to find no-one in there at all. I checked the windows, locked from the inside, I checked under the bed, nothing.  This ghostly young girl did not glow, she was not misty, nor did she have any of the other attributes we associate with spirits or ghosts. She looked as real as my wife who was waiting for me at the top of the stairs in case the girl came back that way – it was an unusual encounter, but not the last time I would encounter this little girl.
 The Nursery Room proved to have other spirits. One spirit manifested and was witnessed by a young man, who during the evening, had thought it would be funny to jump out and scare other tour guests,
An apparition of a boy in the basement. Some claim pariedolia,
but later photos show the boy in a different position.little did he know, the spirits were about to do the same to him. As he came into the Nursery Room the back way through the Drawing Room, he stepped through the threshold of the Nursery Room door and witnessed a partially manifested spirit of a woman standing behind the door. This young man had been sceptical all night, but this incident changed his whole perspective.  It was also in this room a man was groped by a ghost on the backside, which also happened to another gentleman in the Hallway to Hell, one of the flirtatious prostitute spirits perhaps?
The Commercial Room on the first floor also proved to have several spirits, although these ones are passive, and at least one seems to be a residual haunting and not an intelligent haunting. It was in this room the tours originally started, and on one tour, a guest pulled me aside to let me know a man had been standing next to me the whole time I had been speaking. She described him as wearing a suit, about the same height as me, very thin, and amused and puzzled as to why I was standing in the hotel talking about ghosts. It was in this same room on another night, a young woman witnessed the spirit of a man, standing in the far corner facing the wall, looking rather morose and staring at an old tapestry that has hung on the wall for over a century.
 Another spirit was that of a man who has been witnessed standing in front of a window looking out into the Main Street below, transfixed by what he was looking at. In his right hand, he was continuously opening and closing a pocket watch chained to his inner pocket. On a tour, a young lady who went into the Commercial Room and witnessed this apparition, but it wasn’t until she entered the front bar and saw the mural of Sir Sidney Kidman it dawned on her who she had just seen!
(Video by Paranormal Spectrum - used with permission)During the filming of Haunting: Australia, paranormal guru Gaurav Tiwari and I set up several ghost hunting devices given to us by Jason Dickson of Apparition Technologies. We placed REM Pods (a device that emits an electromagnetic field from an aerial, that if a spirit comes close to, will set off a warning alarm and coloured lights) as well as voice recorders, EM Pumps (a device that emits a very strong electromagnetic field thought to attract spirits) and Vibration Detectors in the downstairs hallway basement, a large side room that was once bedrooms, originally for the cooks, but eventually used by prostitutes. Whilst standing in the basement, a room once used to store dead bodies, kegs of rum and kegs of beer, we began to ask if there was anyone present who wished to communicate with us. It didn’t take long to get an answer. I was standing where I could see into the downstairs hallway to watch if the lights on any of the devices were turning on, all of the sudden, I saw a young girl, no more than 7 years old, walk into the dimly lit hallway, and into the doorway of the room Gaurav and I were standing in!
  Without hesitating (or thinking) I chased after her to find out who she was. She ran into the hallway and turned left into the arched hallway that led to the former basement bedrooms, an old decrepit room with damaged floors and no ventilation. Gaurav was following quickly behind. There was nowhere for the girl to escape too, but she was not to be found in the room. Whilst standing in the room, we noticed a small window that looks into a smaller room, which in turn has a doorway back into the hallway. Gaurav noticed some movement, so we ventured back into the hallway. At this point, the cameraman’s batteries failed so he radioed back to central control to get a go-fer to bring down a fresh battery for him. As he did this, Gaurav who had turned to look back into the bedrooms noticed a large shadow jump across a doorway, which startled him enough to drop a few swear words! We re-entered the room, whilst Mick, our cameraman waited in the hallway, just as we entered the bedroom, Mick heard our REM pods going off and thinking it was the runner with the battery turned to say thanks, only to notice no-one there!

