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[title]Scratch beneath the surface of our shiny bright harbourside city and you'll soon realise that even the most gleaming facades hide deep, dark secrets that'll make you eep! *evil laugh* Whahahahahahaaaaa.
Join us – if you dare – on an odyssey through the past. Here are eight of the most spooktacularly fascinating historic stories about Sydney.
The horrors of the Sidney Slaughter House
When Lachlan Macquarie began his term as Governor of NSW in 1810, one of his first goals was to develop a new hospital for Sydney. But the British government refused to fund major public works in the colony, so he struck a deal with rum merchants that allowed them to import 45,000 gallons of the spirit in exchange for them building the ‘Rum Hospital’ (now The Mint). Unfortunately, it became infamous for rudimentary blood-letting practices and gruesome experimental treatments. Overcrowded and with poor ventilation, dysentery was also rife. Hence, the ‘Sidney Slaughter House’ slur stuck.
The bodies buried beneath Town Hall Station
Established by Governor Arthur Phillip and the reverend Richard Johnson in 1792 and expanded by old mate Macquarie in 1812, the Old Sydney Cemetery used to be on the edge of town. These days, it’s right under our feet, every time you pull into Town Hall Station. Technically they exhumed and moved most the rotting residents when a new burial ground was set aside on Brickfield Hill, but bones were still popping up as late as 2007.
The mass grave of the Dunbar Shipwreck
Under the command of Captain James Green, the Dunbar approached Sydney Harbour on the night of Thursday, August 20, 1857. After an 81-day voyage from England, the captain decided to try and dock despite tempestuous weather, leading to a terrible wreck on South Head. Of 122 souls aboard, only able seaman James Johnson survived after a great wave washed him onto the cliffs of the cliffs now known as the Gap. Two-and-a-half days after the ship sank, he was rescued from the ledge. Citizens of Sydney were called upon to identify friends, relatives and business associates as they washed ashore, with the victims buried in a mass grave at Camperdown Cemetery.
The lonely ghosts of Quarantine Station
As we ride through another global pandemic, it’s worth remembering that Manly’s North Head stretch was the sorry site of thousands of poor souls who lost their lives in isolation. Since the 1830s, Quarantine Station was the place they were taken from ships suspected of harbouring disease. The 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak killed as many as 6,387 people in Sydney alone. All of that suffering has left an indelible mark, with many spectres haunting its former cemetery grounds.
The curse of the belching shark
In 1935, the Coogee Aquarium Baths were gifted a tiger shark caught not far from the beach to display proudly on their wall. This being Australia, a few days after the dead beast reached its new home, it belched up an arm belonging to the missing bankrupt Sydney builder, bookie and small-time crook James Smith. But it wasn’t the shark that did it. A post-mortem examination revealed it had been severed prior to entering the water. The Crown murder case that followed collapsed when one of two suspects turned up dead, possibly also murdered, with the infamous Razor gangs suspected.
The flogging of Nance Berryl
The Lady Juliana was one of the more unconventional transportations to the colony. Exclusively bearing women, most were convicted for petty crimes, and many were sex workers by trade. The idea was that they would be married off to men in Sydney to help ‘civilise’ the city. Which didn’t stop them turning the boat into a floating brothel on its way down under. One of the most rambunctious passengers, Nance Berryl, got so steaming drunk one day they popped her in a barrel bottomed-out to try and limit her carnage. It wasn’t enough, and she was flogged 12 times to sober her up.
The hauntings of Jenolan Caves
Prior to European invasion, the First Nations peoples of the Gundungurra nation bathed in the waters of the Jenloan Caves to the west of the Blue Mountains, which they believed had healing properties. Those same people, however, recognised that the caves were a place to be both respected and feared, rarely venturing beyond the mouths of the caverns. Those who venture further often report hearing the sound of women screaming in empty chambers, of children laughing in the Jubilee Cave, and it’s rumoured the ghost of James Wiburd (who worked at the caves for over 45 years) occasionally joins tours.
The stalking of the Blue Mountains
It's not just ghosts who stalk the Blue Mountains. There have been sightings of muscular big cats for nearly 100 years. Rumour has it that the ferocious felines escaped private ownership, or were introduced to the region for reasons unknown. The NSW Department of Primary Industries has undertaken several inquiries into the large number of reports, with varying results. However, most conclude that it is possible, even probable, that there are panthers in them there mountains, so beware.