Paranormal.com.au
Commercial Ghost Tours, New Age Shops and Readers in your area => Victoria => Topic started by: Christine on June 09, 2005, 05:47:08 PM
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Candlelit walking tour.
1st, 2nd, & 3rd Saturdays, Sundays of a long weekend and costs $20 Adult, $10 Child u/16 or concessions Family $50 (2+3); Groups of 10 or more reduced rates, departs 7.30pm sharp and 8.30pm sharp during daylight savings. Duration approx 90 minutes.
Bring: good walking shoes, warm clothing for cooler months.
Cameras permitted
To view the brochure on Historic Walhalla click here
http://www.paranormal.com.au/images/Walhalla%20Historic%20Township.pdf (http://www.paranormal.com.au/images/Walhalla%20Historic%20Township.pdf)
Bookings required
Contact: Linda George on 03-5165 6250 or email walhhamuseum@vic.australis.com.au
I spoke with Linda who works at the Post Office/Museum who said on this tour last week they had a lady who captured a lady dressed in heritage costume in a picture. She aslo spoke of a miner walking through walls in the mine and picture moving in houses. Sounds like a great place to check out!
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The Walhalla Heritage and Development League operates candlelight ghost tours around the historic Gippsland gold mining town of Walhalla on the first Saturday night of every month, or by arrangement. The tours take about 2.5 hours and cover the towns history, haunted sites and the Long Tunnel Extended Mine. (Very interesting photo taken on tour of June 4th this year including aparition of a woman!- with 25 witnesses!) For more information on tours contact the Walhalla Museum (03)5165-6250 (business hours) or www.walhalla.org.au
Have a look at this apparition for yourself-
http://www.walhalla.org.au/news/0506GhostTours.htm
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Walhalla
Picturesque by Day, Dark by Night
by Flutterbit
With a population of just 28 it’s hard to believe that the tiny township of Walhalla in Victoria’s east is a popular tourist destination but then it’s also hard to believe that the township was without mains supplied electricity until 1998. No, that’s not a typographical error. What electricity existed prior to 1998 was achieved by the use of generators. Even so, the advent of mains powered electricity has done little to relieve the overwhelming darkness that surrounds the town like a thick blanket at night.
Steeped in a history ripe for paranormal experiences Walhalla is situated in a deep valley where flat ground is prized for it’s rarity – indeed the fire station actually straddles Stringers Creek – the town is surrounded on all sides by precarious, heavily forested hills that are dotted here and there with ominous looking holes, remnants of the towns history as one of Victorias richest gold mining towns.
Our daytime explorations of the town seemed far away as we began our night time tour. The handful of candle lanterns lighting our way barely cut through the darkness as we proceeded up the main thoroughfare, stopping now and again to listen as our guide talked us through the townships history. Here, the tale of a woman whose shade still stalks her old home dressed in her wedding gown and there, the tale of two spirits who inhabit a quaintly restored cottage, one of whom leaves guests chilled and the other who becomes unsettled and even somewhat aggressive if guests to the cottage do not introduce themselves. Other tales consist of work tools being put down and disappearing, only to reappear in the middle of a front lawn.
The tour continued on, and uphill, until we reached the largest and most productive mine in the area, the Long Tunnel Mine which extends deep into the belly of the earth. For safety reasons visitors are only permitted to enter a short way into the mine and so, leaving our lanterns at the entrance, we entered the pitch black tunnel in two groups. The cold air sweeping up from the bowels of the earth might have been considered refreshing if not for the oppessive sense that we weren’t alone. One member of our investigative group, a character who is far from cowardly, found the sensations rising up from the shaft uncomfortable enough that he resolutely kept his back to it for the entire time that we were in the tunnel. Though nothing in particular occurred it was a decidedly unpleasant experience.
Another story related was of the time that the mine was finally closed. It was decided that bringing the work horses out of the mine was too much trouble and so the poor animals were dispatched and left where they fell. It is said that the spirits of those horses have been seen and heard running through the town.
For our group, the investigations did not begin nor end with the tour. Indeed the evening was only beginning as we made our way back to our accommodations at Windsor House, the only remaining brick house built at the time of the gold rush. In days past it has been a home, a vineyard and at one point it’s wine cellar also served as a morgue.
Windsor House is a beautifully kept Bed and Breakfast that is also home to several spirits and an ill-aspected portrait but the passage that connects the kitchen to the wine cellar was the most interesting part of the structure. Carved from the rock cliff that sits hard against the back of the building the damp and somewhat musty passage provided a little more than a winter chill. Some EMF activity was recorded, one member was quite popular with the “residents” and cameras which had been checked beforehand suddenly lost power or simply refused to work.
Our group did what there was time for, including a trip to Walhalla’s cemetary to see the cursed grave the following day but there is still quite a lot to investigate such as the cricket ground, which is perched atop one of the hills, and the old hospital where the spirit of a nurse, who committed suicide after her husband was killed in a collapsing mine, is said to roam.
