Haunted Williamstown: The Woman in White

Williamstown did not have the best reputation in the 1850s, it was jam packed with young men searching fame and fortune, convicts, bushrangers and ladies of the night. However, the gold money did bring considerable wealth to the area and in the 1880s Williamstown became very fashionable. ‘The Front’, Nelson Place, was the center of commerce and fashion. Craigantina’s building, corner of Nelson Place and Thomson Street was home to Williamstown Coffee Palace where Fred Woods, proudly prepareds his pastries for afternoon tea and gand balls.

'Craigantina', comprises three shops and residences designed by WE Wells and constructed in 1886 for John Harker Craig, a prominent citizen and Councilor of the city.

These buildings are home to numerous ghost sightings, believed to be Tina, the beloved wife of Craig for whom he built a beautiful castle for the couple to live in. Tina is often see peering out from the top floor windows to passerbys. She has a sad, forlorn look on her face. She has also been seen inside the upstairs residences by many occupants. One young lady remembers living there as a little girl in the 1980s and often being visited be a beautiful lady in white who would sit on the end of her bed and just as qucikly vanish. Some of the residents have seen the woman in white sitting in the loungeroom, when approached, she vanishes. On a recent ghost tour one of the guest's watches suddenly fell in front of the Craigantina's building. The strange thing was it hadn't been working earlier in the afternoon but it lay on the ground displaying the correct time and working perfectly. It was lying in several pieces but wasn't broken. A young woman on another tour saw a hand against the window on the top floor. Some people feel sorrow as they walk past the premises. We all feel that a woman in white, Tina Craig, is keeping an eye on us.

**Copyright Lantern Ghost Tours 2010**

Haunted Williamstown: The Oldest House

Dating back to pre 1842, the house at 43 Aitken Street is one of Melbourne's oldest houses and represents the first settlement in Melbourne. It would have been one of the first houses built, with many dwellings of the period being temporary tents. It is believe to be pre fabricated. During the 1850s goldrush there was a shortage of builders and many people brought their homes from Europe.

The land was first documented in 1837. James Cain bought it in 1841 and then sold it to William Pope in 1842. William and Clara Pope lived here, during which time Clara became a widow and moved out in 1867. In 1878 it passed into the hands of Thomas Pope. By 1890 the house was owned by William Stone. In more recent history the property has been with the Page family since 1964. The current owner, Mr Page has applied for a demolition permit.

I have received many reports of sightings of a woman in white. She is small, frail and elderly and is seen hanging washing on the line (which no longer exists) in the garden and sitting by the fireplace inside. She keeps to herself and seems to be performing her daily routines. We believe her to be Clara Pope, who was one of the first people to reside in the house. Many people have expressed their concern to me over what will happen to poor Clara when the house is demolished. She seems to be very attached to the fireplace so I feel she will follow the fireplace to its new location.

**Copyright Lantern Ghost Tours 2010**

Haunted Williamstown: The Prince of Wales

I have been running ghost tours around Williamstown for almost a year now and I can't believe how many Williamstown residents have been coming forward with their own ghostly encounters and just how many experiences we are having on the tours.

*The Titanic Theater Restaurant (Old Prince of Wales Hotel) Williamstown

The surgeon John Wilkins owned the origial 15 room hotel from 1858 until 1873. As with many of the hotels in the 1800s, it's hotel cellar was also used as a makeshift morgue and the bar was frequently used for coroners inquests. William Wilkins, presumably his son, acquired the hotel in the 1870s, then it was owned for a short time (1877-1880) by George Stanway. Between 1880 and 1902 the owner was S. Abraham until 1890. Some of the longest serving publicans were Henry Trump (1858, 1869- 1872), Patrick Brodie (c1883-1889) and Henry and Amelia Fonseca (c1873-1882)

I have recieved numerous sightings of a "short, round, balding man who looks Maltese or Italian in descent". He looks shrewd and busy, running around the outside and downstairs section of the old Prince of Wales hotel. We believe he is the ghost of Henry Fonseca. He is believed to be of Portugese Jewish descent and was s shrewd businessman who used to plan 'power outages' so he could pickpocket partons. The Prince of Wales for sometime was the most popular pub in Williamstown but at the end of Henry's management, numbers dwindled due to power outages.

The laneway next to the building is also haunted by two prostitutes circa early 1900s, believed to be called Ann (several indepedent reports of this name) and Roslyn (only one report of his name). Several people have reported they feel the ladies were pushed to their death from the windows and are still wearing white night dresses, makeup and lavendar perfume. On almost every tour we experience the smell of lavendar perfum waft by us, as though someone is wearing the perfume and walking past. We have also had many unusual photos of orbs and strange shadows down this lane. One group flet they were followed all the way to Thompson Street by one of the ladies.

**Copyright Lantern Ghost Tours 2010**

References

http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/heritage/15143