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The St James Theatre, (previously known as His Majesty’s Theatre, and the Westpac St. James Theatre from 1997–2007) (shortened to “St. James” by locals) is a stage theatre located in the heart of NZ’s capital city, Wellington. The present theatre was designed in 1912 by Australian theatre designer Henry Eli White. The theatre currently faces on to Courtenay Place, the main street of Wellington’s entertainment district, opposite the Reading Cinema complex. The building is number 83.

The building is classified as a “Category I” (“places of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value”) historic place by the New Zealand Hstoric Places Trust

History

The St. James has had a long history, with its success in its early years, a near demolition in the 1980s and to its return to the city’s cultural light in the late 1990s.

The theatre’s land had been used as a church and volunteer hall prior to it being bought by the famous entertainer John Fuller on 23 December 1899. The St. James was made famous by Fuller, who had also built over 60 other theatres in New Zealand. He revamped the hall in 1903 and named it “His Majesty’s Theatre”, or nicknamed “Fuller’s”. During its use, the hall was host to pantomimes and a Cleopatra act, which involved the first and last import of snakes into New Zealand. However, Opera of any kind was seldom allowed by Fuller, who usually directed any opera show to Wellington’s Opera House down the road. Fuller used the old hall until November 1911, when it was eventually declared a fire hazard and demolished.

After this demolition, Fuller vowed the new theatre he was going to build would be the best in New Zealand. Fuller enlisted the help of Henry Eli White, who had already designed other theatres around the country for Fuller. White, fresh from building theatres in Timaru and Auckland, set out to plan the St James. The St James theatre was the first entirely steel frame and reinforced concrete theatre in the world and plans made sure over 650 people could escape the auditorium in the event of a fire. Pillars in the auditorium were also kept at a minimum to allow perfect viewing, and seating was arranged in the arc of a circle to view the stage. The St. James was then adorned with marble pieces, carved face masks and cherubs to be placed on the ceiling and coloured glass. The plaster work was made by William Leslie Morrison, who reinforced the lime plaster with cow hair. Morrison used his grandson as a model for the plaster cherubs and modelled the full-figured seen near the stage after Bacchus and Apollo. The wooden floors of the St. James were made of rimu and jarrah, along with totara for window frames and deal for doors. After the plans had been set, construction began on the theatre in March 1912. To speed progress, White himself designed two electric cranes to lift the in excess of 500 tonnes of steel. In all, the St. James cost £32,000 to build and took 9 months to build.

The theatre was officially opened 8pm on Boxing Day, 1912, by the Wellington Mayor, David McLaren. During the new theatre’s first months, it was used primarily to play silent movies. The St. James was changed nine months later to present live performances. However in 1930, after 17 years, it was again converted back to playing both movies and occasional live performances. This was after the St. James’s life long opposition, the Opera House began screening movies. After this change to the “talking films” or “flicks”, on 3 May 1930, His Majesty’s was closed and reopened as the St. James Theatre. Over the years, the St. James was slowly brought back to showing live performances. Many shows were performed at the venue; everything from Shakespeare, to minstrel acts to ballet. After Fuller died, the St. James passed through numerous owners.

Decline and restoration

After its enormous success over the past decades, in the 1970s, the St. James theatre fell into decline and was effectively closed down. Shows began performing at the Opera House and newer venues such as the Michael Fowler Centre, Downstage and the restored town hall.

Rumours of ghosts haunting upper seat levels didn’t help the theatre’s reputation either and soon the theatre was forgotten. On 7 May 1987, the St. James played its last movie, ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive”, to a small group. The site was then declared unpractical and was abandoned.

The theatre was nearly demolished in the 1980s and ’90s after the owners placed a destruction order on the plot. However, due to the efforts of an objecting group, the St. James was eventually spared and restored to its former glory. The alarm had been risen after a photographer, Grant Sheehan, was told by the theatre’s curator that the St. James was set to be demolished by the Chase Corporation. For nearly a decade, a wrecking ball sat poised above the theatre, but it was never used after the owners were finally persuaded to save the property. The company looking to build on the site, Chase, were still angered by the result, so a trade-off was made by the committee vouching for the St. James; Chase would be allowed to build a tower in Wellington exceeding current height restrictions if the committee could save the theatre. The offer was highly contested, with some companies near the new tower protesting at its aimed size. The Opera House objected to the St. James’s restoration, saying that the city would not be able to sustain two theatres.

