The thing I really love about this property is its diverse history. There aren’t many locations we run these events at which have the diversity this property has.
 
History as a snapshot
 
It started out as a family home/farm, known as Overdale.
 
In World War 2 the property was used as a Prisoner of War camp for Italian prisoners. It is said that these Prisoners of War had free reign and were permitted to come and go, and that they still have many descendants in Wagga Wagga – Italian Stallions indeed!
 
In 1955, Frank Leahy died, and for some reason, cut his family out of his Will and left the property to the Nursing Sisters of the Little Company of Mary. The house served as a religious retreat, and basically a home for unwed mothers - which would explain the baby crying we sometimes hear in the middle of the night.
 
In 2004, the current owner, a wonderful lady named Kate, began the transformation of the property into the beautiful buildings you see today. She has added so many incredible touches to the house, such as stained glass windows and chandeliers, purchasing beds from an old hospital for the accommodation, and turned the original servant’s quarters into the Rose and Willow Restaurant, which has the most AMAZING food!
 
Ghosts? What ghosts!
 
Kate, her family and her staff are all convinced that Roseleigh is incredibly haunted, and APPI agrees with her. They have all experienced repeated things, and know the spirits by name.
 
Frank lurks around the property. Frank was the charming gentleman who disinherited his family and gave his property away to the church – surely he lingers in guilt. He shatters glasses in the function room, makes tables collapse simultaneously, walks through walls, pushes people, pulls hair and just acts like a mean spirited man (pun intended).
 
The last time we were at the property, we were in the chapel conducting a Blind Calling vigil. The chapel is actually right next to where Frank died. At one point during the night we heard a man talking, which sounded like it was right outside the chapel. We knew for a fact that there was nobody out there.
 
The stables are my favourite place on the property, because so much has happened there! The very first time we investigated Roseleigh, we went a day early and stayed in the stables the night prior to our public ghost hunt. We were the only people to stay in there. We shared rooms, two in each room… and the stuff which happened still blows my mind!
 
I shared a room with Steph. And whilst I slept like a log that night, Steph got so harassed she hardly got an hours sleep. She was poked and prodded and had something scratching the wall next to her, but most noticeably, she was poked in the heel by something sharp.
 
At the same time, Jax left a digital voice recorder in the hallway, running all night. Using the sound waves on the computer, the next day we listened back to the areas where there were spikes of sound. We heard doors slamming shut, further up the hallway (where nobody was staying), the sound of furniture being dragged, a baby crying (not even joking), little footsteps running up and down the hallway, and, scariest of all, a growling sound right into the recorder.
 
All in all, Roseleigh is most definitely one of our most haunted locations, and you really should visit it! If you like to extend your stay, and sleep in haunted accommodation, you can’t get much better than around $50 a night!!!  And also – definitely book in at the Rose and Willow restaurant because their food is second to none, and last winter they had the most divine Hot Buttered Rum!
 
Our next ghost hunt at Roseleigh is on Saturday 6 July 2019. Please join us in a spooky, entertaining night!
 
 

The casual observer entering through the front gates and walking through the manicured gardens will firstly observe the old brick and sandstone buildings. The impressive building in the centre has its own bell tower and was thought to be designed by convict architect Francis Greenway and completed in the late 1820’s, early 1830’s. This building is flanked on both the left and right by equally historic and stunning buildings, unfortunately known (by the rather dull and bland names) as building A and building C.
 
Behind these buildings are a cluster of other historic buildings now used as lecture and demonstration rooms, with the newest of the buildings on the campus being K block, built in the 1970’s.
 
However, this beautiful site has a very dark past, as Peet Banks, founder of the Australian Paranormal Phenomenon Investigators, or APPI Ghost Hunts & Tours, explains to the guests assembled there on Saturday night, 12 December 2015. As Peet demonstrates, Liverpool TAFE commenced as a convict hospital, then over the years it was used at various times as a poor house, benevolent society, asylum for the aged and infirm and NSW state hospital, before being converted into a place of technical education. Peet goes on to further tell of the human sadness, misery and suffering that was experienced on the site under the various forms of use over the years.
 
