Williamstown font of wisdom

WHEN the Reverend George Wilkinson preached against the demon drink to the carousing locals of Williamstown, he would not have imagined that his key weapon would become a historic treasure.

The fountain at Nelson Place, outside the Hobsons Bay Visitor Information Centre, is a testament to the Anglican preacher’s 19th century campaign to convert the hard-drinking residents from wine to water.

The gothic fountain was shipped from Scotland in 1876 and has the inscription, “Keep the pavements dry”.

According to Jacqui Travaglia, a guide taking people on historic tours of Williamstown, the area was thick with men attracted to the gold diggings and sly grog dens were rife.

“He died before his dream of converting people to drinking water was realised,” she says.

The fountain is just one of the highlights of the twice-weekly tours, held on Fridays and Sundays until November from the information centre in Commonwealth Reserve. Cost: $8/$6.

For more information and bookings, phone 9932 4310.

http://hobsons-bay-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/williamstown-font-of-wisdom/
Hobsons Bay Leader Local News25 Sep 09 @ 12:50pm by Sasha Shtargot

Altona Investigation

Activity Report : Altona Homestead
Friday, 24 September, 2010
Weather : Cool, slightly hazy, light breeze
Outside Temperature : 7.3 deg C (8pm)
Inside Temperature : see below
Moon Phase : Full Moon

7.30pm – Team arrived at the Homestead to set up equipment
8.30pm – Donna Abrahams, psychic medium arrives.
Activity Log
Donna’s initial impressions of the house was that someone came with her by the name of Glen. She felt the house did not have any earthbound/grounded spirits, but certainly did have free/ungrounded entities present. She felt happiness but also a lot of death - by natural causes. She did not feel anything untoward like murder had occurred here. In all, she felt it was a very peaceful, calm house.

Sitting Room Avg EMF : 0 m/G Avg Temp @ 8pm : 13.5 deg C
One guest in this room became upset, so much so that she had to leave the room.
It was also noted that the mandolin played, with no-one near it.
One group reported a torch falling off a small table near the window. The guest deliberately placed it close to the centre to avoid falling. Tests to try and recreate this were not very successful though the table is slightly unstable.
Whilst in this room, Donna picked up on a strong energy, enough to make her dizzy. In all, she found it a peaceful room. The presence of an elderly lady told of her love of the room as you could see the garden through the window.
One guest, Linda, reported strange stomach sensations (hopefully not as a result of dinner!) and various guests reported experience fluctuating temperatures and the investigator felt a blast of air in her face.

Dining Room Avg EMF : 0.3 m/G Avg Temp @ 8pm : 14.6 deg C
The names James, John and Sarah were picked up in this room.
Details from Sarah came up such as the family having a little brown and white dog, she loved fashion and shoes in the 1850’s and going to the opera, the smell of jasmine or rose perfume, she had red/brown hair and fair skin. She had a white bonnet with pink flowers. She apparently loved the dining room best as it caught the sun during the day.
The names Peg or Meg/Margaret came up, as well as the names Eric, Tom and Louis.
A guest, Bernadette, picked up that there had been a fire. She felt her skin burning.
Cold spots were felt under the table and several people reported feeling sick and a tingling on their legs. A guest, Leah, picked up on the name John (middle name ?) and whilst using glass divination, the glass moved towards a guest, Janice.

Kitchen Avg EMF : 0.5 m/G Avg Temp @ 8pm : 13 deg C
Several names came up during the night – either through guests or via Donna Abrahams, our psychic medium.
It was reported that a female named Sarah – possibly a maid - was heard asking “What are you doing here?”.
It was felt that an aboriginal was hired to work on the property and the names Peter, Bill/Billy and Sam came through.
The name John was also brought forward, and it was picked up that he was a shearer and overseer of the property. His daughter Jane was also picked up. John was described as wearing overalls with a tight grey top, he had a potbelly, a beard, blue eyes and a ruddy complexion.
The names Daisy and Mary were also brought forward, Mary being 13 and having died of typhoid fever.
One guest, Bernadette, was drawn to a particular chair and to the fireplace. Whilst using the dowsing rods, Leah had them spin on request and felt pins and needles in her hands. There was also the feeling of a presence lingering behind her.