In any case, the council rejected the committee’s proposal to allow Chase to build higher. Chase retaliated and immediately asked the council for a demolition permit. However, the council slowed progress on getting the report so the Historical Places Trust could add the St. James to its list. The plan succeeded and a limited protection order was placed over the St. James. Now Chase could only demolish the site with consent from the Trust. Knowing that the protection order would only last for a limited time (in fact only until 31 March 1988), there was a frantic rush to get Chase to sell the building to the council so they could restore it. Fundraising events were commonplace during this time, most asking for donations towards the “Save the St. James fund”. Eventually, after hard negotiations the plan to sell and restore the theatre went ahead, due to the theatre’s good aspects and proximity to the city’s hot-spots. Due to the increasing amount of theatre-going public, the Opera House would not be able to support the demand, especially when the Wellington Festival of the Arts arrived. The council finally agreed to allow Chase to plan its tower in Willis Street in return for $7 million to refurbish the theatre; the other option that was not taken was for the government to raise $18 million to purchase and restore the building.

However, once again bad luck fell upon the deal, when the financial crash of 1987 struck most companies in New Zealand, including Chase. The building and deal were abandoned once again and time passed with no results. Chase hadn’t secured a tenant for its new tower and the council began to doubt whether it should spend millions on a single theatre. After the finish line for the protection order over the St. James ended, Chase gave their word that the theatre would not be demolished. Eventually, Chase went into liquidation and all its properties were put up for sale. The St. James was put on the market for $7 million, double what Chase had paid for it. The council declined and over the months, the price fell dramatically as Chase saw an absence of offers. The price fell to below what even Chase had paid for the theatre.

The council still declined and a massive campaign to save the theatre arose. Eventually on 22 September 1993, the council sought to buy the property and succeeded with their offer of $550,000. The council handed the St. James over to a new St. James Theatre Charitable Trust. Soon it was booked out and live performances were shown frequently. An $18.5 million restoration plan was set out in 1995. However, this was considered worth the risk, as it was estimated the theatre would bring over $3.6 million into the local economy. In 1996, the council gave a $10.7 million contribution towards the restoration plan, in addition to $2.4 million from a Wellington Community Trust grant, $3.5 million from the Lottery Board and over $1 million in donation from the public. The total of around $17.7 million allowed the St. James Trust to confirm they would start restoring the theatre.

Current situation

Restoration work finished in late 1997. Most of the theatre’s aspects were modified, including the addition of “The Jimmy” a café on the theatre’s ground floor. “The Jimmy” was the nickname given to the St. James Theatre by technicians, thus the name was utilised. The St. James currently holds many shows and a large portion of the New Zealand International Arts Festival. The building also hosts the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Art shows are often held on its second floor, as well as conferences. The theatre was also fitted with an orchestra pit, which is located many stories below the stage’s level. The bank operating in Australia and New Zealand, Westpac until 2007 held the naming rights to St. James, as well as other stadiums, including the Westpac Stadium, also in Wellington. A face-lift of the facade in 2007 included removing the Westpac name from the Brickwork frontage.

In July 2011 Positively Wellington Venues, an integration between the Wellington Convention Centre and the St James Theatre Trust, began managing this theatre along with five other venues in the capital city.

Reported haunting

There have been numerous reports of several spirits or ghosts in the St. James Theatre. One of the most seen ghosts is that of Yuri, a Russian performer who supposedly fell to his death from the flies several metres above the stage. Another account, more widely accepted, says he was pushed by a female named Pasha, also a Russian performer. Yuri has been encountered playing with the lights, especially turning them all back on again once cleaners have left for the night. One projectionist says Yuri saved his life twice. While on stage, the lights went out in the auditorium. While searching for the light switch, he was pushed backwards by what he believed was Yuri. The lights turned back on and the projectionist realised he was only inches from the orchestra pit and if he had not been pushed back, would have fallen in. The second time he says Yuri saved him was when he was on stage with his infant son. He suddenly heard a beam collapse above him. The projectionist insists he was pushed back by Yuri and that his son was “carried” through the air for about 3 metres.

Other than Yuri, many other ghosts have been reported in the theatre. The “Wailing Woman” is a frequent apparition who is said to wail throughout the theatre. According to accounts, she was an actress trying to make a comeback. However, she was booed off stage. She later slit her wrists, either at home or in her dressing room. She is also said to be the cause of many of the odd occurrences surrounding lead actresses in plays performed at the St. James; many actresses performing on stage have sprained their ankle, one fell from a ladder, one suddenly caught a cold and was hoarse for her opera part.

