Mysteries and Hauntings: NSW & ACT

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In January of 2006, while on a break to the Snowy Mountains, the paranormal researcher Mr Lightyear and his partner Maryanne of Byron Bay set out to walk the trail up from Charlottes Pass. During the walk, the weather suddenly deteriorated and a thick mist rolled in, drastically reducing visibility to a couple of metres.

“We were about five kilometres out, too far to turn back, and I was eager to get to the summit so we pushed on. As we crossed the Snowy River all hell broke loose, lightning and thunder shook the very core of the mountain.”

Reluctantly Mr Lightyear considered his partner's pleas to turn back: “But I felt a strange reassuring calm, as though someone else was there with us guiding us onward. Then out of the mist it appeared, a small stone hut, like a sentinel perched on the mountain. We scrambled inside as the heavens opened and a deluge bucketed from the sky.”



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“The hut consisted of two small rooms, one with a small stove, and an annex stocked with firewood. Of all the places I have visited this was the most haunted, not by the dead but by the living. The grateful spirits of thousands of weary travellers pervaded the air in that small sanctuary. Their love and thanks for its shelter and warmth filled the room.”

“As we sat gathering our wits, enjoying the simple beauty of this hut, the storm intensified, hammering at the windows. But we felt safe. My eyes were then drawn to a panel up on the wall. On it was written the story of the two skiers who perished here in the 1920s.”

Mr Lightyear believes it was Seaman's courageous spirit that was with him and his partner as the storm closed in, guiding them to the hut that was named in his memory.

The hut is built very close to where Laurie Seaman's body and camera were found. When the film was developed, among the pictures were one of him and one of Evan Hayes beside the cairn at the top of Kosciuszko taken shortly before their death.

From here, we’ll zigzag our way down to Montague Island on the South Coast of Narooma, but first we’ll visit a mansion near Bombala.



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Owner of Victorian Gothic-style mansion, hidden away from prying eyes in this remote part of the Monaro. A former Canberran, Steve Rickett reveals he "fell in love with Burnima as soon as he set eyes on it", and "just had to buy it when it was for sale in 2002". Rickett explains he then lived in the oversized home, just out of Bombala, "as a weekender for five years before moving in permanently in 2007".

Burnima was built by Frederick Young, of Queanbeyan, (builder of the "Yarralumla" residence of the Governor-General) for Henry Tollemache Edwards in 1896 and Rickett's deep admiration for Edwards, or HT as he affectionately refers to him, in establishing this opulent outpost is very clear.

In fact, Rickett has embraced HT's legacy to such an extent that on the day he moved in, he embarked on a self-confessed quest to transform this rare 1800s homestead back to its original state. That's not only inside its 10 bedrooms, sitting room, formal dining room, study, reception, billiards room and servants' quarters, but also its four hectares of sprawling Victorian-era influenced gardens.



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Rickett divulges he now spends "more money on fuel for his mowers and hedge trimmers than for his car", and when you live in these boondocks, where it's a long drive to just about anywhere, that's saying something. A stroll through the gardens soon reveals why. They are as expansive as they are rambling, with conifers, spruces, and cedars from all over the world interspersed with formal lawns with inviting nooks and crannies aplenty. There are fountains, a maze, an old orchard which still bears fruit, and statues at every turn.

However, the piece de resistance for Rickett is an elaborate fish pond which was once a much-loved oasis for HT's eldest daughter, Miss Edith Edwards, who lived at Burnima and upheld the formality of the Victorian era right up until her death in 1952.



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"Although strict, Miss Edith also had a softer side, especially for animals, and she absolutely adored her goldfish," Rickett says. "When she was dying in hospital, she paid a taxi driver to drive all the way out here to feed the fish”

"She'd then pay another taxi driver to follow him to make sure he did it," says Rickett. Miss Edith's paranoia over the welfare of her fish continues to this day, for her spirit lingers on with a number of sightings of her apparition, including most recently a bulldozer driver who, while waiting to meet Rickett for a landscaping job, spotted "a lady wearing a long white gown walking to the old fish pond, only for her to vanish before his very eyes."



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Rickett confesses he walks past the pond every evening in the hope he might glimpse Miss Edith. "Every night just before the sun goes down, I put on my top hat, grab a glass of port and stroll through the garden, wondering what it would have been like for Miss Edith walking around with a couple of servants waiting on her call," Rickett says.

"Around this part of the garden, with the setting sun there's often a sepia-type light; it's almost like walking through an old photograph," says Rickett as we emerge from the garden and approach Burnima's front verandah.

Inside its cold, very cold. "Even in the midst of summer, due to the triple bricks, it rarely gets above 9 degrees," explains Rickett as he leads me up the grand stairwell.

It's as if I've entered a Victorian museum. Using historic photos, Rickett has completely restored every room to its former glory, right down to the antiquarian books and period animal trophies on display in the library. It's an extraordinary effort and testimony to his commitment to bring Burnima back to its glory days of the early 1900s.



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While overlooking the southern garden from one of the old servant's rooms, Rickett explains that Burnima harbours a number of macabre mysteries including "the disappearance of a young servant girl who was thought to have become pregnant to HT. "The well in the southern garden was apparently filled in the very day she vanished," says Rickett, adding somewhat morbidly that "her body is most likely still buried at the bottom of the well".

A number of people, including Rickett, claim to have seen the poor girl's ghost. While sleeping in the old cook's room back in 2006, at about 2.30am Rickett was awoken by heavy breathing at the side of his bed. "I turned over towards the noise only to see a girl standing right along my bed," recalls Rickett, adding, "I screamed at it, kicked the doona at it and it vanished."