Bedroom 1 (master) Avg EMF : 0.2 m/G Avg Temp @ 8pm : 12 deg C
Donna felt a spirit, that of Sarah Langhorne, moving around in this room. She felt a lot of love but also became hot and dizzy. She also felt the presence of a small boy and girl.
One investigator felt a cold spot near the dressing table, temperature registered 13.7 deg C, 1 degree cooler than was measured earlier in the vigil.
One vigil claimed they felt the bed move, though it is noted that he bed does tremble with the slightest movement of anyone sitting there.

Bedroom 2 Avg EMF : 0 m/G Avg Temp @ 8pm : 13 deg C
Two guests in here reported a very peaceful feeling and quite comfortable

Bathroom Avg EMF : 0 m/G Avg Temp @ 8pm : 13.6 deg C


Remainder of House
Foyer Avg EMF : 0.3 m/G Avg Temp @ 8pm : 15.9 deg C
Whilst setting up, before the evening had even begun, one investigator reported that a book that had been standing up on a table had fallen off. No one was moving in the room at the time though the table wasn’t very steady. Several attempts to try to get the book to fall by walking past the table or slightly knocking it proved fruitless.

Ghost of the west

I’m about to join a ghost tour and a black cat has just crossed my path. Should I be worried?
“Now my loves,” says our guide Pauline in a broad Somerset accent, “up there is where a famous opera singer of the 1850s shot himself after losing his voice.”
Dressed in a long black shirt and shawl, lustrous dark hair in ringlets and carrying a wicker basket, Pauline is the epitome of 1800s barrow-girl chic and you can almost hear the clip-clop of horse’s hooves as she speaks.
All of a sudden though, she’s become the daughter of an Irish potato farmer with a perfect sing-song lilt as she uses her voice talents to explain the mix of races that made up the early years of the area.
Melissa and I have tagged along with a group of accountants on an end-of-financial-year piss up for a spooky Lantern Ghost Tour around Williamstown.
And even if you’re a sceptic like me you’ll find this whimsical walk fascinating… and not just for the secret alleys and hidden-away pubs that you’ll discover!
We start at the Steampacket Hotel and as we move on down the street Pauline paints a colourful image of Williamstown’s past, starting with the little backstreet that runs along a ley line. Best described as the lines between ancient sites where paranormal activity is often witnessed, the muddy alley seems an unlikely spot for ghosts to be hanging out, but Pauline assures us photographers usually pick up orbs — or balls of energy believed to be spirits — on their pictures.
Pretty soon though, after exploring the narrow back streets we find ourselves on the main restaurant strip of Williamstown blinking at the suddenly bright lights, looking at the turrets of a “love castle” above a Greek eatery.
“One man was so in love with his wife that he built her a castle; they had a death pact that they would die in each other’s arms,” says Pauline. “Tragically, she broke her neck when horse riding, but she’s often still seen framed in the upstairs window looking sadly out to the street.”
Eagerly, Melissa and I snap away as we pass more allegedly haunted properties, including one whose past occupants were involved in the occult, before trekking through a large boat shed to a real-life pirate’s lair.
This tucked-away pub on the Williamstown Pier is packed with yachty-type revellers enjoying a funky little two-man band — drinks are ordered and any chills up the spine are forgotten as we rest our legs.
But Pauline still has creepy up her sleeve; our next stop is ye olde Williamstown Morgue, a small but imposing bluestone structure where the ghosts of women and children in particular are said to dwell.
“Is anyone brave enough to knock on the door my loves?” Pauline shouts to the chattering group. “Remember that whoever is in there sometimes knocks back.”
I have to admit to a sense of foreboding as one of the brave accountants — egged on by his brave-sounding, but nervously giggling, colleagues — walks forward and boldly thumps
three times.
We wait with baited breath… but nothing happens. Still I’m keen to get out of there.
Our final stop is the lovely old Stags Head Hotel where the ghosts of a former publican, his wife and son are said to stomp across the floor above the dining room.
Having jumped to their deaths after financial ruin many years ago, the ethereal trio still like to play with the living enjoying a drink or two in the bar.
And while this sceptic didn’t have her mind changed about the presence of paranormal activity, I thoroughly enjoyed our very civilised and intriguing tour.
http://www.theauzone.com.au/personal/features/536-ghost-of-the-west.html