Another ghost is that of Stan Andrews. He is often heard wheezing around the backstage corridors at night, checking on his ushers. Also, a boy’s choir is said to haunt the auditorium. The choir played their last song at the St. James during World War ll before sailing off on tour. Their ship was never seen again and workers at the theatre often hear their music in the stands. However, when they investigate the sound, it moves to a separate part of the seats.

The reason there is so much paranormal activity at the theatre is disputed, although there have been claims that the old choral hall was built on a cemetery or burial ground. This claim however, has never been proved. The paranormal activity of the St. James was investigated in 2005 on the New Zealand television show Ghost Hunt. The three investigators captured paranormal photographs and numerous ‘orbs’ inside the building and the elevator used suddenly began to malfunction which is a common among workers moving instruments from the orchestra pit to the loading bay. The programme also featured other haunted locations around New Zealand.

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What lurks behind the curtains at New Zealand’s largest, and most iconic theatre?

Location:

The Auckland Civic Theatre is in the heart of Auckland City. It’s imposing Rococo facade looms over a busy and well-patronised intersection of bars, restaurants and retail outlets. The Foyer is decorated in the style of an Indian temple whilst the main theatre section employs an impressive and atmospheric “Arabian Nights” theme complete with a starlit domed sky, turrets, minarets and two large golden Abyssinian Panthers reclining on either side of the stage. The Civic’s interior houses six floors of dressing rooms, storage areas, function rooms, crew stations and operating apparatus consisting of complex pulley and cable machinery for screens and curtains.

 

History

The 2,750-seat capacity Civic Theatre opened on 20 December 1929 on the site of the former Auckland City Market. The design of the complex boasted some innovative features such as a large room in the basement (Wintergarden) from which the main cinema screen above was viewable, the second largest Wurlitzer organ in the Southern Hemisphere and a large orchestra pit that could be elevated up onto the main stage.

The Civic survived the great depression (despite the bankruptcy of its owner Thomas O’Brian) and it became a popular venue for American servicemen during the Second World War. The basement Wintergarden was transformed into a Cabaret and its resident scantily-clad adagio dance troupe kept the troops entertained with raucous and energetic performances. A particular member of the Wintergarden dance troupe, Miss Freda Stark was infamously daring and she had been known to perform on stage clad only in gold body paint or a g-string and feather headdress. Miss Stark’s ghost reputedly haunts the Civic despite the fact that she did not actually die in the theatre.

The Civic Theatre under construction. NZ Herald 11 September 1929.

In the late 1990′s, the Civic was subject to an extensive renovation. It reopened on 20 December 1999, precisely 70 years after its first cinema screening. In addition to screening film festivals (with a revised seating capacity of 2,378), The Civic now hosts international stage musicals, concerts, conferences, functions and theatre productions.

Haunted Auckland has conducted 2 investigations of the Civic Theatre so far.

Check out the Haunted Auckland investigation reports.

 

Investigation 1 –  http://hauntedauckland.com/site/auckland-civic-theatre/

Investigation 2 –  http://hauntedauckland.com/site/auckland-civic-theatre-return/

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One of Auckland’s most famously haunted locations, the historic home of the Lush family for several generations.

Location History:

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The Riccarton Racecourse Hotel is considered to be one of the most haunted places in New Zealand. It is said that the ghost of former licensee Donald Fraser walks the corridors of the hotel looking for his killer.

In 1933, Fraser was murdered in the dead of night in his bedroom, where his wife was sleeping, by two blasts from a double-barrelled shotgun.

Despite investigations, nobody was found guilty of the crime.

The Riccarton Hotel Murder

A particularly cold-blooded murder at the Racecourse Hotel, Riccarton, Christchurch, created a sensation in November 1933, but despite the existence of several very much compromised suspects, no one was ever brought to book for the crime. The 41-year-old licensee of the hotel, Donald Fraser, was killed in the middle of the night in his bedroom, where his wife was asleep, by two blasts from a double-barrelled shotgun. The movements and circumstances of everyone in the house at the time, and of guests at a party held in the hotel earlier in the evening, were checked and rechecked, but without the disclosure of any evidence upon which a definite charge could be laid. Suspicions were early aroused, and although these deepened with the progress of the inquiry, there was never enough evidence to convince a jury. The murder became a public sensation and the police hunt was followed with avid interest. Rewards were offered for information, but the right sort of information was not forthcoming. One thing the police established was that the shotgun shells used in the killing had been purchased on the West Coast, but it could not be discovered by whom. At the conclusion of a lengthy hearing, the Coroner returned a verdict of “murder by a person or persons unknown”, but he had something to say on the reliability of the evidence tendered to him. Some of the witnesses had undoubtedly been truthful, he said, but his concluding remark was: “I leave to public estimation the rest of the evidence”.