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Not surprisingly, the ghosts of Miss Edith and the young girl aren't the only spooks lurking in Burnima's chilly shadows. Rickett has a long list of other things which go bump in the night, from phantom phone calls,
unexplained hammering and even a shuffling wardrobe.

Rickett admits living alone in such a haunted house can be challenging. "After moving in, it didn't take long before I realised there were the presences of others here," says Rickett who, now, to reduce his anxiety, "never watches any thriller television shows or movies as it heightens the senses."

"I'm used to all the ghostly goings-on now as it's been happening for quite some time and no one has been hurt," says Rickett, adding, "sure, it still scares a little bit, but it's no drama any more."

Who’s the young girl?

And who’s the other ghost Steve Rickett claims to be shuffling the wardrobe and hammering?

Let’s research this story further.



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What do we know about the alleged disappearance of a young servant girl who was thought to have become pregnant to Henry Tollemache Edwards and perhaps still in the filled-in well at Burnima House?

Henry Tollemache Edwards was born at Parramatta in 1837. He died on 19th November, 1915, aged 81 years.
We also know that Burnima House was built for Henry Tollemache Edwards in 1896.

Was there a disappearance of a servant girl between 1896 and 1915?



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GIRL FOUND DEAD

Mon 23 Nov 1908:— The police received information early last Friday morning that a girl named Linda Grace Waterson was missing from the home of Mrs R Warburton, Pipeclay Springs, near Bombala, where she had been employed as domestic servant for the past four years.

Sergeant Stutchbury and Constable Walcott immediately set out and after searching for some hours the Sergeant discovered the body in an old cherry orchard about 200 yards from the residence where the girl had been employed. Owing to the heat of the day, the body when found was in a very bad state.

There was a bullet wound through the left breast. An inquest was held on Saturday before Mr Couleton Murphy, Coroner, and after exhaustive evidence had been taken, a verdict : “That Linda Grace Waterson had died from a pea rifle wound self-inflicted, but whether accidentally or otherwise evidence did not lead the Coroner to say,” was returned.

This incident was close to Burnima House, however, let’s take a look at Henry Tollemache Edwards first wife.



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Henry Tollemache Edwards first wife was Anna Rebecca Edwards (born Wren) was born in 1845, Henry married Anna in 1862, she was 17 years old. They had 2 children: Henry Vassel Edwards and Edith Edwards. Anna passed away at Eden in 1865, at age 20. The distance between Eden and Burnima House is 60km.

Perhaps Anna has resided with her beloved family once again?

Could Anna be the young girl at Burnima House?

Or perhaps the rumours could be true about the young servant girl in the bottom of the well.

Quite surprisingly, there is one death that occurred at the house which Steve Rickett didn’t mention.



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[KANACKI]

Hello Headless

My apologies I have not been around much. I being tied up renovating two properties at once. And writing a trilogy. However i have been enjoying your posts immensely.

Was there a disappearance of a servant girl between 1896 and 1915?. That is a short time period. Given  Henry Tollemache Edwards age. I cannot see him connected in a relationship with her in that sense. But many people came and went for better opportunities. I see 1915 was one year in world war one.There was growing opportunities for work else where when many men was off overseas fighting in WW1.

Regardless.  Please do continue fascinating.

Kanacki

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Hi KANACKI

Exactly my thoughts too, especially he’s age.


DEATH OF MR H. T. EDWARDS

Tue 23 Nov 1915:— The death of Mr H. T. Edwards at his station home on Monaro, on Saturday, is reported. The late Henry Tollenache Edwards was one of the most prominent pastoralists on Monaro, and he was very well known throughout our pastoral world. For nearly 30 years he managed Bibbenluke, from which he retired to his own station at Burnima.

As a cattle judge he had few, if any, superiors in this State, and he judged in many show rings, including the R.A.S., Sydney. Horses were to him a well-loved hobby. He was a man of marvellous energy, and of great geniality. There was a lasting twinkle in his eye that everybody who knew him will remember. His memory for faces, and for men once met was remarkable. District affairs came in for a generous share of his attention and energy.

He was a magistrate, and was the first chairman of the Bibbenluke Shire Council, president of the Bombala Exhibition Society, and chairman of the Pastures Protection Board. A mental picture that comes to us now is the late Mr. H. T. Edwards hand-feeding the many birds that were attracted from out of the bush to his Burnima house during the recent drought.

Was it Henry Tollenache Edwards that shuffled the wardrobe and caused the unexplained hammering?

That’s for you to decide.

45 Bombala St, Nimmitabel is our next stop.



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Rhondda Garside remembers vividly the day 'a white human-like figure floated through my kitchen.' For Rhondda this was no chance encounter for, between 1990 and 2014 as owners of the Royal Arms Guesthouse in Nimmitabel, Rhonda and other members of her family learned to live with the veritable gaggle of ghosts who inhabited their home.

If the regular visions of man, woman and child are anything to go by this lovingly restored coach station, built from stone and hand-made bricks in 1850, has to be one of the state's most haunted buildings.

Phantom bells ringing at midnight, keys mysteriously turning in locked doors and the face of a dishevelled lady appearing at the kitchen window are just a handful of recent examples from a long list of unexplained happenings in the former coach station.



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“We even called the police on a couple of occasions. A few years ago we were convinced there was an intruder in the main hall. We hid and cowered in the kitchen and called the police who responded from Cooma. There was all sorts of commotion but no-one was found. It must have been ghost activity,” Rhondda told the author when he visited the Monaro Plains guesthouse in 2004.

One of the more disconcerting hauntings is the regular sound of bells ringing; even though there are no bells anywhere on or near the property.

“Many years ago, when the building operated as a coaching stop, there was a bell that would be rung when a coach was on approach, but that bell hasn't been here for decades,” pondered Rhondda.



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