Paranormal Investigation Williamstown 1st August 2010

C Blunt Boatbuilder, Williamstown
Date: Sunday 1st August
Time: 7.45pm to 8.20pm
Weather: Rain, cold, dark
Sense approximately 8 spirits present:

1. ‘Arthur’
• White beard
• Walking up and down the shed
• A few of us felt as though he was walking through us

2. The man in the third photo in the office:
• He was wondering what we were doing there
• He doesn’t believe in ghosts

3. George
• In his early 50s
• Linked to a fire at Liston Tennis Courts- feel there used to be sheds there
that burnt down

4. Michael Raymond Starch
• 28 years old
• Came in through the back door from the pier

5. 14 year old called Ruben

6. Children
• Kim saw small people- children in the shed. Believe they came in with him.

7. Other workers- going about their normal business
• Men are all working, not minding us being there and not trying to interact
Layout
• Used to be a door on the left hand side wall
• Used to be a verandah extension on the right hand side wall with door
• Used to a large hand wench/crank on the verandah

Middle of the shed
• The strongest activity of the night occurred in the middle of the shed.
• Most of the group sensed a presence in the same spot- middle of the room
between the saw and boat
• Very cold spot to stand on despite the temperature gauge indicating that it
was warmer than the rest of the room
• Ama and Kim were drawn to the middle of the room where Kim became nauseous
and entered a trance like state.

Other
• Sense barrel making and barrels being rolled across the ground
• Someone hanged themselves at the front, felt the need to look up
• Each time we asked for a ‘sign’ the rain became louder (not it was a rainy,
blustery night)

Kuala Lumpur Coffin Exhibition

This is the first coffin exhibition I have attended and it was well worth the trip to Malaysia. Nestled in the National Museum the exhibition displayed over 39 'coffins' from Malaysia, Thailand, Borneo, India and the Philippines. There were also displays on burial traditions and rituals.

Any burial box can be referred to as a coffin, which means 'basket'. However many refer to a casket(coined from a the term used for a jewlery box) as having four sides and a coffin as having six sides.

Highlights of the coffin exhibition included a 14-karat gold plated Chinese coffin valued at $AUD 200,000 on loan from the Nirvana Memorial Park. The coffin was not dissimilar to the Carl Williams coffin posted over front pages of Australian newspapers in April.

Other highlights included a series of animal shaped coffins from Borneo. Shapes included full scale buffaloes and crocodiles. The buffalo head is symbolic of bearing burdens of the dead, assisting with the passage to the afterlife. Animal shaped coffins house the body of a man, if the cover has no particular shape, then the coffin houses the body of a woman.

Log coffins from Thailand and parts of Malaysia were also on display and typically stood in cliffs such as Coffin Cave.

Jar coffins and tree coffins were on display from indigenous tribes in Peninsular and East Malaysia.

The Rattan Chair coffin was also interesting, bodies would be seated on the chair and exposed to the elements until they rotted and then could easily be shoved into pottery urns.

Malaysia and surrounding regions are rich in archaelogical finds with the earliest evidence of human occupation in Sarawak an 38,000-year-old skull from the Niah Caves.

Friday 13th, the luckiest day of the year???

Do you suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia, or fear of Friday 13th? The Chinese believe it to be a lucky number, considered to bring good fortune but airlines such as Continental, Air France and KLM don’t share in this belief, often jumping rows from 12 to 14. Hotels and hospitals are superstitious, too. Around the world entire floors and wards skip 13 and many also don’t have a 4th floor. Some have removed room numbers like 666.

