Trial Bay Gaol and Charlie - Arakoon, NSW, Australia - Australian Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The sign is on the right-hand side of the entrance to the Gaol, at the edge of the car park. Under the 'heading of', Trial Bay Gaol is the following transcription:

"Trial Bay Gaol was used as an internment camp from 1915-18 and following WW1 a caretaker was installed. The Gaol was subsequently stripped of all buildings and movable materials un 1922. During the 1930's and up until the 1960's Aboriginal people camped within the Gaol walls. Through the 1960's and later they camped on the lower area where the camping is now located.

'See, they had a dungeon down underneath.' © Aunty Zona Moran

"Yeah, I mean you could go in the Gaol because we used to roam around there and on the walls we'd put our initials… but now you've got to pay for it." © Aunty Shirley Kelly.

"They had a big well, you know … when they'd camp in there that's how they got their fresh water … we used to go down in that dungeon, we used to go poking around." © Aunty Shirley Kelly

With an extension of the title, it becomes: Trial Bay Gaol and Charlie, with the following narrative:

"The legend of "Charlie the ghost" is very strong among the local Aboriginal people. His reputation seems to have originated during the period of Aboriginal camping following the closing of the Gaol. Widely thought to be a previous inmate, Charlie is a reality within local Aboriginal tradition. Aboriginals have strong spiritual traditions and they accept the idea that the spirit of a German prisoner is still around here."

'I know that there's a tree down there and if you climb it you'll get chucked out of it. I don't know where it is (and) Aunty Zona didn't know. It's got to do with Charlie the ghost. All I know is he might have been a 'fella' there, and inmate at the Gaol down there at the time. That's what I heard. He's roaming around there, he's still there, people feel his presence. And like I said that tree, you climb it you get chucked out of it.' [© Cadan Grahame Quinlan]

'Well there was a lot from Burnt Bridge that used to come down. Well even with us, I mean my Auntie's family used to come down. Gloria, my cousin, she was about 18 months old and they had a tent there. In the night they could hear her crying like something dragged her out and the she was outside when they found her. You ask Fred, because Charlie grabbed hold of Fred up here.' [© Aunty Shirley Kelly]

'So we walked back from the end of the beach where the lighthouse is, back this way, and Charlie the ghost, he used to come out there. The uncles told me that my grandmother used to pin their pyjamas to her night dress so she could feel if they being pulled out of the tent because Charlie used to come out to camp and poke at them. Yeah, she'd feel them tugging and think, 'what's going on here?' And then there was always her sweeping around the tents too.' [© Eddie Moran]

Visited: 0924, Sunday, 29 October, 2017

Age/Event Date: 1915-18; 1922 Type of Historic Marker: Plaque only Type of Historic Marker if other: Plaque with photos Historic Resources.: Trial Bay Gaol volunteers Related Website: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please submit your visiting log with a picture of the object. Also include some interesting information about your visit.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.