Investigation of the Mayday Hill Lunatic Asylum in Beechworth, Victoria... an APPI roadtrip.
On Friday 12 December APPI did their final tour for 2014! Following this, four of us then jumped in our cars and headed down to Beechworth in Victoria to spend some times in the Mayday Hill Lunatic Asylum.
We made a stop at Albury at 4am and checked into a hotel to catch a few hours sleep. Leaving Albury at 11am, we headed over the border, and had breakfast at a quaint little restaurant which was once Customs House, occupied by custom officials between 1859 and 1915.
After some delicious bacon and eggs, it was off to Beechworth!
Beechworth is known for its historical links to famous bushranger Ned Kelly. Built upon the splendour of the early gold-rush days, Beechworth is recognised as Australia’s finest historic gold-mining town. We sampled some mead and bought some beer at a brewery (for Christmas presents of course), and then discovered the Beechworth Museum, which is jam packed with stuffed wildlife, memorabilia and even an old street which has been reconstructed inside the museum building.
Entry price also gave us access to the Ned Kelly Vault – a collection of Kelly memorabilia including a cast of Ned’s death mask, some photographs, wanted signs, weapons and replica armour.
Leaving the Vault, we still had more than a few hours to go before our big night began, so wandered down to a gaol that we’d passed on the way, only to discover it was open to the public. Alas we arrived half an hour before closing time, so didn’t get further than the gift shop inside the gates, but if you happen to head down there, be sure to visit because it looks like an amazingly eery place.
We grabbed some dinner and headed up to the Asylum to spend the last few remaining daylight hours taking some photographs and having a wander around. This place is truly awe inspiring!
The fourth Lunatic Asylum to be built in Victoria, Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum was one of the three largest, and only closing in 1995 after 128 years of operation.
Taken from Wikipedia:
“The asylum was surrounded by almost 106 hectares of farmland, making the hospital self-sufficient with its own piggery, orchards, kitchen gardens, fields, stables and barn. For recreation, the asylum included tennis courts, an oval and cricket pavilion, kiosk and theatre.
People could be admitted to the asylum as a lunatic patient by a number of means:
• At the request of a friend, relative or acquaintance, with medical certificates written by two medical practitioners. This method was amended by The Mental Health Act 1959 which stated a person could be admitted upon the recommendation of a medical practitioner who had examined the person. As soon as possible after admission the superintendent of the hospital was required to examine the patient and either approve the recommended admission or discharge the patient.
• Any (lunatic) person found wandering at large or not under proper care and control could be brought before two justices who could order the person's removal to an asylum. The police were usually responsible for bringing the person before the two justices.
• Any prisoner of the Crown thought to be a lunatic could be removed from a gaol to an asylum by order of the Chief Secretary.
• Voluntary Boarders were those who requested that they be admitted for a mutually agreed period of time (from 1915 onwards).
To be admitted, only two signatures were required. To be discharged, eight signatures were required, thus it was a lot harder to get out than to get in.”
We sat near our cars, watching other tours start and finish, and then finally it was our turn!
We were met by the wonderful Fiona Miller, investigator extraordinaire. All night Fiona was an absolute delight to talk to, comparing investigations, telling us of prime spots to investigate, and letting us break away from the crowd to do our own thing.
Our first task was to do the history tour. Our tour guide, Bronwen, was a font of knowledge. Dressed up like the very first matron of the Asylum, Bronwen kept in character for much of the tour, and treated us to scary stories of abuse, murder, mayhem and paranormal activity. She also scared the crap out of us a few times by popping out of unknown places – great for the adrenaline!
I am having difficulty remembering the names of all of the buildings we entered, but our investigation itself began in the ‘Bullpit’, a place of incarceration for young adult males. We ventured in with a few pieces of equipment. Leaving our hunting camera the ground floor, we headed up to the top floor for a group EVP session.
While up there, Glen felt a very distinct hand grab him just above the wrist. It wasn’t a fleeting feeling either, the pressure on his wrist lingered. We wonder if this may be because Glen kept asking “if there is anyone here, please walk to the orange light”. Glen was referring to a Mel-Meter we had placed on the floor – but in retrospect, Glen had a Digital Voice Recorder in the hand he felt the grab on, which also had an orange light.
