Ghost stories abound and tales of murder and tragic accidents hark from the early days, when life was harder and people lived and died around the gold fields. Daylesford, a small town in rural Victoria, Australia along with it’s surrounding area, has a wealth of stories, some spooky, some sad, but all interesting.
Locals speak of gold rush murders like the one in 1872, when a miner was murdered and his body was thrown down a mine shaft, unfortunately, for the killer, the body lodged just 30 feet down in the shaft and the murderer was charged and hanged. Ghosts of 2 murdered aboriginal girls are said to haunt the Fir Tree B&B Guesthouse in nearby Trentham, guests have reported feeling their presence and seeing objects move about on their own. The Cosmopolitan Club in Trentham was also said to be haunted by a 12 year old girl, with sightings reported by former owners and guests. Many other hotels in the area have had reports of haunting.
Taking the time to have a look around the local cemetery can provide you with an interesting insight on the history of an area and it’s colourful past. The Daylesford Cemetery has a large monument, to 3 small boys who lost their way in 1867. Two brothers and a young friend went missing in the winter time, searching for goats. A search was undertaken with many volunteers, but to no avail. The bodies were later discovered when a local wood cutters dog found a child’s boot. The bodies of the children were found huddled in a hollow tree.
Nearby Creswick was the scene of Australia’s worst mining accident. The Creswick Cemetery has a stone monument to the disaster where 22 miners lost their lives in 1882 in the Australasia Mine No.2. The already flooded Australasia Mine No. 1, broke in to the mine No.2 and drowned the men working in there.
The Eganstown Cemetery is located just about the Deep Spring Creek. Local’s say ‘ it gives body to the water’ for the bottled mineral water. Of course the most famous story of death in the Spa Region is that of the Picnic at Hanging Rock. The story is of a school trip that goes wrong and culminates in the death of 3 girls and their teacher. The story is fictitious but the setting is not, it is a lovely walk and the rock formations are marvellous. Many people believe the story is based on fact, the book is widely read and has been turned in to motion picture.
Next time you are in the Daylesford area, take a little time out from pampering your body and do a little soul searching.