With so much left to see planning for a second investigation is already underway for the 18th and 19th of February next year (2006). If you would like to join us for this next venture into the heartland of Victorias gold mining history speak up before you miss out as accommodation is limited and is being taken up fast. Windsor House is already fully booked: http://paranormal.com.au/public/viewtopic.php?t=304&highlight
Our weekend investigation of the once thriving township of Walhalla was both a fascinating insight into a piece of Victorias gold mining history and a sometimes overwhelming collection of sensations both paranormal and normal. Walhalla is certainly a place that is picturesque by day and dark by night.
TTFN
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:shock:
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Yes, it was great. Thanks for posting that FB.
Christine
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I've seen a grave stone along the Walhalla rd past Tompsom dam. It was the grave of "Kitty Kane". Does anyone know anything about this grave?? Who was she and why is she buried on the side of the road??
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Hi Guest,
There is a room at Windsor House in Walhalla that is named after Miss Kitty Kane, she was pretty infamous in that area in the gold rush, here is a song about her, i'll let you make your own asumptions about her.
KITTY KANE
© John Warner 8/11/93
I came up the Thomson with thousands of others,
When Walhalla's gold worked its wild, shining spell.
I was young, I was pretty, I called myself Kitty,
I offered the best jewels a woman could sell.
A length of fine velvet in well fitting burgundy,
Tight round the curves where a man's eyes would fall,
Lace at the edges and eyes full of laughter,
Oh young Kitty Kane was the pride of them all.
I might take a walk by the wild Thomson River
Where the Mountain Ash rise in the soft, misty rain,
There's gold in the range and there's gold in the memories
Of the lady of pleasure they call Kitty Kane.
* As the wealth from the mining flowed into the valley,
I moved from a shanty up to a hotel.
I'd seen enough squalor, I saved enough silver
To make me a place where I'd play the game well.
Pregnancy, injury, theft and brutality
Threatened and scarred me, again and again,
But in black lace and silver, I waltzed with the miners,
And shone in their vision, for I'm Kitty Kane.
The publican brought a piano from Melbourne,
I could tell you right now, it was never in tune,
But the work-weary diggers came crowding to hear it
When Samson would play in the late afternoon.
On nights when Walhalla lit up like a fire,
And the miners were roaring some boozy refrain,
There would always be eyes lit with lust and desire,
And bright gold for evenings with young Kitty Kane.
There were schemers and sailors and bearded old diggers,
Whose tough, hairy hides had the gravel ground in,
Young men far from home who still needed a mother,
And sad, furtive parsons who needed to sin.
Rough, drunken brutes with the manners of cattle,
Who let me lie bleeding and shaking in pain,
I've served them their drinks while my bruises were healing,
And I laughed and I shone, I was still Kitty Kane.
I've heard the men singing down at the piano,
That youth, it soon passes, and beauty will fade,
But I gave them their pleasure when I was past forty,
It's the light in the eyes made me queen of my trade.
Though Walhalla now is all merchants and farmers,
Whose wives see in me what they think of as shame,
I'll die in this valley with fine, singing memories,
My name's Kitty Kane, I was best in the game.
abby
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Thanks Abby. I have read that poem before. I have a copy by John Warner. I gather she was a "lady of the night". If anyone has any other information about her, I would appreciate it.
Thanks again
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Tha't really great. Thanks for posting that I haven't seen it before.
Christine
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I'll have to show the poem to my sis - she'll be staying in the Kitty Kane room at Walhalla.
TTFN
Flutterbit
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I don't know if this "Kitty Kane" room has anything to do with her, Although it must to be named after her, It would be interesting to do some evp work. Someone read out the poem in the room and see if anything happens.
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I am descended from a gold era mining family at Walhalla and have been a regular visitor to the town for many years. My parents purchased Spetts Cottage in 1978 and it is still in the family's ownership. Not long after it was purchased a previous owner who had lived at Spetts in the 1940s visited a number of times and recounted the story of Rhoda, one of the Spetts family daughters (the family built the house in 1871). She told me that on more than one occasion she had seen a woman dressed in a bridal costume in a corner of the garden - this was reputed to be Rhoda Spetts, who was supposed to have been married but her marriage never occurred. Rhoda is still reputed to walk the garden every November, still in her wedding gown.
Some other unaccounted sightings (or hearings?) at Spetts:
- A neighbour who was camping in a tent stayed at Spetts one night during a violent storm. The morning after he claimed that his bed was turned upside down, and vowed never to set foot in that room again;
- One night many years ago the family went to bed and soon after, the gate to the footbridge across the creek was heard to open and footsteps were clearly heard walking across the bridge. It was a full moon and quite bright...I went out to investigate but heard or saw nothing - the town was virtually deserted midweek.
- On one occasion, a family member awoke to see a large cloud of mist hovering over the bed - it soon disappeared.
- Various rattles and mutterings have been heard during the night.
- Visitors to the house have often commented about a feeling of "being watched" when outdoors at night.
However, most of the after dark noises are caused by possums jumping on the roof and screeching, which does sound quite scary to the uninitiated!
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I've seen a grave stone along the Walhalla rd past Tompsom dam. It was the grave of "Kitty Kane". Does anyone know anything about this grave?? Who was she and why is she buried on the side of the road??