After a while on the top floor, and hearing bangs in response to questions we asked, we moved to the ground floor for a ghostbox session.
Although we didn’t hear anything on the ghostbox (review is still in session though), at one point we all clearly heard the sound of heavy footsteps running on the floor above us, where we had just been. These footsteps ran about five steps – stopped, then started running another three or four steps. It was loud and distinct and we were definitely the only people there.
After a short break we then headed to the laundry. Nothing paranormal happened while in the laundry, but we definitely felt very uneasy there and left after not very long. We spent time next to the laundry as well – not sure what the name of the place is called, but it had individual cells for females in there, with only one window in each room, firmly barred.
Our next stop was where they housed the dangerous male inmates. These buildings looked kind of like Roman atriums, with rooms on the outside, and a courtyard on the inside. During the tour we were told that inmates were washed once a week in that building, and were washed by being hosed down with the fire hose.
We went into a large room with a table and set up our equipment. We had two K2’s on the table and one mel-meter. At varying times throughout our investigation there, the K2’s would light up – all the way to red, while the mel-meter did not move at all. Interestingly, during the tour in this building, Peet felt like something grabbed her back – but just put it down to her clothes shifting.
We then visited the administration building – the beautiful old main building on the premises. This would’ve have been chocablock full of residual energy considering it was the admittance building and was where inmates saw their families for the last time.
We had access to the ground floor and the top floor. There is said to be the spirit of the caretaker who roams around the top floor. All we heard was Glen’s snoring when he fell asleep for a short period of time.
Finally we visited the old pharmacy. A dark, dingy environment full of interesting cupboards and shelving with medical names still listed on them.
We then made the long, long trip back to Sydney, with a few stops – finally reaching our respective houses and sleeping the day away. But we didn’t have to – beds are provided to snooze in at the Asylum if you so wish – we did not so wish.
All in all we would thoroughly recommend Beechworth Ghost Tours! Fiona treated us like Kings (and Queens) and we don’t have a single complaint to make!
If you’re looking for a weekend getaway for yourself and some friends, check out their page at: https://www.facebook.com/BeechworthGhostTours
We made a stop at Albury at 4am and checked into a hotel to catch a few hours sleep. Leaving Albury at 11am, we headed over the border, and had breakfast at a quaint little restaurant which was once Customs House, occupied by custom officials between 1859 and 1915.
After some delicious bacon and eggs, it was off to Beechworth!
Beechworth is known for its historical links to famous bushranger Ned Kelly. Built upon the splendour of the early gold-rush days, Beechworth is recognised as Australia’s finest historic gold-mining town. We sampled some mead and bought some beer at a brewery (for Christmas presents of course), and then discovered the Beechworth Museum, which is jam packed with stuffed wildlife, memorabilia and even an old street which has been reconstructed inside the museum building.
Entry price also gave us access to the Ned Kelly Vault – a collection of Kelly memorabilia including a cast of Ned’s death mask, some photographs, wanted signs, weapons and replica armour.
Leaving the Vault, we still had more than a few hours to go before our big night began, so wandered down to a gaol that we’d passed on the way, only to discover it was open to the public. Alas we arrived half an hour before closing time, so didn’t get further than the gift shop inside the gates, but if you happen to head down there, be sure to visit because it looks like an amazingly eery place.
We grabbed some dinner and headed up to the Asylum to spend the last few remaining daylight hours taking some photographs and having a wander around. This place is truly awe inspiring!
The fourth Lunatic Asylum to be built in Victoria, Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum was one of the three largest, and only closing in 1995 after 128 years of operation.
Taken from Wikipedia:
“The asylum was surrounded by almost 106 hectares of farmland, making the hospital self-sufficient with its own piggery, orchards, kitchen gardens, fields, stables and barn. For recreation, the asylum included tennis courts, an oval and cricket pavilion, kiosk and theatre.