The group is then split into two and are then lead to different areas of the campus to do various activities. Fellow volunteer John and I head out with Jacqueline’s group to firstly hear some more about the history of the campus, then onto C block for a demonstration of how paranormal detection devices work. Then our group heads to what is commonly known as “the dungeon”, which is situated under the grand main building. Here the contrast between the beautiful old main building and its dark past starts to be revealed.
 
The dungeon is entered via a non-descript external door at the back of the building. After going down a few steps, there is a corridor that runs the length of the building going to the right and the left. At the end of the corridor that runs to the right, there is a chamber where the old mortuary use to be. Walking down the corridor to the left, you pass the three old cells that were used to lock up and punish problem or uncontrollable convict patients. The cells have no natural light or ventilation, and when the doors were locked shut the hapless prisoners would have been in total darkness. At the end of the corridor is another chamber similar to the mortuary chamber which we are told was originally the officers’ mess.
 
In the mortuary chamber, Anne tries table tipping with no success, but then tries using an upturned glass on a table, where contact is quickly made with a little girl called Mary who we find out came to Australia by ship from France around the 1850’s.  Mary was able to tell us she was aged 10, but didn’t go to school so had not learned her numbers or letters, so it was difficult to ask her any more questions - but she was quite happy to move the glass around the table in response to the group talking and singing to her.
 
Next we went to K block, the most modern building on campus having been built in the 1970’s but the building with the “weirdest” activity. K block is built on the old nurses’ quarters, and there is much reported activity here, including a little girl seen by many named Helen. Here is what I personally saw and experienced (which has been condensed):
 

• Two guest were on level three and looked very unwell – when I approached them the girl told me she had suddenly developed a splitting headache and her partner said his whole body had developed “pins and needles” – I advised them they needed to leave the building immediately and escorted them downstairs and out into the fresh air. As far as I am aware they did not return.
• When Suzanne and Lynda were doing the psychic session in the level 2 corridor, I looked down the end of the corridor where I (thought) I saw a dark shape suddenly lean out from the right side and then suddenly move back, like someone having a quick look to see what was going on. Lynda went to have a look, only to tell me there was no doorway or stairs on that side of the corridor, only a brick wall. However, I am willing to concede this may have been my mind playing tricks, unlike the previous week at Parramatta Goal. On that occasion, I was in cell block 6 with Jenny running the table tipping at one end of the ground floor when I looked to my left and saw a dark solid shape move across the cellblock down near the entrance. I continued to look down thinking ”did I just see what I thought I saw?” when the guest sitting next to me, who was seated so she faced down the cell block,  looked at me staring down the floor and said “so you saw it too?” I turned and looked at her and said “what did you see?” and she replied “a dark shape move suddenly across the floor from down there”. Great stuff – 100% confirmation that my imagination was not running wild as I had an independent witness who saw exactly what I saw!
• At the psychic session whoever was responding did not like John and I being in the area, and we left, only to return a short time later. This entity had been correctly getting the first letter of the groups’ given names right, so it was decided to provide a real test. John asked the entity to tell the group the house number where he lived. The number 8 was tagged, and then after a little while the number 3. John “officially” declared his house number was indeed number 83.
• Suzanne asked me to watch a door just near where the session was being conducted. The locked door had been shaking and the door handle moving – but nothing happened while I watched it.
• A guest by the name of James was standing beside me at the end of the corridor on level 2 when suddenly the air at my (sitting) chest height level – James’s hand level -  started getting cool, despite it being quite stuffy and warm there. The guest sitting next to me put her hand next to mine and agreed the air there was quite cool, and then her friend put her hand in the area and said it was quite warm. When I told her to move her hand up to where our hands were she agreed yes, that area was quite cool. Then James advised that his left hand was feeling pins and needles, and that a little girl was holding his hand. He said she wanted him to walk down the corridor with him, so he set off with me watching him closely. James came back and told me about two thirds of the way down the corridor the little girl suddenly disappeared, and an overwhelming sadness came over him and he began to cry. He told me he thought the little girl was named Shirley and he thought she was about 6 years old. He then advised he had a 6 year old daughter. Later that night I mentioned this to one of the APPI team who confirmed the time before last they were there exactly the same thing had happened to another guest.
• Later on in the night, I was talking to a husband and wife in the corridor on level 2 when suddenly the lady said she has just been “poked” quickly on the upper arm three times. I was talking to both of them and her husband had his hands folded. Then she pulled up her sleeve which revealed two large bandages that were holding a nicotine patch in place. It was almost like a nurse prodding her to ask what her “injury” was or checking to see if the “injury” was hurting????
• I was talking to two guests just outside K block who reported that they could distinctly smell “raw sewerage” there and down near our assembly area. I could not smell anything, but I have a bad sense of smell.

