The sight of Port Arthur from afar is a thrill in itself. Image: Mark Daffey

Q STATION

For more than 150 years until 1984, new arrivals in Sydney were forced to quarantine at Manly’s Q Station on North Head so that deadly diseases such as the bubonic plague, smallpox, and the Spanish flu wouldn’t ravage the country — considering the times we now live in, it’s perplexing why such facilities are no longer used. More than 500 inpatients died at the site and ghost hunters believe the haunted souls of some of them linger on.

Ghost tours have operated here since the early 1990s, retelling stories of misfortune and untimely deaths. Ghostly Encounters, Q Station’s most popular ghost tour, runs for 2.5 hours every night from 8pm. Guests carry a lantern on a walking tour around the site. Other tours are more family-friendly or they focus more on the history of the quarantine station.

Believers in the paranormal can explore the haunted shower block and the infamous Gravedigger’s cottage, using divination tools in an attempt to contact the deceased.

More info: qstation.com.au. 

Old Melbourne Gaol’s exterior at night

OLD MELBOURNE GAOL

From 1842 to 1929, the Old Melbourne Gaol was the unfortunate venue for 133 gruesome hangings, including infamous bushranger Ned Kelly and resident Koori Indigenous People rebelling against colonial rule. Dominating the city skyline when it was built, it served as a symbol of authority for dangerous criminals who were incarcerated with petty offenders, the homeless, and the mentally ill.

Admission includes self-guided access to the Gaol and the City Watch House, with an additional fee allowing guests to try and solve the murder of dodgy lawyer Lionel Grey, who was found dead here in 1924. Come at night and you can join the bone-chilling Ghosts? What Ghosts? or Hangman’s Night tours. A warning: tours are conducted in the dark, often in confined spaces.

More info: oldmelbournegaol.com.au.

The night tour in the Gaol provides an even spookier setting

WHISPERS FROM BEYOND

Anthony Grzelka claims to have been able to hear the voices of dead people since he was five years old. After years of keeping his secret hidden, he eventually embraced his gift and now works as a medium, conducting workshops and demonstrations that have led to appearances on television and radio. He also leads ghost tours in the Western Australian gold mining town of Coolgardie, on Fairbridge Farm outside Mandurah, through Greenough village south of Geraldton, and in Cossack, near Karratha. Throughout each tour, Grzelka offers his sixth sense perspective, then hosts a séance at the end of each tour.

More info: whispersfrombeyond.com.au.

Port Arthur Ghost Tour. Image: Alastair Bett

PORT ARTHUR

Port Arthur is Australia’s most notorious penal settlement largely because of its country setting and its state of preservation. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed site is one of Tasmania’s most popular man-made attractions, perched on the water’s edge on the Tasman Peninsula.

The manicured lawns and gardens you’ll find there today in no way resemble how it appeared during its life as a convict prison from 1830–77. It was touted as an inescapable prison — though that didn’t stop inmates from trying. One prisoner, George ‘Billy’ Hunt, disguised himself using a kangaroo hide until the half-starved guards took aim at him with their rifles.

More than 1000 people died at Port Arthur during its 47-year history and guests can learn about their trials and tribulations during self-guided audio tours. Then when darkness falls, visitors can join lantern-lit ghost tours through the facility’s infamous ruins while guides regale stories of unexplained events.

More info: portarthur.org.au.

CANBERRA GHOST TOUR

Visit the darker side of Canberra’s past during a three-hour tour with local resident, historian, and author, Tim ‘The Yowie Man’ Bull. As Bull likes to point out, this is the history they don’t put in the guidebooks, shining a spotlight into the hidden underbelly of our capital.

During the tour you’ll hear tales about a poltergeist that regularly  wreaks havoc at the War Memorial, a former prime minister who haunts a popular Canberra hotel, an old homestead that causes nosebleeds, missing coffins in Lake Burley Griffin, and a diplomat who was turned into a pincushion by bloodthirsty murderers. By all accounts, the host is an engaging storyteller.

More info: yowieman.com.au.

Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum once housed more than 1200 psychiatric patients. Image: Tourism Victoria

MAYDAY HILLS LUNATIC ASYLUM

Beechworth is one of Victoria’s bestpreserved gold rush towns, located 280km north-east of Melbourne. Mayday Hills was once one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in the state. At its peak, 500 staff attended to more than 1200 patients inside 67 heritage-listed buildings dating back to the late 1800s. The sprawling hospital complex closed in 1998 after 128 years of operation. Patients included the uncle of bushranger Ned Kelly and Ida Pender, the wife of gangster Squizzy Taylor.

Evening ghost tours investigate urban myths while delving into the supernatural. There are also interactive ghost hunts that allow guests the chance to experience paranormal investigations.

More info: asylumghosttours.com.

Fremantle Prison is the largest convict-built structure in Western Australia. Image: Fremantle Prison

MONTE CRISTO HOMESTEAD

Monte Cristo Homestead has been dubbed Australia’s most haunted house.

Built on a hill in the 1880s and overlooking the New South Wales Riverina town of Junee, the owners of the two-storey Victorian mansion have been hosting ghost tours for more than 30 years.

On Saturday nights, they offer a package that includes dinner and a 2.5-hour ghost tour, with the option to stay overnight. The house’s bleak history includes tales of maids being thrown off balconies, and visitors have reported strange voices and feeling a hand on their shoulder. One overnight guest was pinned to her bed, unable to move, and guests have also seen shadowy figures or heard footsteps in the night. It makes you shudder just thinking about it.

More info: montecristo.com.au.

Junee’s Monte Cristo Homestead is recognised as Australia’s most haunted house. Image: Destination NSW

FREMANTLE PRISON

Like Port Arthur, Fremantle Prison is one of 11 Heritage-listed Australian convict sites. It is the largest convict-built structure in Western Australia and was used continuously for 140 years until it opened to the public in 1992, allowing visitors to tour through death row, solitary confinement cells, and its gallows. Entry to the Gatehouse is free.

The highlight of any visit is the entertaining tours by experienced guides who bring the rich folklore and stories of prison to life — tours touch on the tales of bushrangers, serial killers, and escape artists, or they descend ladders to a maze of underground tunnels. Twice a week, evening Torchlight Tours echo stories of pain, suffering, and bungled executions. These tours are not for the faint hearted.

More info: fremantleprison.com.au.

Bushrangers, serial killers, and escape artists were incarcerated in Fremantle Prison. Image: Tourism Western Australia

Z WARD ASYLUM

For almost 90 years, Glenside Hospital’s Z Ward — formerly known as the Parkside Lunatic Asylum — was home to South Australia’s criminally insane. At the time of its completion in 1885, the asylum was lauded for its innovative architectural blueprint; high ceilings, advanced ventilation, and large windows attempted to provide humane living conditions for patients.

After the site was decommissioned in 1973, it remained unoccupied for several decades. Then in 2014, its gates were thrown open to the public for day and night time tours. Guests on Haunted Horizons’ Z Ward Asylum Ghost Tours have felt themselves being touched by spirits while mobile phones have been mysteriously hurled across the room. Scary stuff indeed.

More info: adelaidehauntedhorizons.com.au.

Scene from the play What Was That? at Werribee Mansion. Image: Essence Productions

WERRIBEE PARK MANSION

Wealthy Scottish pastoralists, the Chirnside family, built Werribee Park Mansion in the 1870s. Today, it functions as a hotel that’s as grand as any in the country. It’s adjacent to the Werribee Zoo, west of Melbourne, and included on the property is the Shadowfax Winery. 

Resident theatre group, Essence Productions, conducts a live performance of a scary comedy play called What Was That? The play is set in 1908, following the tragic death of Mary Chirnside. A mischievous maid and suspicious butler roam from room to room, taking theatregoers with them as the story unfolds, and you never know what’s going to happen. The evening ends with a glass of sparkling wine and mingling with the actors.

More info: essenceproductions.com.au.

Ghosts are said to roam the hallways of Werribee Mansion. Image: Essence Productions

Category: Features
Written: Fri 01 Oct 2021
Printed: October, 2021
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