People could be admitted to the asylum as a lunatic patient by a number of means:
• At the request of a friend, relative or acquaintance, with medical certificates written by two medical practitioners. This method was amended by The Mental Health Act 1959 which stated a person could be admitted upon the recommendation of a medical practitioner who had examined the person. As soon as possible after admission the superintendent of the hospital was required to examine the patient and either approve the recommended admission or discharge the patient.
• Any (lunatic) person found wandering at large or not under proper care and control could be brought before two justices who could order the person's removal to an asylum. The police were usually responsible for bringing the person before the two justices.
• Any prisoner of the Crown thought to be a lunatic could be removed from a gaol to an asylum by order of the Chief Secretary.
• Voluntary Boarders were those who requested that they be admitted for a mutually agreed period of time (from 1915 onwards).
To be admitted, only two signatures were required. To be discharged, eight signatures were required, thus it was a lot harder to get out than to get in.”
We sat near our cars, watching other tours start and finish, and then finally it was our turn!
We were met by the wonderful Fiona Miller, investigator extraordinaire. All night Fiona was an absolute delight to talk to, comparing investigations, telling us of prime spots to investigate, and letting us break away from the crowd to do our own thing.
Our first task was to do the history tour. Our tour guide, Bronwen, was a font of knowledge. Dressed up like the very first matron of the Asylum, Bronwen kept in character for much of the tour, and treated us to scary stories of abuse, murder, mayhem and paranormal activity. She also scared the crap out of us a few times by popping out of unknown places – great for the adrenaline!
I am having difficulty remembering the names of all of the buildings we entered, but our investigation itself began in the ‘Bullpit’, a place of incarceration for young adult males. We ventured in with a few pieces of equipment. Leaving our hunting camera the ground floor, we headed up to the top floor for a group EVP session.
While up there, Glen felt a very distinct hand grab him just above the wrist. It wasn’t a fleeting feeling either, the pressure on his wrist lingered. We wonder if this may be because Glen kept asking “if there is anyone here, please walk to the orange light”. Glen was referring to a Mel-Meter we had placed on the floor – but in retrospect, Glen had a Digital Voice Recorder in the hand he felt the grab on, which also had an orange light.
After a while on the top floor, and hearing bangs in response to questions we asked, we moved to the ground floor for a ghostbox session.
Although we didn’t hear anything on the ghostbox (review is still in session though), at one point we all clearly heard the sound of heavy footsteps running on the floor above us, where we had just been. These footsteps ran about five steps – stopped, then started running another three or four steps. It was loud and distinct and we were definitely the only people there.
After a short break we then headed to the laundry. Nothing paranormal happened while in the laundry, but we definitely felt very uneasy there and left after not very long. We spent time next to the laundry as well – not sure what the name of the place is called, but it had individual cells for females in there, with only one window in each room, firmly barred.
Our next stop was where they housed the dangerous male inmates. These buildings looked kind of like Roman atriums, with rooms on the outside, and a courtyard on the inside. During the tour we were told that inmates were washed once a week in that building, and were washed by being hosed down with the fire hose.
We went into a large room with a table and set up our equipment. We had two K2’s on the table and one mel-meter. At varying times throughout our investigation there, the K2’s would light up – all the way to red, while the mel-meter did not move at all. Interestingly, during the tour in this building, Peet felt like something grabbed her back – but just put it down to her clothes shifting.
We then visited the administration building – the beautiful old main building on the premises. This would’ve have been chocablock full of residual energy considering it was the admittance building and was where inmates saw their families for the last time.
We had access to the ground floor and the top floor. There is said to be the spirit of the caretaker who roams around the top floor. All we heard was Glen’s snoring when he fell asleep for a short period of time.
Finally we visited the old pharmacy. A dark, dingy environment full of interesting cupboards and shelving with medical names still listed on them.
We then made the long, long trip back to Sydney, with a few stops – finally reaching our respective houses and sleeping the day away. But we didn’t have to – beds are provided to snooze in at the Asylum if you so wish – we did not so wish.
All in all we would thoroughly recommend Beechworth Ghost Tours! Fiona treated us like Kings (and Queens) and we don’t have a single complaint to make!
If you’re looking for a weekend getaway for yourself and some friends, check out their page at: https://www.facebook.com/BeechworthGhostTours