From www.teara.govt.nz

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Napier Prison is a former prison in Napier that was New Zealand’s oldest prison. It is now an historic facility which offers guided tours twice daily and self-guided audio tours all-day. It is also the only building where it is possible to see the original path of the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake.

The Prison was constructed on Napier Hill in 1862 and was used until the early 1990s, being officially decommissioned in 1993. In addition to being a prison, the location was also used as an orphanage and a psychiatric unit.

During the 19th century, five hangings were conducted at the prison.

In 2002, it was re-opened as a tourist attraction.

The former prison was used as the venue for the filming of the 2006 television show Redemption Hill.

There have been many reports of ghostly occurrences at the site such as unexplained footsteps, disembodied faces, doors opening and closing on their own, and the ghost of a murderer on the anniversary of his execution.

The best known former prisoner is Roland Edwards, a mass murderer who reputedly has his spirit haunt the area.

In 2011, a team from the television series Ghost Hunters International spent four days at the old prison and “were not disappointed”.

The Napier Prison Wall, completed in 1905 and built by prisoners, is a rare example of the stone mason’s art. It is also a remnant of the work carried out by prisoners in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Prior to 1846 there were no general rules governing the regulation of prisons or prisoners. In that year, the Prison Ordinance was passed, allowing the Governor to declare all existing prisons to be public prisons. The Governor also acquired authority over the classification, diet, instruction, treatment, correction, discipline and safe custody of prisoners.

This policy, the instigation of which was to be under the supervision of Justices of the Peace, did not work. Added to this, in 1855, all transportation of serious offences to Tasmania from New Zealand stopped. As a result, the penal system was reviewed and under the Gaolers Act 1858, all domestic control of prisons was transferred to the Provincial Governments.

In the same year that these penal reforms were being undertaken, Napier, which had previously been within the Wellington province, became the administrative centre of the new province of Hawke’s Bay. In due course, the newly formed provincial government undertook the construction of a prison. Land on Napier Hill was chosen as the site and in August 1861 tenders to excavate the foundation of the gaol were awarded to Ekholms and Lound. The prison was finished in 1862 and housed both male and female prisoners.

Following the dissolution of the provinces in 1876, the administrations of prisons (including the Napier Prison) returned to Central Government. In 1880 Captain Arthur Hume was appointed Inspector of Prisons. Hume, contrary to perhaps the more liberal views of the day, saw that the purpose of imprisonment was to deter and reform, but reformation was always to become second to deterrence.

Between 1880 and 1908. When Hume retired, the New Zealand penal system was transformed from a disparate assemblage of largely mismanaged provincial gaols to a unified and consistent prison system. Once discipline was standardised, Hume began developing a system of probation that today is considered among the first of its kind in the world. One of the policies initiated during Hume’s office was the use of prisoners to construct prisons, which was eventually expanded to include other public works such as the construction of coastal defence sites and roads. At Napier, a remnant of this policy can be seen in the walls surrounding the prison.

In 1896 the Napier prisoners opened up a new quarry on the gaol reserve, from which stone was extracted and squared for a much needed boundary wall for the prison. This work continued for a number of years. In 1900 the prisoners’ skills were diverted to cut stone for the flood memorial on Marine Parade. Other work at this time included breaking road metal, as well as the construction of building drainage for the prison and maintenance of the nearby Supreme Court and grounds. In 1903 the prisoners built a substantial stone retaining wall to prevent slops from the grounds of Hukarere School, a school established for Maori girls and located on the hill just above the prison. It seems that the actual construction of the boundary wall began in about 1904.

The wall was a heavily rusticated design, as each stone was individually hand worked with a different texture or pattern. A number of the stones were incised with designed such as a sailing ship, or a horse, and around the main door, painted quoins. Regular sloped buttresses provided support, and the entire wall relieved by a simple capping. In 1905 the Gaoler and Probation Officer of the Napier Prison reported that the work was drawing to completion and proudly stated that it had been ‘pronounced by people competent to give an opinion as equal to anything of its kind in New Zealand’.

At the time it was built the prison accommodated 251 male prisoners and 24 female prisoners. Napier prisoners, as in other prisons such as Paparua and New Plymouth, continued to work the quarries until the 1960s because they gave a huge financial return.