 
Anyhow, many of the guests soon left so John and I decided to have a look around by ourselves and make sure any remaining guest where ok. We entered B Block, the main building, and as John was heading up the staircase to go to level 1 I asked him to be quiet – I thought I heard a piano being played coming from somewhere. John then informed me there was a piano in the room where Peet first introduce the guests to the campus, known as the Music Room, where music had been heard coming from. However, I never knew there was a piano in the room, and was not aware of what “type” of music people reported hearing.
​
We made our way to C Block and at the very end of the verandah on the top level a guest by the name of Brooke and another male guest had K2 devices that were “responding” like nothing I have seen before, especially outdoors. John and I looked around to see if there was anything that could be giving off such a strong EMFs, but with no success. Brooke and the other guest had used the K2 and the ghost box to make contact with a lady she thought was named Barbara, who either jumped or threatened to jump from that part of the balcony after falling pregnant and having been committed by either her father and/or lover. John and I both agreed we have never seen a K2 device respond so strongly.

Then Brooke, John and I went into the room at the end of the building right behind where Brooke was standing on the balcony. The table tipping had been set up and we were advised by the group leaving they had had great responses. Brooke, John and I tried the table tipping where we got an immediate response, except the table kept tipping onto my lap. Also, whoever was tipping the table would not move it back into the start position – I had to do this. No matter how many times we requested the table be tipped towards either Brooke or John, it kept coming to me, even when I was the only one touching the table. I think I know the reason why.

So soon it would be dawn, so John and I decided to head back to K block for one last time where we sat for 20 minutes or so by ourselves on level 1. We heard banging’s from up on level 2 which had been happening all night, so decided to do one last check, which revealed nothing, so we headed back to the assembly area to help pack up.
On the drive home I again found I had much to think about, but I realised I had become a bit more “comfortable” (brave maybe?) walking around active sites then I was when I first started out with the APPI crew. Maybe I was becoming accustomed to this stuff? Now how do I just put this on my resume?

Ross Downie - 15 December 2015.

[Note from blogger Ross – I am sorry this is a bit long but there was so much activity at Liverpool TAFE this is just a summary of the activity that happened – in fact, I had to take a few days and make notes of the various things that happened as I gradually recalled them. There were many more occurrences I heard about but did not see or experience so I have tried to just report on the things that happened to just to me – but Liverpool TAFE is by far the most active place I have been to with the APPI crew to date. The next day I came across the following article – see if you can spot the reasons for the headaches suffered by many of the APPI guests and the reason for the strong smell of “sewerage” as sensed by some guests
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/south-west/former-fbi-investigator-on-the-hunt-for-ghosts-at-liverpool-tafe/story-fngr8hxh-1227377854235

**editors note - the article Ross refers to is the investigation APPI held with Ben Hansen from Fact or Faked: The Paranormal Files.

Ghosts of Casula has been produced as a documentary for the person with a serious interest in paranormal investigation and the techniques used, and the results are outstanding.

