Location: Gawler, South Australia
Location type: Office
Location status: Business Hours
Website:
http://bunyippress.com.au/
The Bunyip Newspaper is available on Wednesdays from local Newsagents in the Gawler Region
This
investigation brought Allen back to his home town of Gawler - Allen was
born, raised and schooled in Gawler, and often visited the Bunyip
newsagent in his youth to buy books and magazines.
Allen's Father, Rodney, also worked on the building in the 1960's (he was a carpenter at the time)installing a new roof
Allen and his Dad (Rodney) - 2007
History
"The
Bunyip" began its existence in 1863 as a monthly pamphlet published in
collaboration with "The Humbug Society". Editor Dr George Nott and
Printer, William Barnet teamed together to create what was to become
South Australia's longest running family owned newspaper.
When
the paper began it was a satirical look on life around Gawler, but
later it was to become a weekly "orthodox" styled newspaper, with a
strong community focus, expanding into further suburbs and country areas
surrounding Gawler.
The
Bunyip Newspaper, in its early life, was situated in a shop near the
Baptist Church in Murray Street Gawler, later it moved further along the
street to be situated near the Prince Albert Hotel. After the original
premises were destroyed by fire, the newspaper's office was relocated to
its present location, in the Main Street of Gawler, in which it has
remained since 1885
"The South Australian Register"
(newspaper article)
Thursday 27 February 1868
There
is great excitement in Gawler this evening. The Bunyip Office is
surrounded by a crowd of people, and the proprietor of the paper has
been serenaded by the Gawler Brass Band. Mr. Barnet addressed the
assemblage, thanking them for their sympathy, and expressing his
intention of maintaining the independence of the Press.
Bunyip Editors
1863 – 2007
George Nott 1863 - 1869?
Benjamin Hoare 1869 - 1871
Edward Grundy 1871 – 1875
T. Godfrey 1875? - 1878?
George Loyau 1878 - 1879
L . Wilson ? - ?
Alfred Drakard ? - ?
Harry Congreve 1885 - 1890
E. H. Coombe 1890 – 1914
Robert Barnet 1914 - 1930s?
L. S. Duncan 1930s - Post World War Two
Ken Barnet 1940s - ?
Paul Vincent 1960s - ?
Ken Barnet ? - ?
John Barnet 1975 - 2003
Terry Williams 2003 - 2004
Heidi Helbig 2004 - ?
A photo of one of the old printing presses - our research suggests this press was sold in the early 1980's
A Brief Look At Some Of The Bunyip Editors
George Nott
Dr. Nott circa 1865
Dr Nott was noted as a man who was ‘genial, versatile and public spirited’, by E.H. Coombes in his book "History of Gawler 1837 – 1908."
Dr
Nott first came to Gawler in 1852 and worked as Editor to the Bunyip,
he was also a talented artist, lecturer and public speaker.
Dr
Nott died on December 9th 1872, his body was interred in the Willaston
cemetery. A monument and railings were erected by the Gawler townsfolk
for this much loved member of Gawler society.
William Barnet
Mr
Barnet was born in Scotland, where he studied his trade of printing
before embarking on his journey to Australia. He arrived in Gawler in
1857 and quickly established The Bunyip printing business. He published
the first "History Of Gawler" book, written by Dr Nott.
William
was a community minded person who actively participated within town
clubs and events. He was a member of the Gawler Rifles, The Lodge of
Fidelity, an Assessor for the "South Ward" of the first Gawler Town
Council, and also a member of the Masonic Lodge
Mr
Barnett died suddenly on the 25th of February 1895, after attending
the funeral of his good friend, Mr Leonard Burton. He was interred in
the Willaston Cemetery.
His
Third Son, Robert Henry Barnet, who began his apprenticeship at the
newspaper in 1895, went on to manage the paper after his Fathers death,
until his own untimely death at the age of 48 in 1917
E.H. Coombe
Ephraim
Coombe was born in Gawler in 1858. He was educated in the town and
worked in his Fathers store in Willaston. He worked at The South Australian Register (newspaper) as a local correspondent before taking a position with The Bunyip.
