Author Topic: The Waterfall of Death Blue Mountains NSW.  (Read 3823 times)

Offline KANACKI

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The Waterfall of Death Blue Mountains NSW.
« on: April 08, 2017, 01:31:34 PM »
The following tale was almost elusive as ghost itself. The story originated in Lord Halifax’s ghost book printed many years ago. I am sure if you ever find a copy you will read a version of the following story. I hope my version is true to the one I read all those many years ago. I forget much. The events allegedly happened around 1855 or there about.

As to the truth of tale I leave that to your discretion as I found it an interesting harrowing tale of greed murder death and redemption. It was some times during the years after the first great gold rush in NSW A surveyor was sent to survey the countryside somewhere west of the Blue mountains.

To be continued...

Kanacki

Offline KANACKI

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Re: The Waterfall of Death Blue Mountains NSW.
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2017, 01:33:04 PM »
The surveyor his assistant and 2 aboriginal men was part of the team to map the region as also take note of any gold bearing areas. It was during one trip over the blue mountains they came across a small valley with a grand waterfall.

It was in this small valley in the bush they found a small grassy patch as if some one had been there before. And idyllic place to came in full view of the water fall coming down off the valley cliff.

Yet the Aborigines was not happy there as they believed that bad ancestor spirits lived there and came out at night a devoured men. Dem be Debil Debil they cried in broken English.  Yet after a lot of persuading the men stayed under the protection of the white mans fire arms.

The site was tranquil enough as they could hear the roar of the water coming over the falls. Yet as darkness fell the falls seemed to get louder and a strange dread seeps into souls of the survey team as if expecting some thing strange to happen? And in the chill of the evening the falls took of strange hue in the dying embers of twilight sky. Darkness and an uneasy sleep pervaded.

To be continued....

Kanacki

Offline KANACKI

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Re: The Waterfall of Death Blue Mountains NSW.
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2017, 01:36:30 PM »
Some time in the depths of the night the moon had risen and the moon rays of eerie moonlight shone onto the falls there materialized strange spectral sight. In among the torrent a pair of ghost arms and hands protruded through the water fall as if in desperate pleading to beckoning the heavens above?

It was ghastly sight as the surveyor stood there above his bedroll transfixed awaking the assistant who shrieked in terror not knowing if he was awake or not having a nightmare, awoke the poor two aboriginal men in terror as they cringed pointing and Saying Dem Debil Debil. As the two aboriginal men pointed in terror at the moonlight falls with the ghostly hands protruding from them fled through the bush as the falls turned to blood red for a few minutes that seemed an eternity.

The two surveyors watching this spectral sight was transfixed also in terror too scared to move as the silver light of the moon reappeared
 and ghost arms and hand faded back into the water fall.

Stunned in silence they slowly came to there senses into day break hours and asked themselves what the hell did they see? Was it am illusion? The falls roared on as they fell back into a fitful uneasy sleep into mid morning.

Awaking and knowing their aboriginal friends had decamped and fled back to Bathurst. They knew their surveying expedition was over for now until they could get two more assistants. They pondered over last nights ghostly spectacle. Were they hallucinating?

The falls roared on as a non silent witness to some thing incredible. Some thing it seems some one or some thing was beckoning them from inside the falls? Yet the surveyor was not simple men as they was men of science not of superstition and fear of ghosts. Yet the doubts challenged their very beliefs. So there was only one option for them was to get at the bottom of the mystery? They decided to climb and explore around the falls.

To be continued....

Kanacki

Offline KANACKI

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Re: The Waterfall of Death Blue Mountains NSW.
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2017, 01:40:23 PM »
Climbing above the first cataract they discovered in the cliff behind the waterfall a small cave. Inside the cave was a grizzly spectacle. There lying in the back of the cave was two skeletons.

One was lying on his back with an rusted axe still stuck into the skull. The clothes had all but rotted away revealing the skeletons hand still clutching an ancient colt pistol.  To the left of him was another skeleton half sitting up but slumped over  clutching a metal box. Picks lanterns and mining tools and personal effect was scattered about rotting away in the damp of the cave.

Its was as imagined a crime scene. Exploring the cave it appeared the bodies had been there a long time perhaps a few years from the days of the first gold rush. Indeed the two intrepid surveyors found that these luckless gold miners had indeed found quite a bit of gold.

Prying the small box from the skeleton siting up they removed the metal box for the bones of the dead. On opening the box they found gold dust nuggets in respects, a small fortune. In among the nuggets was locket and gold watch. Most interesting of all was a letter now all decayed from the humidity.

It told of two great childhood friends that came out from England bring their families out to seek their fortunes. They was to certain degree successful as they had considerable amount of gold in the box. Yet writer had in shaky hand written his lament over the terrible deed he had done.

He begged for forgiveness from the good lord above for his terrible sin. He had in a fit of jealousy and greed had struck his best friend and mate of a life time fatally with an axe not before his mate expired from the blow retaliated shooting him in the stomach with the bullet continuing through paralyzing his spine. And there this murderer in fit of poetic justice fell back mortally wounded left to contemplate his dark deed as he sat there slowly dying in the cave behind the falls.

As he sat there dying he lamented his dark deeds with remorse of killing his childhood friend and suffering he now has inflicted on both their young families awaiting them back in Sydney town. He only hoped one day some one would find this letter and let their families know of their tragic fate. A perhaps even prayer for the souls of these lost two friends that betrayed each other in life united in death?

The two surveyors granted the dead a short prayer for their souls and removed what personal effects they could and returned to Sydney to try to find the relatives of the deceased men.

Years later when the old surveyor retold the story to Lord Halifax that the whole event had shaken the two surveyors immensely as they was a men of science but marveled at the strange encounter..

As years later The surveyor discovered the moon was at the time experiencing a rare astronomical event called the “blood moon.” But for the life of him he could nor could his assistant ever scientifically explain the ghostly arms and hand protruding from the waterfall?

Kanacki



Offline KANACKI

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Re: The Waterfall of Death Blue Mountains NSW.
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2017, 01:41:12 PM »
I was fascinated in my younger days of this story. Years ago I spent many time out camping exploring and bushwalking the canyons of the blue mountains. To this day I am not quite sure the exact location. But did find a Cave behind a waterfall in place called the Cowmung Deep.

Was it the actually place of this alleged haunting? Perhaps I like to think so? Yet perhaps still out there today lies hidden in the mountain valleys this cave behind the waterfall with skeletons in it.

One thing for sure I hope story remains always in our folklore.

Kanacki

 

 


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