In the next few minutes, things really picked up. Gaurav and I raced into the hallway to see all our REM Pods and Vibration meters lit to full, every light in the basement, including our torches and camera lights suddenly drained completely and we were left in total pitch black. At the same time, Mick got a call over his headset to get the hell upstairs as the producers thought Ray may have had a heart attack in the Hallway to Hell. The three of us, in pitch black, found our way out of the basement hallway, and onto the stairs that lead back up to the ground floor hallway, only to find the metal bar doors locked. Just as we got to the top we saw Field Producer Lucy Connors and a camera crew walking backwards. Ian and Rayleen passed us supporting Ray and were heading into the beer garden. I tried the metal-bar door again, and suddenly it unblocked, and we were free of the basement! We followed them outside not knowing exactly what had happened.
 Ray was very pale and did not look good, he was crying and slouched over. Ian performed an exorcism on him. Ray was vomiting and pale and looked very unwell, but not long after Ian started his exorcism, Ray suddenly looked a lot better, got up, and left the beer garden to go back into the break area and away from the hotel.
 As Ray left, Rayleen was very suddenly and very vocally saying the Lord’s Prayer at break need speed, as she was overcome with whatever had just left Ray. Gaurav performed a cleansing ritual on her, and soon she too left to go into the break room and recover, with Ian following closely behind to make sure they were both OK. This left Gaurav, Robb and me standing in the beer garden wondering what had just happened. Without hesitation, Robb told Gaurav and I to go upstairs and find out what was going on.Considering neither of us are psychics, it probably wasn’t the smartest move, but we're paranormal investigators, right? Fearless to the end and go where Angels fear to tread. To lighten the very heavy feeling the hotel now had upstairs, Gaurav and I began to crack jokes about just how tough and manly we are. We then entered The Hallway to Hell, which felt very different from how it did earlier in the night, much more foreboding, but much more “alive”. It took only a few seconds for things to start to happen, within minutes of being in the hallway I witnessed a full-bodied apparition of a woman dressed in a period dress that I could only describe as from the “Victorian” era. The Dress was black and lacy, the woman was very white in the face, red full lips, but had a very sad look to her demeanour. She walked backwards into room 11, and I released a number of swear words in disbelief of what I was seeing with my own eyes!! (the edit on television was a few seconds, in reality, my swearing probably went for a few minutes).In the next half-an-hour, Gaurav and I experienced 3 gunshot sounds, they were clear and very, very loud. The first, in room 11, was right after seeing the mysterious woman disappear into the room, it
came from the air in the centre of the room and echoed throughout the room. I suggested later during our reveal filming at the Old Kapunda Courthouse, that the noise may not have been a gunshot at all but could have been the sound of what psychics and mediums call a “portal” snapping closed as the spirit returned to her own realm. We heard the next shot only a few minutes later in room 12, which is the room in which Ray was partially possessed and fell to the floor. At the time we didn’t realise his voice recorder was still in the room recording. Later we would find out Ray had captured an EVP of someone saying, “hates blue eyes”, it also contained the gunshot sound we heard in the room. As we re-entered the hallway, I heard footsteps, so we turned to look in the direction they came from, as we did so, a stone was thrown at us. Next, we entered room 13, where we thought the footsteps had gone, only to hear another, and the loudest of the gunshot noises for the evening. This is also around the time Gaurav took a photo that he claimed later, looked like a shadow person standing on the stairs leading out of the hallway. In the reveal, I declare that I cannot see what he was talking about, and I honestly could not at the time see anything resembling a person in his photo, but a few months later, after filming, I would see for myself a shadow person in the Hallway to Hell right where Gaurav had claimed to capture his photo. As a side note, the Haunting Australia episode featuring The North Kapunda Hotel rated first place on Foxtel as the most viewed show the night it was broadcast, beating “The Walking Dead” and other popular shows – so on behalf of all of the cast – thank you to each and every person who watched the episode and supported the show.
Another very important thing that happened whilst filming Haunting: Australia which was never aired, occurred to my wife Karen and to “psychic bad-boy” Ian Lawman. Ian was in the basement under the front bar when psychically he picked up on a poker game being played.
  He described the gentleman running the game and even got his name and a few attributes associated with him. My wife worked in the hotel in 2009, and knew the name of the person as a former publican, but didn’t know anything about him. So, Karen made a phone call to her former boss who ran the hotel in 2009 and asked her if she knew anything about this man, who was named “Charlie”. As it happened, she did know him, and confirmed everything Ian said, even down to his description, his dog and the poker games!Karen was subsequently interviewed as a witness for the show, in a portion that would have confirmed Ian's psychic abilities, that was for reasons unknown to the cast, entirely cut from the episode, which was a great loss for the viewers as it would have proved that Ian does actually have psychic ability (even if he is a scaredy cat and runs from some of the ghosts!)
I may at some point reveal more about ghostly goings on in the North Kapunda Hotel, perhaps in a book.
Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019