This documentary, filmed over five days, is centred in and around the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, previously the Liverpool Power Station, in south west Sydney. Expertly produced by Peet Banks, founder of the Australian Paranormal Phenomenon Investigators, or APPI for short, details the techniques used, both modern and old, to conduct a scientific investigation of a building which generates much paranormal activity, and the results are sure to leave you amazed.

You will also see real life visitor experiences when APPI conduct a ghost tour of the Arts Centre, and hear about the two most famous residents, young Alma and Crispy, both with tragic stories. The final scene will have you wishing you were there to ask the questions the group should have asked!

Ghosts of Casula is an expertly produced documentary that will show you the techniques used by the professional paranormal investigators and is meant to be both thought provoking and confronting. This documentary is a must see for those with a serious interest in the paranormal and how investigations are conducted, and how contact can be made with those entities, and how they can contact us!

You can buy your own copy of the DVD HERE.

Ross Downie
APPI's resident blogger
 

PARRAMATTA GAOL INVESTIGATION - Saturday 3 October 2015

Call me a tad crazy, but for some weird reason I have always had a fascination with historic buildings, and  gaols in particular, and never miss an opportunity to explore old gaols when I get a chance. Gaols that I have toured include Port Arthur in Tasmania, Pentridge Gaol in Melbourne, Old Melbourne Gaol (where Ned Kelly was hanged), Fremantle Gaol in Western Australia, Maitland Gaol near Newcastle and numerous old gaols in country NSW. Working gaols that I have visited only from the outside (thankfully) include Long Bay Gaol in Sydney, Boggo Road Gaol in Brisbane and Bathurst Gaol (where my youngest son Martin and I got chased away by a warder from the front gate when looking around). I have also read the book “Australia’s Hardest Prison – Inside the Walls of Long Bay Gaol” (which Martin is currently reading) and my ultimate bucket list thing to do is to visit Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. I also never miss documentaries on gaols and their famous inmates when they are shown on the History channel.

Add to the above is the fact that I use to work for Australian construction giant Lend Lease Corporation, who built a gaol in the ACT and refurbished a gaol in Brisbane, both of which I got to visit (before they were occupied). So people would probably have a valid reason to call me a tad crazy, but it as much my love of history as much as anything else.

However I have always wondered about the old Parramatta Gaol, which I knew had been closed for some time and was sitting there unused. I often speculated on what it could be used for, and hoped the historic buildings would not become yet another victim to greedy developers. Then when surfing the net one day simply by chance I came across the Australian Paranormal Phenomenon Investigators (“APPI”) website, which to my excitement and amazement just happened to be conducting a combined tour and paranormal investigation in a few weeks’ time – Saturday 3 October 2015!

Now, to this point I have not mentioned that I also had a keen interest in the paranormal, probably as much and maybe more so than my interest in gaols and old historic buildings. In fact, to me, the paranormal and historic buildings go hand in hand. And here, by sheer fluke, I had stumbled across exactly what I was looking for – a tour of the off limits Parramatta Gaol combined with a paranormal investigation! “How good is this?” I thought – “and where do I sign up?” I immediately asked my wife and three sons if they would like to go with me, but only my youngest son Martin was keen (I am starting to worry about that boy).

So, now to secure tickets – onto the APPI website to order and pay – but wait, I could not load anything into my shopping cart. “Damn you APPI website” I snorted under my breath “you will not defeat me on this!”

Then I saw the message that the tour had been sold out – DOH!  That’s when I really started cursing myself for not finding this website sooner. “Damn you to hell” I grunted at my PC, then I started to hunt around for when the next tour would be. Anyhow, for the time being it seemed Martin and I would just have to wait.

So I basically stalked the APPI website and Facebook page for details of the next tour over the following days, when on Friday 2 October Peet (APPI supremo) messaged on FB that two tickets were available because two people couldn’t go at the last minute. So I swooped, got their contact details, and two hours later had secured two tickets for the tour that very next night! Some things are just meant to be - you beauty!