Between 1990 and 1991, the Napier Prison became a remand prison administered by Mangaroa Prison, housing prisoners awaiting trial. In 1993 the Napier Prison was closed, and the last inmates transferred to Mangaroa.

The Napier Prison Wall has architectural significance as an excellent example of the stone mason’s art. It also has considerable social, historical and cultural significance for the insight it provides into New Zealand’s penal history. An integral part of a prison complex that operated for over 130 years, the wall is also an important example of the work carried out by prisoners in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It provides insight into the contemporary attitudes held by society towards the prisons and prisoners, and the role of labour in their reform. www.historic.org.nz

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Situated at 40 Gillies Ave, Epsom.

Highwic is a historic house in Epsom, New Zealand that is registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I structure and is also one of AA Travel’s “101 Must-Do’s for Kiwis”.

The site has been made available for wedding, photography, filming or catering services.

Highwic is a mansion of Carpenter Gothic design that was built for a wealthy landowner.

The building was erected in an elevated position looking out over the nineteenth-century township of Newmarket.

In 1862, the land was purchased by Alfred Buckland, whose family made additions to the structure. The house was enlarged during the 1870s and 1880s as the Bucklands family grew bigger and they became richer. The building included a large room that could be used for balls, seven bedrooms and a boy’s dormitory with outside stables, a coach-house, a billiard room, many other garden structures and a service yard. Family descendants who lived in the house until 1978 made alterations of their own.

The property was then jointly purchased by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and the Auckland City Council because John Stacpoole and the then-Minister of Internal Affairs planned one evening to save the site from subdivision.

Highwic was opened as a historic house museum in 1981.

A reception for the Duke and Duchess of Kent was held at Highwic in 1980.

There was also a summer ball to aid the New Zealand Blood Foundation in 1982. The ball generated a substantial article in the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly magazine.

In 1985, an exhibition known as “The Twelve Days of Christmas” involved Christmas items such as old fashioned themed-decorations, Christmas cards, Christmas trees, carol singing, floral arrangements and wreaths in addition to antique dolls and toys.

There was also a display explaining Christmas legends and symbolism, as well as a gift shop. A Norfolk Island Pine was covered with eight hundred lights on the grounds. On a few occasions, there were also candlelit rooms.

In 2012, year-long celebrations were planned to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the building including high tea at the house, seeing a collection of Victorian costumes and floral arrangements as part of the Festival of Flowers plus music and arts.

That year, Highwic became the main attraction of several Auckland Heritage Festival events.

The concert A Song Without Words celebrated the work of students of Felix Mendelssohn in the ballroom.

Hauntings

Highwic is considered by some to be one of the “spookiest” places in Auckland as there have been claimed sightings of a ghost in a bedroom.

It is also said to be the home to a ghostly canine.

Spokeswoman Cheryl Laurie says “People have seen a black dog running across the garden to the boundary of the property.”
The Bucklands were known to be dog lovers, and would have had many dogs.

The dairy cellar is also a paranormal hot spot. “Many people sense the presence of a child in there,” says Cheryl.

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At the end of Cross Street situated beside St Patrick’s church are the old school ruins.  These hauntingly beautiful remains serve as a picturesque and poignant memorial to the generations of children who once lived in the town. At its peak the school roll reached 40 pupils (sometimes being taught in relays to conserve space), but as the fortunes of the St Bathans community abated and gold mining declined so did the school roll.  It now stands deserted and derelict.

The stone building was built in 1875 using a ninety-pound grant from the Otago Education Board.   A “Grand Ball” was held in April of that year to mark the opening of the school.    During the 1880s the school inspectors complained about irregular attendance of the pupils and that the schoolroom was being used to hold dances and public meetings.  Despite the inspectors concern an additional classroom was added in 1895 and this became the junior school.  Around the same time the school committee resolved that the school should not be “let for any entertainments or any other purposes except school work”.

Conditions at the school were not pleasant with reports of  the stone building being “unfit for habitation during winter months”.  The open fireplace was not effective against the bitter cold of Central Otago and ink was known to freeze in the inkwells on the desks.  During the winter many children could not get to the school due to snow so for several years there was a six week mid winter break for the pupils.

By the 1930s only the smaller room was needed as a schoolroom and the other room was used for playing games such as cricket and hockey.  The roll continued to dwindle and by the 1940s there were less than 20 pupils attending the school.  In 1943 an earthquake damaged the building and lessons were moved to the then vacant post office.  In 1949 with a roll that had been further reduced to seven the St Bathans School closed.  The children of the village then had to travel to the village of Cambrians to attend school.  The damaged schoolhouse was leased to the local pest construction board.  The ruins are now privately owned.

