What happened
For decades Boggo Road in Brisbane was Queensland's most notorious prison. Executions were carried out on the gallows in No. 1 Division from 1883 to 1913. The last man hanged was Ernest Austin, executed in September 1913 for the murder of eleven-year-old Ivy Mitchell – the last man hanged in Queensland. Ghost stories were told in the gaol from at least the 1930s. Former officers and prisoners believed the building was haunted, though officers rarely said so for fear of being mocked; the veteran officer Ron Darby liked to scare new recruits with a sheet hung on a wall. The most enduring tale was of ‘Ernie’: his ghost was said to pass through the walls and torment new prisoners in their cells. The cellblock sweepers were still passing the story on in the 1980s. Only No. 2 Division survives today, and night tours have been run through it since 1998. Visitors speak of being touched and hearing voices, of a female figure on the upper landings – identified with Ellen Thomson, the only woman executed in Queensland, or with a former matron – and even of a three-legged ghost cat that rubs against their legs.
Witnesses
Former officers and prisoners (stories known since the 1930s), guides and visitors on Brisbane Ghost Tours since 1998.
Explanations and hypotheses
Austin's execution and the history of the gaol are documented; the story of his ghost is classic prison folklore, handed down orally through generations of inmates and officers. In a closed community such stories served real purposes – frightening newcomers, keeping order, relieving tension – as the officers' pranks with sheets show. Modern accounts from tours have no independent confirmation.
Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.
Sources
- Boggo Road Gaol – The Ghosts of Boggo Road Gaol (Boggo Episode 4)
- Visit Brisbane – Ghost Tours Australia – Brisbane
More: Wikipedia (en)