A Haunting at the Bush Inn – New Norfolk - Tasmania

The Bush Inn November 2022
© Allen Tiller

Constructed in 1815, and first licensed as an Inn in 1825, the Bush Inn holds the record for the longest continuously licensed pub in Australia. The name ‘Bush’ comes from DW Bush, the clerk of Reverend Bobby Knopwood who was the first Chaplain in the Tasmanian colony.


The first licensee of the Inn was Ann Bridger, a 54-year-old widow, who arrived in Hobart in 1823 with two daughters and her son Henry. Ann came with ($1,000) in cash and £200 ($400) in ‘various merchandise for investing in agricultural pursuits, and a desire to succeed.[1]

There is a tunnel underneath the Inn that is believed to have been used to transport patients from the Royal Derwent Hospital (the original name of the New Norfolk Insane Hospital) to the Derwent River. The basement is mostly original and still contains a skittle alley.[2]

The hotel was the meeting place for locals and was at one time used as a Methodist Church, with a baptismal font still on display in the Inn. In 1837, Lady Franklin visited the hotel and planted a pear tree. Irish composer, William Vincent Wallace is believed to have written the theme song to his most famous Opera, ‘Maritana’ while staying at the Hotel.
Dame Nellie Melba is another famous visitor, who when finding out ‘Maritana’ was written here, sang the song for hotel guests.

Ghosts

The Bush Inn is alleged to be haunted by the ghost of a young girl. For reasons unknown, she is most often seen and felt in Room 6 of the Inn. It is alleged, but yet unproven, that she either fell or was pushed, down the staircase.[3] The little girl is also one of several ghosts seen walking the hallways of the building.[4]
It is also alleged that guests often hear disembodied footsteps walking through the halls of the building. Others have seen apparitions walk past them in ‘period clothing.' These spirits are seen in rooms, hallways, and the main bar, with reports of them being residual hauntings. Others claim the lady’s downstairs toilet to be haunted, with women reporting paranoia, being touched and seeing an apparition of a woman in the mirror.

 
Owners in 2015, Don and Peter Smith reported to local media about the haunting,

“One time I was here working behind the bar -- there was no one else here -- and the bell up near the kitchen where you order your meal, it rang for no reason at all. I looked up there, and there was no one there.”[5]

It is also claimed the basement is haunted, with reports of shadow people, disembodied voices and other bizarre, otherworldly noises reported.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2022

[1] Geoff Ritchie, The Bush Inn, New Norfolk, On the Convict Trail, (2014), http://ontheconvicttrail.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-bush-inn-new-norfolk.html.

[2] Mick Roberts, The Bush Inn, Tasmania, Time Gents, (2014), https://timegents.com/2014/11/30/the-bush-inn-tasmania/.

[3] Leah McLennan, The terrifying story behind this haunted hotel, Travel – News.com.au, (18 Oct 2015), https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/travel-stories/the-terrifying-story-behind-this-haunted-hotel/news-story/6c68647bfa43d83f763770559bd8ccf4

[4] Andrea Beattie, ‘Brothers Raise a Glass to Pub's Ghostly Residents’, Huff Post, (23 Oct 2015), https://www.huffpost.com/archive/au/entry/ghost-hotel-business_n_8344186

[5] Andrea Beattie, ‘Brothers Raise a Glass to Pub's Ghostly Residents’, Huff Post, (23 Oct 2015), https://www.huffpost.com/archive/au/entry/ghost-hotel-business_n_8344186

 

A Haunting at 6 Henry Street Richmond– Former Richmond Hotel - Tasmania

 

This hotel was erected in 1838 using convict labour, with Lawrence Cotham as the first publican. After it closed, it became a guest house. And is now a private home.

 In 1857, Mr Fenner of Orielton was staying at the Richmond Hotel while he served jury duty at the Richmond Quarter Sessions. Taking a break from court, Mr Fenner was eating at the hotel when some food became stuck in his throat. Dr Coverdale was called, but Fenner choked to death in the hotel.[1]

 In December 1872 50-year-old bullock driver, Edward Palmer knocked off work, received his pay from his boss, Askin Morrison and went to the Richmond Arms to have a drink and wind down. He had a few drinks and decided to stay for dinner. He sat down to eat and suddenly died. An inquest found he died of a heart attack.[2]

In March 1987, the old pub was for sale. The Mercury Newspaper featured the headline “like to own an old pub with a resident ghost – one which is said to turn the lights out each night?” [3]

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2022

[1] 1857 'LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 23 July, p. 2. , viewed 17 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8783628


[2] 1872 'MISCELLANEA.', The Cornwall Chronicle (Launceston, Tas. : 1835 - 1880), 30 December, p. 2. (SUPPLEMENT TO THE Cornwall Chronicle.), viewed 17 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66028755


[3] March 1987, Mercury newspaper

Eaglehawke Neck and Pirates Bay Lookout - Tasmania

 

 Eaglehawke Neck and Pirates Bay Lookout

 - Tasmania

 Eaglehawk Neck is a 100-meter sandbar connecting the Tasman Peninsula to the Forestier Peninsula this area was home to the infamous Dog Line, which stretched from Pirates Bay across the Isthmus and into Eaglehawk Bay.

Eaglehawk Neck Bay had its own officers’ quarters and at its busiest had an officer, sergeant and 25 soldiers stationed. There was a customs hut, sentries tower, storehouses, guardhouses, and barracks. All that remains today is the Officers’ Quarters.

The Officer's Quarters were eventually turned into a private home. It is the oldest wooden military building still standing in Australia dating back to 1832.