Article and Photos by Barbara Caisley

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Located next door to Kemp House, the Stone Store is NZ’s oldest stone building.

It was designed by Wesleyan missionary John Hobbs, and built by Australian convict William Parrott.

The Stone Store was constructed to hold mission supplies and wheat from the mission farm at Te Waimate, but the building was mainly leased as a kauri gum trading store.

Built by Maori sawyers and missionary carpenters from the London-based Church Missionary Society in 1820-21, Kemp House predates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi by almost 20 years. Nestled in the shadow of Hongi Hika’s Kororipo Pa, Kemp House is the sole survivor of the Musket Wars of the 1820’s.”
In 1976, the Stone Store was bought by the Historic Places Trust.

Today, you can shop for authentic frontier trade goods & classically branded Kiwiana products recalling the great Kiwi summer holiday & the Stone Store’s place in history as a Northland tourism icon. Enjoy a tour including a large range of furniture and personal items owned by the missionary families who lived here – including James and Charlotte Kemp.

Ghosts?

Mystery sightings at Stone Store

The NZ Historic Places Trust wants to hear about strange sightings at the Stone Store and Kemp House, after an unusual security call-out recently.
HPT Staff were alerted that a woman with grey hair had been seen standing in the central dormer window of the Stone Store at 10 o’clock at night.

Mr Clunie, who supervised the restoration of the Stone Store, says reports of ghostly figures at the Stone Store and Kemp House are shades of the ‘little grey nun’ who allegedly peeped out the dormer windows at Pompallier, where sadly there weren’t no nuns never.

From The Bay chronicle….

“Spirit” spotted in Stone Store window

Face in the window: The photograph taken by visitors from Australia. When it was enlarged they saw something intriguing. Inset: Tamihana Maitarahanga, who looked after the gardens.

A new mystery sighting at the Stone Store adds to a number of others reported during the years.

From Australia, visitor Sarah Stephens sent the Chronicle a digital photograph taken recently by her husband, showing what they thought could be a ghostly presence standing at the central dormer window.

“If you zoom in on the picture and look at the top centre window, below the roof, it looks like the face of an old man… the face is in the lower top half of the window and it looks a little like he’s wearing a white shirt. To me it even looks as though there is a smaller face to the right of him,” she says.

In 2005, Historic Places Trust staff were alerted that a woman with grey hair had been seen standing in the central dormer window of the Stone Store at about 10pm.

The person who reported the sighting insisted he had seen someone in the store. The figure, he said, had looked straight at him and then moved away.

Trust area coordinator Stuart Park said at the time visitors occasionally mentioned that they had seen an old man on the top floor of the store or a woman in a bedroom in Kemp House.

Asked to expand on their recent experience Sarah said: “My husband took the photo and hadn’t noticed anyone in the window at the time. I noticed it later when I was going through the photo’s. I had the camera plugged into the TV so was viewing the photos on a large screen.

“When my husband and I visited Kemp House and the Stone Store the year before we had a bit of a freaky experience in Kemp House but put it down to our imagination. We thought we saw the curtain move in the upstairs bedroom but there was not a breath of wind that day… probably nothing but it did make the face in the window seem even stranger.”

So the Chronicle took clairvoyant Judie Roberts to the Stone Store to see what she thought.

Judie is a newcomer to Kerikeri and had not been into the Stone Store. Arriving before the 10am opening time, she walked around the outside and into the gardens initially.

“There is someone here. I’m not good on names but the name ‘Thomas’ is very strong. The last name could be Wai or Wade but I’m not sure about that. It’s as if he looks after the place. There was a shed behind the Stone Store and he’s glad that it has gone. He came from the United Kingdom and he was strongly connected with the Stone Store. Perhaps he owned it or looked after it.

“He went up to the church and preached at times and he liked having a few drinks. He was a god-fearing man but he was naughty. He didn’t like getting into small boats. He would rather paint a fence than go out in a dinghy. But he’s upset about a picture in the store. It’s something that he finds offensive.

“He must have enjoyed the gardens. In those days there were more trees and a veggie garden. He’d like to see more veggies. And if they – the Historic Places Trust – are looking at changing things in the garden, it’d be alright if they asked him first.”

Once inside the Stone Store, Judie found a portrait of Queen Elizabeth with moko by contemporary artist Barry Ross Smith.

Googling ‘Thomas’ and ‘Stone Store, Kerikeri’, the Chronicle found biographical notes of a Thomas Chapman – 1792 to 1876.