An Alleged Haunting at the Cross Keys Tavern – Gepps Cross

An Alleged Haunting at the Cross Keys Tavern – Gepps Cross   SLSA: 1936 - B 31821

The Cross Keys Tavern was established in 1849 on the corner of Diagonal and Port Wakefield Roads. It was built to serve a large local Irish community that had built a community close by; the remnants of which are barely visible today.Daniel Brady was the original builder. Brady was the seventh son of Daniel Brady of County Cavan, Ireland, who arrived in Australia in 1840, and took up farmlands near Snowtown.
 Daniel Brady Junior was educated at Seven Hills St Aloysius College, and was one of the very first settlers in Cavan, South Australia.
In 1873, Joseph Broadstock, who was once the owner of 1857 built, The Governor MacDonnell Hotel in Salisbury, at the end of John Street, bought the Cross Keys Tavern but didn’t last a year at the site before he sold it.
 The Cross Keys has been marred with controversy over the years. In 1850, Catherine Conarty was drinking wine at the bar when another local, Rose Reid entered swearing and accusing Conarty’s son of stealing a pole-yoke (a wooden or metal beam used to allow two animals to pull the same load).
 Conarty’s reply to Reid was that it was men’s business, and to let them sort it out.
Reid didn’t let up with her verbal assault, so Conarty threw her drink in Reid’s face, grabbed a metal quart pot, and started smashing Reid around the head with it, eventually taking her to the floor and knocking her out.Catherine Conarty was fined £3, in the local courts with the Judge stating: “The fine is a lenient one. The quart pot might have caused death.”
 Another scandal erupted at the Cross Keys Hotel in 1923 when publican John Mulcahy was shot in the forehead.   Mrs Mulcahy explained in her witness statement to police, that she had been in her room cleaning on the second floor when she heard a gunshot. She ran to her husbands’ room where she found him lying on the bed, covered in blood, and a revolver on the floor.   Further depositions revealed the shot had been fired at 2 o’clock. A woman’s scream was heard almost immediately, then Mrs Mulcahy had run downstairs to get the help of the barman.
  While Mrs. Mulcahy bathed her husband's wound, Mr Dadliffe, accompanied by Mr Klein, a commercial traveller, who happened to be on the premises, went in the latter's car to the Gepp's Cross Police Station, and told Constable Sessle what had occurred. He notified police headquarters, who sent Detective Dayman and Constable Bristowe to investigate.
 Dr Swift was summoned, and the wounded man, after receiving attention, was taken to the Adelaide Hospital.  Mr Mulcahy had been shot in the forehead, the bullet passed just above the bridge of his nose, and penetrated down under his right eye, lodging near his ear. The bullet was later removed successfully in the Adelaide Hospital. Mrs Violet Jane Mulcahy was later found not guilty by a jury of her peers.
On the 12th of August 1915, Mary Rowe was found her dead in her bedroom, upstairs in the Cross Keys Tavern.
A woman is alleged to have killed herself in the front room above the bar but as of yet, this information remains unsubstantiated.
 A former manager of the hotel has told me they would often see the spirit of a woman, "dressed in white", breeze down a hallway through the hotel towards the lounge room where she would swing the doors open, then vanish from sight.Another ghost is thought to be a man who was shot in the head, he is seen upstairs from time to time. Could this man be Mr Mulcahy, returned in the afterlife to one of the most emotional times in his life? A point in time where he almost died?
Have you had a paranormal experience at the Cross Keys Tavern in Gepps Cross? Let us know via our facebook page

