Sydney’s Ghostly Past
If you were one of those kids whose favorite part of a campout was being scared out of your wits with campfire ghost stories, (and you haven’t quite grown out of it), have I got a tour for you!
A short ferry ride from the landmark attractions of the Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House is the beachside suburb of Manly. This is where Sydneysiders head for a Sunday outing to enjoy a surf, a swim or a stroll along the picturesque boardwalk of Manly beach. However for those with a ghostly fascination, Manly becomes all the more interesting just after sunset. For just a short 10 minute cab ride from the Manly Wharf, within the Sydney Harbour 
National Park, is the Historic Quarantine Station. From 1828 until as recently as 1973, the crews and passengers of arriving ships into Sydney Harbour who carried infectious diseases, were held in Quarantine at Spring Cove, on Sydney Habour’s North Head. Starting as no more than a rough camp where passengers were required to pitch their own tents, the station evolved over time to include separate hospital, accommodation, stores and quarantine facilities.
During this period, over 11,000 people passed through the Quarantine Station, with sadly over 500 never to leave. The site is home to 3 separate cemeteries where the victims of cholera, smallpox and plague epidemics that made their way to Australia’s shore during the 1800’s are buried.
In order to save the occupants of the Quarantine Station from the distressing sight of their fellow shipmates being laid to rest, burials were completed under the cover of darkness. Fear of infection saw these burials completed in haste and due to the quarantine laws in place, no visitors were allowed into the station, this included member’s of the clergy. These clandestine burials, without the tradition of a religious service, committal or last rights for the dying not surprisingly created legends and myths of unreleased souls in and around the Quarantine Station. It is these stories that provide the backdrop to the gas lamp lead nightly ghost tour over the grounds and through the historic buildings of the Quarantine Station.
The ghost stories come not just from the stations sad past but also from recent tours. But be warned, this not a special affects enhanced, “out of work actor” lead tour. The guides are members of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, who service not just the Quarantine Station but a range of historic sites in and around Sydney Harbour. Given the Australian predisposition to a healthily suspicious nature, the stories are shared in an honest, straightforward yet attention grabbing manner.
One of the first stops on our walking tour is in front of the former Chief Quarantine Officers residence. Repeated sightings have been made of a tweed dressed gentleman standing on this buildings second floor balcony. Tour guides with their back to the residence note how an eerie silence suddenly falls over groups, with all eyes darting to a single spot on the balcony. A regular sighting is also known to occur at the nearby Gatehouse cottage. A tall man in a black hat and cape is often seen in the shadows of the cottage verandah. One of the stations Chief Officers, was a Dr. Reid, a dapper gentleman with a fondness for tweed suits. He was also fond of the Opera, and would prepare for a concert in Sydney by donning an Opera Cape and matching black top hat. On these evenings he would wait for his handsome cab in the shelter of the gatehouse cottage’s verandah. While not a victim of the plague or one of the infectious diseases brought to the Quarantine Station, Dr. Reid lost his life during a collision between a ship and the ferry he was a passenger on one misty evening crossing the harbor. He has also been known to appear in the station’s Morgue, but I will save this particular tale for the end!
The hospital ward is another prime location for unexplainable sightings. Until recently the National Park Service also offered visitors to the Quarantine Station the unique experience of a sleepover on site. This took place in the old hospital building. This activity unfortunately had to been pulled from the schedule; apparently this is not the most restful location in Sydney to sleep!
Locked doors constantly opening in the middle of the night, and sightings of a “floating light” moving from bed to bed, were a tad off-putting to some of the visitors and staff who chose to stay the night. The hospital, like the accommodation facilities, were divided on the same class lines as the visiting ships, with first and second class enjoying a greater comfort than those who had the misfortune to be both ill and from third class or from the ranks of the crew. Another unusual but amusing story from the hospital building comes from a previous nightly tour.
A particularly loud and irritating visitor made a number of disparaging comments about the standard of matrons housekeeping. His annoying interruptions were soon silenced however when he first found himself locked in the hospitals bathroom and then, experienced sharp stabbing pains in his back when he rested on one of the hospital beds. This particular tale was shared in a timely and affective manner by our guide to silence the over exuberant youths on our own tour!
One of the more chilling stops on our walk is the shower block at the wharf entrance to the station. Each new arrival, whether they showed signs of infection or not, were required to go through this decontamination process. A soothing mix of water and fennel (carbolic acid) were the ingredients of this mandatory wash. One of the now retired tour guides (this appears to be repeating occurrence at the Quarantine Station!), experienced a silent, hovering intruder one night after returning to switch off the shower block lights. After calling for a response from this person standing unmoving in the building’s doorway, the guide chose a more confronting approach, running headlong at the doorway, and straight through.
But not all of the stories shared on the ghost tour are so scary, some are just downright funny. Like the young local couple who, in an attempt to find a private beach, moved from one secluded cove to another until they finally wondered into the grounds of the Quarantine Station. In addition to having to deal with the embarrassment of being “discovered” by the station’s staff, they had to endure the additional mortification of discovering the station was in a state of Quarantine and were therefore confined to the station for the duration.
But what of Dr. Reid and the morgue? This is a simple wooden building that makes an ideal setting for the guides to share one of the countless tales of strange and mysterious sightings. I noted through the window that the office section of the morgue had been dressed with a desk, chair and white-coated black-haired mannequin seated at the desk. Glancing back in the window as we were about to depart, I noticed the “mannequin” was no longer there. With no sense of a ghostly experience, it only occurred that I may have experienced something unusual when I noted a portrait of a jet black haired Dr. Reid later in the station’s former smoking room. I can only say I felt I got my money’s worth with this enthralling and unusual night’s entertainment!
Directions: Take the ferry (35 minute journey) or a Jetcat (15 minute journey) from Circular Quay to Manly Wharf. From the Wharf, take a short 10 minute cab ride to North Head and get your driver to drop you at The Gatekeeper’s Cottage at the entrance to the Quarantine Station.
Tours: Ghost Tours are conducted weekly, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. Costs per adult for the 3 hour plus walking tour, including supper is *$27-50. The tour starts 7:30 pm, (8:00 pm during summer daylight saving time).
The tour is essentially a walking tour, including rough walking trails and some steep inclines along darkened paths lead only by gaslight. Solid walking shoes are essential. North Head is an exposed bluff on the entrance to Sydney Harbour and as such is subject to blustery weather. A warm windbreaker is suggested year round for this nighttime tour.
The tour is not recommended for children under 12, however a special “Junior Ghostbusters” tour is held each Friday night for 6-12 year olds. Cost *$13.20 per person, with a request of one adult for each 4 children.
If you wish to enjoy the history and stories of the Quarantine Station during the light of day, the Heritage Tour (suitable for adults and children) is conducted Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon’s from 1.15 - 3.00pm. Cost of the afternoon Heritage Tour is $11-00 for Adults,* $7.70 for Children and *$30.80 for a Family of 2 Adults + 2 Children.
Reservations: Bookings for each of these tours is essential. These can be made through the Sydney Harbour National Park Information Center. Cadmans Cottage, 110 George Street, The Rocks, Phone: 02 9247 5033, Fax: (02) 9241 3303.
Advice: The Tours depart promptly as per the advertised time, so it is recommended that you aim to arrive at least 15-20minutes before the departure time.
*Costs are provided in Australian Dollars.