Unexplained Experiences

[Headless2]

ULEY ROAD CEMETERY

Uley Road Cemetery in South Australia (also known as 'Uleybury Baptist Church Cemetery' and 'Uley Chapel Cemetery' among others, depending who you ask) is built in Uleybury a little ways East of Munno Para.

When Moses Bendle Garlick, a weaver, migrated to Australia from Uley, Gloucestershire, England, he was so reminded of his home that when he settled he named the area 'Uleybury'.

In 1851 Garlick paid four hundred pounds for a small chapel to be built in an acre of his land set aside for the church. Garlick also helped the building of the Uleybury School in 1856. Moses Garlick died in 1859 and a memorial spire is erected in the Uley Cemetery to his name and efforts.

There is much history to be found in the cemetery with many tales both grand and strange. A English woman travelled to Uleybury to plant a stick of willow from Napoleons grave on her sons burial plot where it 'grew into a fine tree'. Many of the pioneers of the area are buried in that acre of land, land which has been used by the many religious denominations common to that area.

As with all cemeteries Uley is not without it's share of ghost stories. The old chapel which was demolished in 1981 is said to have been used for all sorts of unholy practices. Through the 70's and 80's the cemetery was a regular hangout for young people and the headstones and chapel were badly vandalised - most of the damage you see today was caused back then. Many stories have popped up from that time and the stories still linger either re-experienced or passed down as legend.

One of the more common ghost stories, the ghost in white, may have been seeded prior to 1953 when a local man would dress in white sheets and jump out, scaring the hell out of passers by. The nearby crossroads have the local name 'Ghost Corner' due to these pranks. Today people share stories of a girl in white stepping out on the road right in front of your car, or a woman in a wedding dress running out on the road screaming - variations of peoples experiences due to that old prank?

However, footsteps, moving shadows, whispers, talking and cries in the dark have all been reported out at Uley Road. Many people who have ventured out there at night have taken away an experience. Strange formations that appeared to be almost symbolic, made from the stone left behind from the chapel, started to appear within the cemetery. No one quite knew who had been creating these mysterious rock formations and this lead to further rumors of more dark rituals being performed in the space. There is little evidence to suggest that these symbols were truly dark or Satanic in nature, especially since some have claimed this to have been a practical joke.

Many believe that darkness has been summoned to the cemetery and perhaps brought along some paranormal energy with it. Many who have visited the Uley Road Cemetery claim to have encountered dark shadow persons or even have small rocks thrown at them by something unseen.

Are the stories of ghosts and spooks due to heavy imaginations borne from the all too commonly found tales about the area or is there indeed something haunting this piece of colonial past?



To be continued…

[Headless2]

GHOSTS OF FORMER SALISBURY HOSPITAL

Harwin homestead was built by John Harvey Junior on the corner of Wiltshire Street and Park Terrace, Salisbury, South Australia. Harwin was built in 1907 after John and his wife Ada, decided to move from their farm, San Souci, an orange grove, which they left to their son Allan.

John Harvey Junior died at Harwin in 1927, at 82 years of age. He was considered the town’s oldest man at the time. Ada died in February 1930 and was buried next to her husband at St John’s Anglican Graveyard. The property was bequeathed to Ethel Milne (nee Harvey), the eldest daughter of John and Ada. Ethel rented out the property as a private hospital.

The first matron of the hospital was Sister Whitford, who brought with her nurses Wakelin and Inkster when she departed from the Cleve Hospital in October 1928. The hospital was run by a committee until the Great Depression, when it was taken over by the District Council. The hospital closed in 1940. A petition saw it reopen in the same year, and the following year, the Council purchased the property from Mrs Milne.

For many years the twelve-bed hospital was the cause of controversy in the town, with many wanting it improved. A Board of Management was established, and Matron Murdoch took control of the nursing staff. In 1956, the Housing Trust offered land and to equip a new hospital in Elizabeth, which became the Lyell McEwin Hospital opening in 1959.

After the Salisbury Hospital closed, the house was used for many things, including a courthouse and council engineering office in the 1960’s and then a music school, before finally being torn down. A Pizza Hut then replaced Harwin during the 1970s through to the 1990s.

With its instantly recognisable roof line and red lighting, one would not think a Pizza Hut building being haunted, but it was during the 1980s that a rumour of ghosts haunting the building surfaced. Staff would report odd sounds after closing. Coughing from an unknown source would be heard. Shadows would be seen moving through the kitchen area and objects would move of their own volition. It is believed the haunting originates from the many deaths in the days of the hospital.

Today, a KFC sits where Harwin once stood so prominently.

Have the ghosts of Harwin continued into the current KFC store?



To be continued…..

[Headless2]

WATERFALL GULLY GHOST

Utopia’s heritage-listed chalet is truly unique as Australia’s only restaurant set at the base of a waterfall in South Australia and as far as we know, one of just a handful of restaurants in the world situated beside a natural waterfall.

Our character-filled stone chalet was originally constructed as a tearoom in 1912. Designed by Adelaide-based architect Albert Conrad in the style of a Swiss chalet, the building is now considered Australia’s earliest example of a ‘refreshment room’ set in a national park and continue the restaurant’s 100-year tradition of serving delicious tea and scones.

The building was commissioned by ‘National Pleasure Resorts’, a national body similar to the current government departments for sport and recreation. The tearoom’s role was to provide refreshments to the hundreds of visitors who descended on the gully each month to stroll by the waterfalls, picnic in the peaceful bushland setting and partake in sporting activities such as badminton, tennis, croquet and bowls (in the areas now used as the car park). You can still see the initials ‘NPR’ (for National Pleasure Resorts) and the opening year 1912 in the original green shields within the chalet’s ornamental leadlight feature windows.

Constructed in 1912, our beautiful heritage-listed building has seen its fair share of change over the past 100 years – and according to local legend, a resident ghost has been sharing the memories too.

In 1926, South Australian Police Foot Constable Tregoweth sadly perished while fighting a bushfire that struck Waterfall Gully. It was reported in local newspapers at the time that he lost his footing on one of the gully’s soaring cliffs, then rolled down a hill, receiving terrible burns and injuries that resulted in his untimely death.

Since the early 1930s, there have been ongoing reported sightings of Constable Thomas Tregoweth’s ghost in and around the old chalet, and in the surrounding bushland and walking trails. Witnesses say this ghostly constable is still dressed in his distinctive period police uniform and greatcoat, and many people feel he is still keeping watch over Waterfall Gully.

Since taking over the restaurant in January 2010, our team has experienced quite a few quirky happenings, ranging from mysteriously moving items to clanking keys, footsteps, late-night whistling and a comforting ‘presence’.

A regular occurrence has been the mysterious activation of musical toys belonging to our two sons. We have a nursery and playroom set up for Jackson and Oscar in the old cottage at the rear of the chalet – where toys regularly turn on and sing without any help from us. As a baby and toddler, Jackson was also found regularly chatting and smiling when he was seemingly alone in his Utopia nursery.

Former owners and guests have also shared numerous tales of their own ghostly sightings – most memorable a couple whose car was stopped on the exit to the gully late one night by a gentleman in a greatcoat whose face had no distinguishable features, and who then disappeared silently up into the bushes.

But by all accounts, Utopia’s spooky spectator is very friendly and we are sure he is enjoying seeing so many visitors returning to enjoy his beloved gully.



To be continued…..

[KANACKI]

Hello headless once again some great stories to follow up on.

Some really good mind candy.

Kanacki