Mr Coombe was an active member of the Gawler community, involving himself with the Temperance movement ( A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages) education and the Arts. He was also a very fine Chess player, and also represented South Australia in the Cricket (playing one game where he scored 10 runs)
Mr
Coombe was involved in local politics, and in 1901 become an elected
member in the Seat of The Barossa, which he held until 1910.
He
left The Bunyip in 1914 to edit the publication of the "Daily Herald",
a Labor produced publication. He also was elected to the house of
Assembly in 1915. Being politically outspoken, Mr Coombe found himself
in trouble, and facing court after speaking out about the closure of
German schools and conscription at the onset of World War 1. Prosecuted
under the War Precautions Act, Mr Coombe was fined 10 pounds,
although this seems like an small amount to pay in this day and age, it
was a grand sum in his day, but the main damage was to Mr Coombes
reputation, something that in his day was very important. ( Mr Coombe
did not oppose the war, three of his sons fought in it, he opposed the
mistreating of human beings as fodder for the war machine)
Mr Coombe wrote the Gawler history Book "History of Gawler 1837 – 1908."
It
has been considered that the weight of having his name slurred by his
prosecution eventually led to his death on the 5th of April 1917 of a
cerebral haemorrhage brought about by his considerable amount of worry on his prosecution.
A Memorial to E.H. Coombe located in Tanunda's Main Street
The
Bunyip newspaper was sold to the "Taylor Group" of newspapers in 2003
by the Barnet family, ending the families long ownership of this local
icon (September 1863 until April 2003).
Since
the sale, The Bunyip has seen many changes in formatting, design and
presentation, including the adding of colour to its format. The Bunyip
continues to be one of Gawlers most respected icons and sources of news
and entertainment. The Bunyip contributes to a great many of the towns
events with sponsorship and support and continues to be the best
resource for local news and events.
Eidolon
Paranormal considers it a great honour to be invited to investigate
such a historic iconic building, and hopes that The Bunyip will go on
for another 150 years
Haunted?
Our initial contact with The Bunyip office came from a post on The Bunyip's facebook wall featuring one of our Urban Legends episodes.
We
were invited by Margaret, The Bunyips General Manager, to come in and
investigate the office after a number of unexplained paranormal events
that were witnessed by staff.
The
sound of footsteps have been clearly heard on the central stairwell,
with staff waiting at the top to see who it is ascending to the second
story, only to hear the footsteps approach and stop right before the
staff member, expecting a person to be before them, but with no-one to
be seen.
Shadow people
have been seen in a rear office, as well as chairs being moved of their
own accord,plus the sounds of someone sitting at a desk, but no-one
present.
The Bunyip office
isn't known as a place of tragedy, however, as mentioned by Vanessa and
Margaret on the night of the investigation, many people come to the
office to place memorial or death notices in the newspapers obituaries
section. Could the energy from grieving relatives play a part in the
haunting of the office?
We
believe something "paranormal" is happening within the walls of The
Bunyip office, but are as yet to determine what the source of the
unusual activity is.
Investigation
We started this investigation in the late afternoon with a walk through of the premises with Margaret and Vanessa, our location representatives, who gave us a run down on where phenomena had occurred.
We
then began to photo map the premises in normal and full spectrum
photography, we do this so upon video review we can identify if anything
in the building has been moved, by us, our clients, or other unseen
forces...
After the photo
mapping was completed we started an EMF sweep with our Mel Meters and
Gauss Meters - we do this to establish where higher areas of EMF may be
occurring in the building. High Electro Magnetic Fields can lead to
feelings of paranoia, and even hallucinations.
For
an EMF reading to be considered a potential indicator of paranormal
activity it needs to be unexplained -meaning it didn’t come from wiring,
nearby appliances, people (yes people have EMF’s as well), or another
explainable reason. The investigator must also be very thorough in
ruling out all other potential natural causes before considering
labelling the EMF as paranormal.
Allen conducting an EVP session over the "coin experiment"
Next we set up our coin experiment. A
very basic "Old School Paranormal Investigation" technique. We ask any
spirits that are present to move the coins on the sheet. We have drawn
one centimetre marks on the experiment sheet to measure movement, and
use old coins, generally Australian Pennies, as we feel older spirits
would associate better with coins of their time period rather than our
newer, smaller coins
We make sure there is no possible causes for interference from wind or vibrations etc. We leave a video
camera recording the experiment while we do our investigation, and an
audio recorder (for EVP) - we then review the video to see if the coins
have been moved...then we try and debunk the movement, which is aided
by another video camera that is set further behind filming the whole
room...
