Ghosts, paranormal activity and everything that goes bump in the Bundaberg North Burnett region night...
1. The Original Bundaberg Cemetery
When it comes to cemeteries, eerie presences and strange nightly encounters are almost a guarantee. While it may no longer resemble the headstones and green pastures that it used to, Bundaberg's Original Cemetery used to reside in the heart of Bundaberg on a block bordered by Woondooma, Woongarra, Maryborough and McLean Streets between 1869 -1882. Travelling back to 1879, the town of Bundaberg was quickly expanding with the cemetery becoming the centre of town and locals expressing their distaste for the landmark that was quickly becoming an eyesore. After a correspondence letter was filed to council in 1879, it was decided that the site needed to be removed along with the buried. With the value of land and cost for moving the gravesites unable to be agreed upon, to this day there are no records as to who, if anyone, was appointed to move the bodies, and the only recorded statement from 1882 being that the removal of bodies had been completed...But who was really left behind?
2. The White Lady of Gooburrum
If you're from Bundaberg, you may have heard whispers of a female ghost who haunts the town of Gooburrum. From bedtime visits to unexplainable shows of light appearing throughout the night, if you're staying in the area some say the White Lady will visit you at the end of your bed after a hard day at work.
3. Apple Tree Creek Memorial Hall
For years tales have been told from locals and visitors alike of a gentleman dressed in smart attire appearing at Apple Tree Creek Memorial Hall when the town is experiencing a chilly morning. Some have said to have felt a crowd like presence when in the empty hall, almost as though people were dancing around them in a waltz-like dance.
4. Grand Hotel Childers
After surviving a disastrous fire in 1902 that destroyed almost the entire town of Childers, you would think the Grand to be a good luck charm for the town, but this was not always the case. In the years following the fire, tragedy struck at the Grand, with a woman rumoured to have hung herself in one of the rooms, and a man dying after being thrown from a landing after he snitched on an illegal betting ring.
Over the years publicans and guests of the hotel have reported hearing the ghost, nicknamed 'Luke', wandering the halls, walking up and down the stairs, and opening locked doors. A woman in 1997 claimed to have seen a man dressed in black and white, turn of the century clothing, in the linen room, could this have been Luke? A visitor once noticed that she had scratch marks on the back of her legs after walking up the stairs, as if someone had inflicted the injuries on her. Many other visitors have reported waking up feeling like someone had their arm draped across them, no one else was in the room.
(Credit: Jan Smith)
5. Moncrieff Entertainment Centre
Every theatre has a ghost and the Moncrieff Entertainment Centre is no exception. Albeit a friendly ghost, when things go bump in the night it's guaranteed to send a shiver down your spine. The Moncrieff's ghost, who reportedly likes to move things around, untie ropes and hangs out in the long narrow hallway backstage and enjoys watching side stage, is rumoured to be the ghost of, larger-than-life, manager Pat Crowe who passed away in 1999 and just could not give up his love of theatre.
6. Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
For those who grew up in Bundy a school excursion to the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, or as it's more affectionately known, BRAG, was always rostered into the school term. Every year, no matter the grade, there was always one kid, whether genuinely intrigued or eager to stir up trouble, who would tell the all-important tale of the green lady who haunts the stairwell of BRAG. Whether there is any truth to this ghost, or just a way to keep children from playing on the old stairwell, we will never know.
(Credit: Okayzara)
Before it became the beautiful, family-friendly resort that it is today, Lady Elliot Island history is scattered with flickers of darkness and despair. Lady Elliot Island isn't the only lady on the island with two female ghosts roaming the island at all hours of the night. The first is Phoebe Phillips, the daughter of the lighthouse keeper who caught pneumonia and died at the age of thirty. Many visitors have claimed to see her.
The most active ghost is that of Susannah who married Thomas McKee and had four sons. When the family moved to Lady Elliot she found the living conditions unbearable and when her youngest son went off to boarding school she could not handle the isolation any more. In April 1907 she put on her best clothes and jumped off the old guano-loading jetty below the lighthouse and died. Her husband buried her beside Phoebe Phillips when she washed ashore, trapping her in the place she hated the most. The ghost of Susannah was first spotted by lighthouse keeper Arthur Bumpton and his daughter Margaret in 1930 when they spotted a female figure dressed in turn-of-the-century clothing walking between the lighthouse and the cottages behind it.
When Arthur and his daughter left the island the captain of the ship they were on was showing them old photos of people who had once lived on Lady Elliot Island. They both identified Susannah McKee in one of the photographs as the lady they had seen on that night some 10 years earlier, 30 years after her death.
(Credit: Nathan White Images)
8. The Old Bundy Tavern
A cornerstone of the Bundy pub scene the Old Bundy Tavern has had its fair share of paranormal encounters. A worker once reported feeling a strong presence beside her and heard doors opening and closing as she worked alone upstairs. When she asked her colleagues later if anyone had gone up there they all denied it and it was discovered that two female staff had died in their rooms in the upstairs area in the early 1900s and are rumoured to roam the halls trying to finish the job they started.
9. Bundaberg Ring Road
The ring road ghost, probably Bundy's newest ghost, has been reported by many drivers as a mysterious motorcycle light following them. When I grew up the story was of an old-fashioned man riding a bicycle beside your car as you drive along the quiet, eerie, late night road.
10. Smiths Crossing
Bundaberg's most expensive paranormal activity, the Smiths Crossing encounter, has locals reporting that a girl was once hung from a tree at Smiths Crossing and if you park under it you will get a dint in the roof of your car. Try explaining that to your insurance company!
(Credit: Chrono2k)
Know any more ghost stories, or experienced some paranormal activity yourself? Comment below.
UPDATED October 27th 2020