In numerology 12 is considered a complete number as reflected by 12 months of the year, Jesus’ 12 apostles, 12 hours of the clock, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 tribes of Israel but the number thirteen has always had superstitious connotations due to its irregularity.

13 has often had negative connotations. Judas was the 13th apostle and in ancient Rome, witches gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.

Why Friday?

Friday has been considered an unlucky day since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales, Jesus was crucified on a Friday and there was a mass arrest of all the Knights Templar in France on Friday, October 13, 1307. Some believe Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit on Friday while others believe Abel was slain by Cain on Friday the 13th.

It’s not all negative press for the number 13 though

In Hinduism a feast is organised on the thirteenth day of death for the peace of the departed soul. In Judaism, 13 signifies the age at which a boy matures and there are 13 players in a rugby league team. But in Formula One, no driver has had the number 13 on his car since 1976.

Living in a Williamstown ghost town

BY GOYA BENNETT
21 Jul, 2010 12:00 AM
AFTER dark, a whole other world emerges in Williamstown. Fresh from visiting a coffin exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Jacqueline Travaglia of Lantern Ghost Tours is back at her favourite haunts.

Last week, the 'ghost host' gave the Williamstown Advertiser a personal tour of the town's most paranormal places. We met outside the Visitor Information Centre at Commonwealth Reserve.

Ms Travaglia said the lush parkland was a far cry from what it was in the 1850s. Back then, it was swampland filled with trash, mud, rotting meat and offcuts ... sometimes rumoured to be of the human variety.

Ms Travaglia reveals that keepers of the morgue, which still stands today, would also drain blood and empty bodies into the swamp.

We head to Blunt's Boat Builders in Nelson Place which has been in the Blunt family for 150 years. Immediately, strange phenomena start to occur. The Advertiser's photographic equipment is seemingly gripped by an unseen force and tossed into the sea. Could it be the blustery wind or the ghost of founder Arthur Blunt?

Next door, the Australian Navy cadets are convinced they had an encounter with Mr Blunt.

"The sea cadets contacted us to say they had a seance about a year ago," Ms Travaglia said.


"Apparently, they had the glass jar upside down. They were contacting the spirits and all of a sudden the jar went flying across the table.

"They saw a dark silhouette move across the wall and they all screamed and got on their i-Phones and Blackberries and Blueberries and all that and called their parents to pick them up."

She believes it was Mr Blunt telling them to go to bed and behave themselves.


Across the road lies a building that was once a notorious doctor's surgery. Dr Edward Garland Figg was the health officer and port doctor in Williamstown and employed an early form of anaesthetic known as chloroform.


Unfortunately, the good doctor didn't always get the dosage right. "One of his first patients to use it was a young woman. She went in and said, 'I need some stitches in my hand'," Ms Travaglia said. "Edward said, 'No problem, would you like some opium, alcohol or chloroform?' And she said, 'I'll have the chloroform, thank you very much'.

"So she sniffed the handkerchief, fell asleep and he repaired her hand. Problem was, she never woke up."

Part entertainment, part history lesson, the tours attract the sceptics, the curious, believers and even other professional ghost seekers with their electromagnetic field detectors.

One place where the EGMs went wild was The Steampacket Hotel in Cole Street. It's said to be haunted by opera singer John De Haga, who shot himself with a horse pistol after losing his voice.

Other tour sites include the Yacht Club Hotel, Old Royal Hotel, Oriental Hotel, former Prince of Wales hotel and laneways where cheaper 'ladies of the night' sold their trade.

Ms Travaglia believes the most haunted spot in Williamstown is Point Gellibrand where, offshore, prison hulks held more than 6000 convicts and where, on land, a cemetery stood.

http://www.themail.com.au/news/local/news/general/living-in-a-williamstown-ghost-town/1890945.aspx?storypage=2