There is an old English tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve.
It is out of that famous tradition that Charles Dickens classic ghost story A Christmas Carol was born.
Well, this is Christmas Eve—so do I have any ghost stories for you?
Yes, a few.
First, there’s ‘Berrima’s Headless Ghost’: Lucretia Dunkley was hanged at Berrima Jail (in the southern highlands of NSW) on 22 October 1842. She’d been found guilty of the murder of a wealthy farmer and of stealing 500 gold sovereigns from his corpse. After the hanging the head was removed from the corpse for scientific examination. For decades afterwards eyewitnesses claimed to have seen her headless spectre, late at night, roaming through the pine trees in front of the jail. However, when the pine trees were cut down the apparition ceased its appearances.
Then there’s the “Bishop’s Palace Ghost’: The first man appointed as Anglican bishop of Northwest Australia was Gerard Trower. Holding the post from 1910-27, he lived in a modest bungalow in Broome jokingly known as “the Bishop’s Palace.” One still, moonlit night Bishop Trower awoke to find a ghostly figure walking through the French windows into his bedroom. Dressed in the robes of a Jewish rabbi the figure lingered for a moment and then vanished. From the description locals identified the spectre as the ghost of a Jewish pearl buyer named Davis who died in 1912 when his ship, the Koombana, sank in a storm. Davis had previously lived in the bungalow occupied by the bishop, and locals believed his ghost had returned to search for pearls he had hidden in the house.
Then we come across the ‘Bungaribee House Ghost’: Bungaribee House was built in 1827 for Colonel John Campbell (Secretary to the Governor of NSW) in the outer Sydney suburb of Doonside. It was demolished in 1957. While it stood, so the legend says, it was the scene of hauntings by a murdered convict.
Moving on, according to tradition the ghost of the explorer Robert O’Hara Burke walks at Innamincka Crossing in Central Australia. According to the legend it whines with the wind around the old pub at Innamincka, and groans like an old iron gate near where he died.
Finally, there’s the ‘Corroboree Rocks Ghost’: One of those rare apparitions that is prepared to pose for a photograph. The snapshot in question was taken in May 1956 by a Presbyterian minister (Rev. R. S. Blance) at Corroboree Rock west of Alice Springs. The developed photograph showed “the ghostly figure of a man wearing a night-shirt and a balaclava with his hands clasped in prayer.” Sadly the ghost has declined to appear in any further photographs since his one and only appearance in 1956.
And that’s quite enough ghosts for one Christmas!
Tonight, I will be hosting 'The Late Debate' on Sky News at the earlier summer season time of 8pm AEDT.
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