An
EVP session was done near the coin experiment, we chose questions based
on our research of the building and its former editors.
Here is small sample of some the questions asked:
Can we speak to Mr William Barnett?
Mr Barnett, are you still working here?
What was your rank amongst the Masonic Lodge?
Can I speak to Mr E.H. Coombe please?
Mr Coombe, are you still working here at the Bunyip office?
Was
your death associated with the stress caused by the accusations against
you of being prosecuted under the war precautions act for your views?
We
followed up our EVP session upstairs, where we had reactions to our
questions, most notably after the word "death" was spoken by an
investigator. Reactions included knocking sounds, EMF spikes on the EMF
meters (The meter was near no EMF sources, we had established this
earlier with our EMF sweep ) Also heard was a very loud banging noise
downstairs that we can not attribute to any known source.
Karen in the basement being consumed by dust
We
ventured into the basement last, the amount of dust from the dirt
floors made doing much of anything in here very hard. We did manage to
conduct a very short EVP session before we were overcome by the dust.
During
our investigation we had an equipment failure with our Olympus
hand-held cassette recorder, it refused to work, even with brand new
batteries, upon trying the recorder again at home, with the same
batteries and tape inside it, we have no problems with its recording or
playing!!
Newspaper Articles Concerning "The Bunyip"
The South Australian Register
Monday 7 September 1863
(From our own correspondent)
Gawler, September 5
The first number of The Bunyip, or Gawler Humbug Society's Chronicle,'
came out to-day. Of course there were plenty of eager purchasers, all in
a hurry to see the new local organ. The first number promises well, and
is full of racy unities and local hits, and also contains the rules of
the Gawler Humbug Society. The paper is to be published monthly, and
will probably have such a circulation us will induce the proprietors to
continue it. There is a very humorous report of the Gawler Agricultural
Society's last dinner, which is not only amusing but strictly correct.
Indeed, from the style of the first number of 'The Bunyip, ' it will, if
carried on in the some manner, undoubtedly prove a great success.
Wednesday 27 February 1895
Much the same features marked the obsequies of the late Mr. Barnet as
have already been recorded concerning those of his friend Mr. Warren —
an immense cortège, consisting of sixty-six vehicles, numbers of Free
masons and Foresters on foot, hundreds of spectators, business
suspended, and a general feeling of sadness. The remains were interred
in the Willaston Cemetery, and the funeral procession left the late
gentleman’s residence, Gawler East, at 4 o'clock. Prior to this the
Foresters held a service at the house, Brother T. Gill, C.R.., of Court
Bushman's Pride, reading the customary address in an impressive manner.
About twenty-five members of Court Bushman's Pride, A.O.F., in regalia,
led the procession. Then came the Rev. Walter Jones trap, followed by
the doctor’s coach. These were succeeded by about thirty-five members of
the Lodge of Fidelity, Freemasons, and a few visiting brothers, all
arrayed in the picturesque regalia of the mystic craft. A pathetic
reflection was that only the day before the departed brother engaged in a
similar function, and carried the identical Bible then in the hands of
Brother W. R. Lewis, and exhibiting a fidelity to his late friend and a
reverence for his privileges as an old Mason, which in all probability
brought on him the illness which terminated so tragically. Immediately
after the Masons was the hearse, and then followed friends and
representative men of the district in great number. Mr. K. E. Bright,
J.P.. and Mrs. McKinlay, unable to attend 'themselves, sent their
carriages. The assemblage at the cemetery was an enormous one, and many
could not get near enough to hear the various services. The Rev. Walter
Jones conducted the principal service, and then the burial addresses of
the Freemasons and Foresters were read by Brother R. K. Thomson, W.M.,
and Brother T. Gill, C.R., respectively. A very large number of floral
tributes wore placed on the coffin. Amongst these were beautiful wreaths
from the Lodge of Fidelity, Freemasons, the employees of the Bunyip,
and the Mayor of Gawler (Mr. E. Lucas, J.P.). Numerous expressions of
sympathy were received from all parts of the colony 'during the day,
including one from the Lieutenant Governor.