Anyhow, Martin and I arrived early the next night and had dinner at Parramatta Leagues Club. We then went to the gaol and waited outside for the tour to begin. Martin was a bit sceptical about the paranormal side of things, and I suspect he thought it might be a bit of a hoot to watch his old man trying to make contact the spirit world so he could rib me about it later.
Anyhow, it was a very warm night, and we were quickly marked off the attendance list and then lead inside to what was the visitor’s centre, where Peet explained how the night would work and how the investigations would be conducted. We were then split into three groups, and Martin and I were assigned to group one. We then watched a video similar to that which was shown to new prisoners, and then the three groups were taken by our assigned APPI guides to different areas of the gaol to begin proceedings.

Now gaols, by their very nature, are gloomy places at the best of times, and their walls and grounds  are soaked in both history and misery. But at night they take on an even more oppressive and sinister nature. We began in cell block one, where Peet gave us a bit of the history of that cell block, then we were free to explore before moving on to our next destination – cell block three.
Now while waiting outside, we heard a definite crash come from inside and upstairs somewhere. I looked at the guide, and then said to Martin “did you hear that?” Martin nodded and said “sure did Dad”. Thing was we had not entered the cell block and no one was inside (at least no mortal person).

We then entered the cell block and group one split into two groups, each going to one end of the ground floor. While there, this is what happened:

• Several loud bangs and crashes came from upstairs after we got inside – the APPI team ran to investigate but no one was upstairs and they found nothing as everyone was on the ground floor.
• A lady sitting near to me started to experience severe back pain as if she had been stabbed and had to be escorted outside by the APPI people, where the pain immediately went.
• Yet another lady reported being grabbed on the shoulder.
• People’s torches started to “flicker”, including one belonging to an APPI guide who had a LED torch, which do not flicker.

 
We then went to another cell block where the weird happenings continued – this is what happened there:

• One of the APPI guides was sitting minding the table which had all the APPI equipment – she was by herself and I was coming back to give back my hand held K2 device (which indicates a “presence”), which I had no luck with. As I approached she suddenly said that one of the pieces of equipment, known as a REM pod (aka round thing with coloured lights) on the table had just turned itself on. APPI equipment guy Glen then came and turned it off and checked it for faults. One minute later, it turned on again – so Glen turned it off again. Then it turned on again – I walked over to the table and said out loud “that’s all good, but show us how clever you are and turn it off” – fifteen seconds later it went off. The APPI girl actually managed to video this.

 
 We then returned to the visitors centre for some refreshments before free explore time, where:

• A lady on the tour discovered a one dollar coin in her bra [true story – I couldn’t make this up]
• One girl told me she went to cell block 6, and went into a cell there. She said she walked in and had to come straight out due to the oppressive atmosphere in the cell.
• There were two twins in their early twenties in our group who told Martin and I they went into a cell with a REM pod and had no trouble getting responses to their yes or no questions [the REM pod enables a presence to communicate by triggering lights and making a noise].
• But the creepiest – near the end of the tour and investigation, we had free time to do our own exploring and Martin and I went back to cell block one. There is a common area at the end of the wing, where prisoners would have watched TV, played cards etc. There was a green horizontal metal rod that was held to the ceiling by another metal rod, with what looked like a Christmas tree half way up to the ceiling. A girl told me she saw the Xmas tree shaking, so about six of us stood in the common room looking up at the metal bar and the Xmas tree. About four minutes later it started to shake and knock around, and the Xmas tree started to shake. It did this three times, and on one occasion my REM pod started going berserk, lighting up and buzzing – then the rod started shaking again. Son Martin, who was quite sceptical at the beginning of the night, agreed it was very weird and he had no explanation for it.

  
So that was our tour and investigation of Parramatta gaol – absolutely worth it and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and would do it again. Another gaol coupled with a fantastic experience ticked off my bucket list.
Then it was time to finish up. As we were leaving the gaol, the security guard at the front gate asked me how was it? Did anything “strange” happen on the tour? To which I replied “mate, you are going to call me a tad crazy, but……………”
 
Ross (tad crazy) Downie
7 November 2015.