 People have reported the sounds of phantom dogs growling here. There have also been reports of odd noises in the building and lights turning on and off of their own volition.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2023

  

A Shot of Spirits: Ep 16: Oak Lodge Tasmania

Oak Lodge was built between 1831 and 1842 by Henry Buscombe.
Oak Lodge has a plethora of ghosts. Volunteers and visitors have witnessed full-bodied, and partial-bodied apparitions. The spirit of a young lady has been witnessed climbing the stairs.

 

A Shot of Spirits: Ep 19 - Kelly’s Steps - Tasmania

Kelly’s Steps at Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania are steeped in history…and ghosts!

                                              

 

A Haunting at Oak Lodge - Richmond, Tasmania

18 Bridge Street 

Oak Lodge was built in 1831 by Henry Buscombe, the younger brother of James Buscombe.[1] The property was sold in 1843 to Captain James Richard Booth. A highly regarded Royal Navy Captain who commanded the H.M.S. Tricuno. Booth’s brother, Charles O’Hara Booth was the former commandant of Port Arthur. In his time at Richmond, James Booth was a magistrate and Churchwarden at St Luke’s Anglican Church.[2]

Oak Lodge was sold to Reverend David Galer in 1855. It was sold again in 1880 to William Stevens and his sister, widow Mary Bedgood. Mary stayed in the house until 1909 when it was sold to Arthur Oglivy. Oglivy rented the property to an American doctor, Dr William Goodwin Chadbourne Clark. Clark used the Lodge for his medical practice until retiring in 1947. 

In 1962, Oak Lodge became the property of the Horsfall sisters. In 1998, Muriel Horsfall donated the property to the National Trust to be a museum. In 2002 it opened as Oak Lodge Museum. Miss Horsfall died in 2008 aged 102. 

Ghosts:

Oak Lodge is alleged to contain a plethora of ghosts. Volunteers and visitors have claimed to witness full-bodied, and partial-bodied apparitions. It has been alleged that the spirit of a young lady was witnessed ascending the stairs. There are claims that one spirit likes to grab people on the arm, and the same spirit may be responsible for a ghostly hand that slides up the inside of people’s thighs.

Some people have claimed to be pushed or pulled as they walked through the building, and yet others claim a spirit has played with their hair! There are also claims of disembodied voices, often calling out swear words.




© 2023 Allen Tiller

[1] Peter MacFie, A Social History of Richmond, (2017), p. 25.

[2] ‘Oak Lodge … and the incredible stories it can tell …’, Tasmanian Times, (2013), https://tasmaniantimes.com/2013/10/oak-lodge-richmond-linzo/, accessed 16 May 2022.

The Haunting of Kelly's Steps - Battery Point - Tasmania

 

The Haunting of Kelly's Steps - Battery Point -

Tasmania

Kelly's Steps - Salamanca Place
Photo Allen Tiller 2022

Constructed in 1840 by the adventurer James Kelly, these steps were carved from the cliff face to allow workers to get to Salamanca Place and the wharf faster. [1]

 Captain Kelly circumnavigated Tasmania (then Van Diemen’s Land) in a whaleboat and discovered Port Davey and Macquarie Harbour. He was a well-respected whaler in Tasmania and became incredibly wealthy through his whaling activities. By 1842, Kelly was bankrupt, his wife and seven of his 10 children were dead.  He later was employed by Tasmanian Port Authorities. He died aged 67 in 1859. Ironically, Kelly's eldest son was killed by a whale![2]

Kelly’s Steps were notorious for assaults and other nefarious activities, hidden away from prying eyes. Jan Scott who grew up on Kelly Street in the 1950s stated,

“Kelly’s Steps were spooky to us at nighttime. We would go down in the dark. We would run up there and shout “Let’s go!”. There was always blood there – a lot got assaulted there.… You had to learn to run fast if you were going up there…that’s how we learnt to run I think – Kelly’s Steps and St David’s Park!” (– Jan Scott talking about her childhood in the 1950s and 60s)

 

On 31 October 1863, labourer, John Dunn fell down the steps and died ten days later in the local hospital.[3]  In 1926 Hannah Mollross, aged 41, who lived at 35 Kelly Street, allegedly had an accident on Kelly’s Steps that led to her having a miscarriage. She was taken to hospital and had surgery but died the following day.[4]
 It was discovered during her autopsy that she had had an illegal abortion and that the accident on the steps was a cover-up to hide the crime. The abortion had been botched, and Mollross died from blood poisoning.

Kelly’s steps are alleged to be haunted by numerous ghosts, of which no one knows their identities. Shadow people have been seen here, and the ghosts of wharfies!

© 2022 Allen Tiller

[1] ‘Kelly’s Steps’, Battery Point Community Association Inc, (2021), https://www.batterypointwalk.com.au/locations/kelly-street/


[2] 'CAPTAIN KELLY', World, (1 November 1922), p. 6. , viewed 27 Sep 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article190273194


[3] 'THE REGATTA.', The Mercury, (14 December 1863), p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8823154


[4] 'MARRIED WOMAN'S DEATH', The Mercury, (28 June 1926) http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29449270

 The Oatlands Commissariat - Tasmania

Constructed in 1827, was built to securely house the provisions for the military and convict establishment at Oatlands. Learn more about the restoration project here: Oatlands Commissariat Restoration Project: https://www.facebook.com/oatlandscommissariat/

There is no evidence that this building is haunted, I am including it here as we visited in 2022 with Paranormal Holiday, and I wanted to place the photos somewhere :)

Photos: Allen Tiller © 2022