Friday 22 January 1875
Provincial Telegrams
Mr.
E. L. Grundy died this evening at 8 o'clock. Great regret is expressed
in consequence, and a general gloom prevails over the town.
Monday 29 January 1900
GAWLER. January 28.
At
about 3 o’Clock this afternoon the shop of Messrs. R Broadbent &
Co., grocers, in Murray-street, was discovered by Councillor Rebbeck,
who was sleeping in his balcony nearly opposite, to be on fire. It had
already obtained a good hold. The alarm was given, and Foreman Morgan,
with a reel and men, was on the spot, and had water playing within two
minute:. The Messrs. Broadbent's shop was the centre of one of the
finest blocks of buildings in Gawler. The 'Bunyip'' Office adjoins them
on the north, and the premises of .Messrs. E. Lucas & Co., drapers,
on, the south. The few people present when the brigade arrived
considered that the block was doomed, but Foreman Morgan attacked the
flames with three lines of hose — one on the ground floor, another on
the upper floor, and the third at the back. The fire had already forced
itself out of the back of the building, but so well did the firemen work
that in less than three-quarters of an hour the flames were practically
extinguished. An unused door_ between '.Messrs. Broadbent's and Lucas's
was destroyed, and the flames had begun to get a hold on the' shop of
the latter. Messrs. Lucas & Co.'s stock, although not damaged much
by fire, was converted into salvage by heat and smoke. Messrs. Broadbent
& Co's 'grocery stock on both floors was practically destroyed. The
adjoining shop, which contained crockery, was uninjured. The roof was
saved from falling in, but the woodwork was well alight. The building
was owned by Mr. Joseph Willcox, of Adelaide, and was insured for £2,500
in the colonial Mutual for £1.000, and in the Liverpool, London, and
Globe, Guardian, and Phoenix for £500 each. Messrs. Lucas &. Co.'s
loss is covered by insurance policies- of £2,000 each in the Colonial
Mutual and National of New Zealand. Messrs. Broadbent &. Co.'s stock
is insured for £1200, but an estimate of the injury is beyond this sum.
The total damage probably amounts to £3,000.Superintendent Booker drove
to Gawler this afternoon, and was very pleased with the work performed
by the brigade.
Thanks
Allen, Vanessa and Margaret discussing the haunting.
Eidolon
Paranormal would like thank Margaret and Vanessa for making this
investigation possible. We are very grateful, and honoured, to be the
first paranormal team allowed to investigate "The Bunyip" office in
Gawler.
Our thanks also for the incredible piece of Gawler, and "The Bunyip" history that you bestowed upon us in the gift of the book "
References
Internet
The Bunyip on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/bunyipnewspaper
The Bunyip Website
http://bunyippress.com.au/
TROVE:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/result?q=gawler
Gawler Town Council Website:
http://www.gawler.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/The_Bunyip.pdf
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunyip
Books and other publications
"T
published by the Bunyip Press
Gawler Sketchbook
Drawings by Maurice Perry
Text by Ian Auhl
published 1973
"History of Gawler 1837 – 1908."
E.H. Coombes
The Gawler handbook
George E. Loyau
When
we recorded this EVP we also captured it on Video Camera - none of the
Investigators nor hosts are speaking at the time this "voice" is heard.
In
this video we present an EVP that sounds like a dog, at the time this
was recorded no dogs were in the vicinity of the building. Both
investigators, and hosts heard two loud bangs but on replay of the audio
we hear a dog bark...
©
2007 - 2014 Allen Tiller
www.eidolonparanormal.net
All content on “Eidolon Paranormal & The Haunts of Adelaide” sites, blog and corresponding media pages (eg Facebook, twitter etc) is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any means or process without the written permission of the author. © 2012, 2013, 2014
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under the copyright act "fair usage" clause.
Some
photo's used here on this site are sourced from The Sate Library of
South Australia, and The National Library of Australia and
http://www.gawler.nowandthen.net.au - all photos are out of copyright
and have no usage restrictions implied.
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