Thomas and Anne Champman arrived at Paihia on August 1 1830, on the Active from Sydney, to work for the Church Missionary Society. The Chapmans were lay missionaries and were at Kerikeri from 1831 to 1833.

Thomas had charge of the mission store. Thomas is described as “experienced in farming, medicine and seamanship. Literate, liberal, good-humoured and resolute.”

But trust property manager Liz Bigwood says she doubts Thomas Chapman would be lingering:

“Thomas Chapman had charge of the CMS store from April 1831 until June 1833, when he was replaced by James Shepherd. James Kemp was relieved of his storekeeping duties throughout this period because he was overseeing the construction of the Stone Store, so the store that was looked after by Chapman and then Shepherd is the old wooden one that was located on the land where the Landing restaurant is situated today.

“This original wooden store was one of the first buildings constructed on the mission station in 1819, and had small apartments above it where the early missionaries lived during the initial establishment of the mission. By the 1830s this wooden store was no longer suitable, deemed insecure and a fire risk. Chapman lived for a time in the Mission House before the Kemp family moved in to it in 1832, hence becoming Kemp House.

“When the missionaries first arrived in 1819 the only small boat they had was a punt, which made the long water voyage from Rangihoua to Kerikeri very arduous. There was a lot of toing-and-froing to get stores. In the early 1820s John Butler eventually purchased a whale boat, which made life a lot easier. The missionaries often travelled in waka too, paddled by Maori. The only Thomas that had anything to do with Kerikeri in the early days was Thomas Kendall, confidante of Hongi Hika, but he was based at Rangihoua first and then Matauwhi near Russell. However, he did nearly drown when his small boat capsized in the very early days. He left New Zealand in 1825 and drowned whilst sailing his small boat up the coast to Sydney in 1832.

“There were a few serious drinkers among the missionary folk, but none were named Thomas. The original chapel on the hill dates from the 1830s, the St James Church from the 1870s.

Liz says Butler established an extensive garden that covered almost the entire area behind the house and including car parks below the church.

“He also planted lots of fruit trees – 150 in one day in 1819. Everybody had large vegetable gardens until quite recently.

“I really don’t think that the Thomas mentioned is Thomas Chapman, he’s buried near Rotorua and served that area for most of his life in New Zealand.”

Later Liz recalled that there was a Maori gardener at the property called Tamihana, which is Maori for Thomas. His last name was Maitarahanga.

“According to St James church records he died in 1904, reputed to be 100 years of age according to Kemp family tradition, and is buried up in the St James churchyard in an unmarked grave. He lived in a little cottage behind Kemp House, which can be seen in a few early photos of what was then the Kemp family property. His nickname was ‘Tutu’.”

Kemp family tradition has it that Thomas or ‘Tutu’ was taken in by the missionaries as a young boy after he was captured and brought back as a slave to Kerikeri with one of Hongi Hika’s taua – war parties – in the early 1820s, she says.

“A picture of him as a very old man is hanging on the first floor of the Stone Store. Rev John Butler records that he took into his household four children in February 1822, from a returning war party – a baby younger than 12 months, a boy of about four years of age, a girl of seven years and a boy of about 12 years. What is known as Kemp House now was designed and built for Rev John Butler, and was completed in 1822. Before moving into the house the Butlers were living in a barn behind it, about where the office-cottage is today. When the Butlers left NZ the children they’d taken into their household remained on the settlement.”

Liz says out of some 45,000 visitors to the Stone Store per year, a few do speak about feeling a presence in the store but, more particularly, Kemp House.

“The accounts are always very similar, which is interesting. People relate to this site in a myriad of ways, it’s so interesting and has such a dramatic history, it’s good to know that people continue to invest this place with so much meaning.”

- The Bay Chronicle

Investigation -

Haunted Auckland recently spent a couple of hours within the stone walls of this fascinating location.

The investigation, though not long enough to get as in-depth and controlled an investigation as we would have liked, entailed a full photographic sweep of the inner and exterior, EVP communication attempts, static video camera recording and EMF (Electromagnetic field) levels checked on both levels.

Conclusion:

No unusual EMF field levels were detected. The location read ‘flat’ throughout the full 2 hour session.

No unusual audio was found on analysis.

No anomalies turned up on both video and photographic equipment.

As this wasn’t a typical, full and lengthy session, we weren’t able to conduct as thorough an investigation of the building as we would have liked.

For now, we are on the fence as to whether or not the Stone Store is a haunted location, as nothing was recorded to give any indication otherwise.