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019
Bibliography
1923 'ATTEMPT TO MURDER.', Recorder (Port Pirie, SA : 1919 - 1954), 19 July, p. 1. , viewed 05 Mar 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article960...
1923 'CROSS KEYS HOTEL SENSATION.', The Express (Adelaide, SA: 1922 - 1923), 30 May, p. 1. (5 O'C EDITION), viewed 05 Mar 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article210979006
1923 'SHOOTING MYSTERY', Daily Herald (Adelaide, SA : 1910 - 1924), 26 May, p. 4. , viewed 05 Mar 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106695521

A Haunting Near Pinery

A Haunting Near Pinery

 Between the months of June and September 1904, a ghostly apparition haunted the people of Pinery, Balaklava and Owen on the Adelaide Plains. The ghost made its first appearance near Pinery in June, when it appeared on the side of the road to a passing cyclist.
 A cyclist was riding along a road into Pinery when he noticed a light in the distance. Thinking it might be a vehicle, maybe a horse and cart with oil light, he slowed down and moved to the side of the road to let it pass. He soon noticed the light had become stationary.
 The cyclist thought it peculiar, so started cycling at a quicker rate. The light ahead did not seem to get any nearer, so he pedalled as fat as he could, only to have the light keep the same distance ahead of him. When he slowed down, the light slowed down too.
 Curious and frightened, the cyclist pushed forward towards Pinery. The light stayed at the same distance, but as the cyclist rounded a bend, the light moved off to the side into a field, and he safely passed it. The cyclist looked back once, to see the light was stationary again, and then hastily road back to his home.
The ghosts second appearance occurred the same month, on the same road to another cyclist.
 Mr Bennett was riding his push bike home to Pinery from Balaklava one evening just after sunset. As he passed a derelict old home that, at the time, was frequented by tramps. He heard a very sharp whistle.  Alarmed, but curious he rode a little further and came across a ghost. Startled by the apparition, Bennett fell from his bike onto the pebbled side of the road. Keeping his senses after his fall, Bennett picked up as many stones as he could, and got to his feet. He then bravely confronted the ghost, throwing stones at its head.
 Bennett pelted the ghost with stones, then with all the strength he could muster, charged it and began punching at it... The ghost let out a howl of pain. Bennett took the ghost to the ground, and pulled its melon head, white sheets and lights from its body.
 From a neighbouring house, people came running to see what the commotion was, which distracted Bennett just long enough for the ghost to break free, and run off into a wheat field, with its identity intact as Bennett had not been able to see exactly who it was in the dark.
In July, A gentleman and his wife were riding in their horse and buggy when the ghost appeared on the side of the road. It ran at the buggy with its white arms flailing in the air. The horses reared and the buggy turned sharply sideways. The gentleman’s wife almost flew out the side of the buggy as it threatened to capsize on the couple. The gentleman grabbed at his wife, and only just saved her from death. He quickly pulled the reigns, calmed his horses, and his wife, then turned his attention to the ghost, which was still standing on the side of the road, taking in the spectacle of the near death it had just inspired.
 As soon as the ghost realised that the gentleman was coming towards it, it swiftly turned, and with a flick of its sheets and ran off into the shadow world of the scrub.
The community in the Adelaide Plains, at first were fearful of the ghost, with many women and children afraid to go outside at night, lest they should meet the ghost. That fear soon turned to anger and after three months of terror, menfolk were willing to grab their guns and go shoot the ghost. There were calls in the community for the ghost to be caught and given a good horsewhipping… but the Pinery ghost soon vanished, whether it was afraid of being shot or of being horsewhipped, no-one but the ghost knows, but it was never seen again and soon became a distant ghost of the past.


Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019
Bibliography
1904 'A NORTHERN GHOST.', The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA: 1867 - 1922), 15 July, p. 4. (4 O'CLOCK EDITION.), viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2087759191904 'CORRESPONDENCE.', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 15 June, p. 9. , viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article497... 'OWEN.', The Central Advocate (Balaklava, SA: 1903 - 1909), 19 August, p. 3. , viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2070783201904 'OWEN.', The Central Advocate (Balaklava, SA : 1903 - 1909), 17 June, p. 3. , viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2070780281904 'OWEN.', The Central Advocate (Balaklava, SA : 1903 - 1909), 29 July, p. 3. , viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2070782241904 'THE COUNTRY.', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 26 August, p. 8. , viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50003811904 'THE PINERY "GHOST."', Chronicle (Adelaide, SA: 1895 - 1954), 3 September, p. 10. , viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article883822891904 'THE PINERY GHOST.', Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), 18 June, p. 12. , viewed 22 Apr 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88077445

Ghosts of the Barossa Valley: Old Freemason's Lodge

Ghosts of the Barossa Valley: Old Freemason's Lodge


 Angaston’s first public library was founded in 1856. Due to its small size, it was found inadequate by locals who needed space to read and learn. A meeting was held in town, and it was decided a Mechanics Institute would be built. The local Oddfellow’s society of the ‘Loyal Park Lodge, Manchester Unity of Oddfellows’ (founded in Angaston on Dec 14, 1855) was also in need of bigger premises. The Oddfellow’s put a motion forward that they would like to pool their monies with that of the Mechanic Institute and build one large building to meet the needs of everyone.
A ‘Mechanic’s Institute’ is an archaic term used to describe a ‘working-class’ place of learning. In the late 1700s, early 1800’s, “mechanic” was anyone who worked as a tradesperson, craftsperson, artisan, and was generally working-class people. They were dubbed ‘poor man’s universities’ and later became known as trade-schools.
Mr G.F. Angas donated land, and a large two-story building was erected. It contained a library, a reading room on the upper floor, a school in the basement and a large room on the ground floor for the Oddfellow’s Lodge, and a large institute hall. The building was officially opened by J.H. Angas in 1870.
Over time, the library moved from the top floor into the basement. Other sections of the building were used as a Sunday School. Balls were held in the hall, the basement was used for meetings, flower shows, weekly dancing and elocution recitals. An upstairs room was utilised by local barber Tom Dawson, after losing his premises in a fire.
 In 1905, The Barossa Masonic Lodge No. 49 received its official warrant, and in 1907, raised the funds to buy the entire building. The Loyal Park Lodge Oddfellow’s, under a previous agreement, reserved its right to use its original lodge room. The front of the building was redesigned by the Freemason, and a new inscription applied which read “Masonic Hall 1910”.
Today the old Freemason Lodge is a bed and breakfast.
 There has long been a rumour that this building is haunted, but the story is a very weak one with almost no evidence. It contains just two lines which were dug out from a very old book no longer in print:
“It has been noted that a figure is often seen leaving the Hall and crossing the street, simply disappearing before spectators’ eyes as his feet hit the pavement on the other side of the road”

 Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019
Bibliography
Chinner, B., & Berry, P., ‘Angaston sketchbook’, (Rigby Adelaide 1976).

Baragwanath, P., ‘Mechanics’ Institutes role in Australia’s history’, The Guardian: The Worker’s Weekly, Vol.1526, (9 November 2011), https://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2011/..., accessed 18 April 2019.