+++Kitty Cane was a dance hall girl and mine owner who later ran a shanty pub beside the Walhalla-Aberfeldy Rd. She was meant to be buried in a nearby cemetery but because of her weight (supposedly over 150kilos) was buried very close to her pub. The grave has been cared for since she died well over 100 years ago.
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Yeah some of us seen Her grave as we came in, I didn't though.
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We would love to be able to conduct an investigation in Spetts Cottage. We have heard much about it and Rhonda I believe her name is.
Christine
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Christine which is Spetts Cottage?
That isn't the one where Myself and Tool were that night was it?
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NO, it is down near the gold mine and is on the left hand side. It has a little bridge going over to it. I think I pointed it out when i dropped you are Jazza off for the tour. The one with the legend of the lady in the wedding dress?
Christine
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Ah yes!
There were lots of places and stuff we really wanted to do / check out and we didn't get to. Pitty the traffic in melbourne was bad it took us ages to get their.
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Yes, the traffic sucked. There'll be other times though.
Christine
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They probably ment "Rhonda". *Rolls Eyes*
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Linda at The POst Office is happy to put on a special Ghost Tour for the people from the group who haven't been but would like to go. It is well worth it.
She needs a minimum of 10 people to run it and prices for 10 or more are $12 per adult and $8 per child. They would start at 7.30pm and it would be on the Saturday night.
We look like having dinner at The Miners Cafe at around 6pm for the whole group. Cost approx $25-30 pp and then after that the people doing the ghost tour could go and do that and the others could return to the accommodation.
So who is in?
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Sounds interesting, can I tentatively say yes?
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what the heck why not if there are enough who want to go...
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I've done the tour, so I will probably give it a miss and do a little snooping around by myself if you guys are all going. I wont to go into the bush near where the campfire thingie was.
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Yeah this is why I am saying tentatively CE because I don't know what else is on offer ;D
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You should go SC if you haven't done it. We have already done it at least once or twice.
I will add this to the other thread. I put it here by mistake.
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I once live very close to walhalla
and the people are buried standing up on the hill
is the place haunted yes it is very much so
the rail way line is under the tunnel
the railway has been re model
but dont go in the bush of a night
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is it too late to go and what is the cost of the
hotel room I have been there as Lived not far
and can some one tell me about haunted hills
in Moe Vic I have been up that road but never
found out about it
thanks Bev
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Hi bev, the information about the weekend at walhalla can be found here
http://www.paranormal.com.au/public/index.php?topic=2921.0 (http://www.paranormal.com.au/public/index.php?topic=2921.0)
I'm not sure if there is a room left still, there could be, maybe Christine would know for sure..janine
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Actually I hate to burst your bubble but research shows people were not buried standing up in Walhalla Cemetery. People just think that because of the terrain. It is urban myth I'm afraid.
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The Haunted hills of Moe are called that because in the days of the horse and carriage/drays, the horse's hooves would echo on the hills so it then became known as the haunted hills, it has nothing to do with ghosts at all. But because the land is filled with coal, being a coal mining area, it made an eerie sound.
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That was a very interesting post by Aberfaldy, do we know who this is? are they a member here now, I would love to here more.
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Alberfeldy is still a member... They live in Walhalla I think... or near there.
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that is really interesting thanks for sharing
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That was a very interesting post by Aberfaldy, do we know who this is? are they a member here now, I would love to here more.
I live in Traralgon (40km to the south of Walhalla) and we normally head up to Spetts Cottage every second weekend. We are a 4th generation Walhalla family, my great grandfather being a miner at the Long Tunnel Extended Mine - he lost his arm in an industrial accident in 1905 and had it replaced by a hook!
Spetts Cottage has been in the in the family since 1978 and we have spent quite a bit of time researching their 75 year history in the town.
I have described some of the paranormal activity experienced by people since the 1940s elsewhere on the forum. The house has had a very long history with some sadness, the original Spetts parents died quite young and had nine children, the oldest daughter remaining in the cottage until her death in 1945. We still have some original Spetts family furniture, books and mementos, including an embroidered handerchief that that Charlie Spetts sent to his sister Sarah just before he was killed at Gallipolli in World War 1.
We have never had any paranormal investigation carried out at the cottage but are interested.
In relation to an earlier post which mentioned not walking in Walhalla at night - the main danger is slipping off steep tracks in absolute darkness, full moon is ideal walking, preferably with a local guide. One comment often heard at Walhalla is a feeling of been watched in the dark. It isn't necessarily a ominous experience - more inquisitive. I would also add that the last of the people who grew up in Walhalla during the gold era have died in the past twenty years or so. Some of their stories and knowledge of historical events has been passed down, but a lot of it has been corrupted or lost.
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Thanks Aberfaldy I will admit I like Walhalla, but I dislike the trip up there, it is so windy, I wonder if they had snow today.
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Aberfaldy that was the thing I noticed the most about Walhalla. The feeling of always beeing watched. perticularly from the trees on the otherside of the creek...towards the mine area...and the tree line down past Windsor house. The place feels full of spirits.
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Hi Alberfeldy, that forum is defunct and was a different forum to this one. So on here we have no record of the paranormal events in the house at all.
Thanks
Christine