1936, Angaston and Nuriootpa: centenary souvenir, 1936, The Leader, Angaston viewed 18 April 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-21483483

Ghosts of the Barossa: Seppeltfields Winery

Joseph Seppelt came to Australia from Silesia in Prussia (now Poland) in 1849 with his wife Johanna and three children. In 1851, Seppelt purchased 158 acres of land in the Hundred of Nuriootpa from Hermann Kook, farmer of Tanunda, at £1 an acre., and planted a tobacco crop, which failed. He then planted grapevines and named his new vineyard Seppeltsfield. 
Seppelt began selling his wines a couple of years later in Gawler, and along the Murray River vis paddle steamer. So successful was his product, that in just a couple of years he was able to build his first wine cellar in 1867. Oscar Benno Seppelt - 1860Sadly, Joseph never got to enjoy the fruit of his labours, dying in 1868. The vineyard was bequeathed to his son Oscar Benno, who in 1870 married Sophie Schroeder.
The entire Seppelt family hard a strong work ethic and took the time to address the finest details. The estate grew, and by 1888 contained the winery, storage cellars, laboratory, bakery, distillery, cooperage, piggery, poultry house, blacksmiths shop, vinegar house and lavish gardens. The estate also contained a gravity flow winery that was used from 1888 until 1983. The Seppelt‘s were very generous to their workers, and also built a large dining hall where they would feed their workers breakfast and dinner daily.
  The Company grew, acquiring Chateau Tanunda, and The Great Western Vineyards in Victoria as well as properties in New South Wales and in South Australia’s south-east regions.
 The winery was eventually acquired by Southcorp wines who ran the brand into the ground until in 2007, the brand found its saviours, A consortium called The Seppeltsfield Estate Trust, who carefully rebuilt the brand, bringing back its traditional wine making techniques and reputation for hospitality.Although its current owners claim that the winery is not haunted, and that its alleged ghosts are not part of its history, local Barossa Valley folklorists may tell you otherwise.
 The winery has gained international attention for its alleged hauntings which includes:·         The ghost of a former maid who can be seen walking through the former Seppelt homestead and sometimes through the winery tunnels. ·         In the barrel tunnel, loud footsteps can be heard above you where another floor once sat but is now removed. ·         It is claimed that after 7pm lighting on the lower levels of the winery will not turn on.·         The old vinegar factory, that hadn’t been used for decades would at night, sound as if it was running again, with cranks turning and steam blasts from the old furnaces!·         Screams coming from an unidentified source in the gardens and vineyards.·         The sound of gunshots from a garden.·         A glowing light is sometimes witnessed at the top of the winery.·         Moans, groans, whispers and the sound of shuffling feet from disembodied sources in the old dining hall.·         Reports of feelings of paranoia and fear, in and around where Benno Seppelt’s private hidden retreat is located.·         Some people have been overcome with deep sadness in a garden.·       Constant feelings of being watched.
Whether or not you believe ghosts are real, Seppelt’s Winery is a stunning location, and one well worth a visit for its history, is wine….and dare I say it?...it’s spirits!
Oh, and Haunting: Australia fans…they also have Segway tours! : https://www.seppeltsfield.com.au/index.php/segway-sensation
References:
1925 'MRS. B. SEPPELT DEAD', News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), 6 April, p. 5. (HOME EDITION), viewed 29 Mar 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129...

1931 'Death of Mr. Benno Seppelt', Leader (Angaston, SA: 1918 - 1954), 14 May, p. 4. , viewed 29 Mar 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article165...

Angela Heuzenroeder, ‘B Seppelt & Sons’, SA History Hub, History Trust of South Australia, http://sahistoryhub.com.au/organisati..., accessed 27 March 2019.

History, Seppelt (2019), https://www.seppelt.com.au/history, accessed 29 March 2019.

Benno died in 1930 and was buried in the Grecian family mausoleum on the site of a lookout built in 1927.