Perhaps a return visit in the future will be arranged.

This article by Mark Wallbank was brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand.

This article by Mark Wallbank is brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand - Investigating Ghosts, Cryptids, UFOs, Urban Legends and Forgotten Histories of Aotearoa

Unitec was founded as “Carrington Technical Institute” in 1976 on the Mt Albert site on Carrington Rd, which has 55 hectares of grounds.

The area on which Unitec’s main campus is located was formerly home to the Whau Mental Hospital, later known as Carrington Hospital.
The hospital was decommissioned during the early 1990s, and the building is now part of Unitec’

Building 76 was once a male ward for the most dangerous patients.

It was also known as the Whare Paia Maori mental health unit and was run by Titiwhai Harewera untill she was imprisoned for nine months, for assaulting patients under her care.

The small white cell rooms, still sealed by the original solid (thick glass viewing panel adorned) steel doors, used to hold the most violent and dangerous patients. These are now utilised by students to work on their individual art / graphics assignments.

BUILDING 76 – 1940

BUILDING 76 – TODAY

Activity

In the past there have been reports of ‘furniture moving in the seminar room at the end of the long upstairs hallway’, moving shadows, the sound of children singing and laughing, various items being moved to different parts of rooms, students being pushed…..

3 hour investigation.

- 1 hour Exterior – Photographic, audio and visual noting and documentation of the building and perimeter.
– 1.5 hours – Interior – Photographic and EMF data gathering.
– 30 mins – EVP communication attempts.

During my time in this building I noted two incidents of EMF fluctuations and apparent moving energy fields outside rooms in corridors. No reasons or sources could be found.

At the same time an icy chill filled that area of corridor.

Unfortunately I did not have my thermometer at the ready to measure the actual temperature at that point.

- Outside room 076-1022 : Briefly in the one area (about a minute then disappearing, as if moving away)

– Outside room 076-1044 : Energy field appeared to suddenly form. I am unsure as to whether if it truly did ‘appear’, or perhaps just moved to that position. Either way, I am sure that it was not there one moment, and then it was.

EMF meter went from 0 to ‘off the scale’ in a second, lasting for about a minute then leaving. Appearing again, a few seconds later, about a meter further along the corridor.

The small energy field was tracked from rooms 076-1044 down the corridor to outside room 076 – 1048, where it disappeared. Tracked for about 5 minutes total.

I estimated at the time that the ‘ball’ of energy would have been roughly about a foot or two in circumference. Not visible to my eyes, but definitely measurable.

EMF was very flat throughout the building except for in the areas of wall mounted power boxes, computer filled rooms and alarm systems.

– A couple of EXIT signs showed high EMF readings. Nothing unusual.
– A power box also typically gave off an extreme reading on passing.

In a hallway I briefly smelled cigarette smoke. Thinking it was coming through an open window, I exited the building and walked all around the exterior looking for the culprit. There was no one around and no smell of smoke detected outside.

3 x 10 minute EMF communication attempts – Nothing found on audio analysis except two segments where students are heard talking out in the carpark.

I intend returning to Building 76 in the near future to conduct further investigation and research.
If anyone has had unusual, possibly paranormal, experiences within Building 76 of Carrington Unitech, please make contact so we can add your information to our records.

Stay Tuned.

This article by Mark Wallbank was brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand.

This article by Mark Wallbank is brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand - Investigating Ghosts, Cryptids, UFOs, Urban Legends and Forgotten Histories of Aotearoa

Carrington Hospital, now Unitec Institute of Technology

Whau Lunatic Asylum (or: Lunatic Asylum at the Whau; later: Auckland Lunatic Asylum, Avondale Lunatic Asylum, Avondale Hospital, Auckland Mental Health Hospital, Oakley Hospital; Carrington Psychiatric Hospital; commonly Carrington/Oakley Hospital) was a psychiatric hospital on the Oakley Farm Estate situated in Point Chevalier, Auckland.

Built in 1865 on the Great North Road, it was one of the largest asylums in the Colony.

“Whau” is the common name for Entelea, a species of tree endemic to New Zealand; the Whau River is located within the Auckland metropolitan area.

History

Financial backing to build the hospital came from the provincial government. In September 1863, architectural plans by a Mr. Barrett from England were submitted to the Auckland architect James Wrigley who adapted them. Henry White was the builder. John Thomas of Oakley Creek was awarded a brick contract for the building materials, but being unable to complete the contract, it fell on Dr. Pollen to supply the rest of the bricks. Some of the bricks were produced on-site while others were produced at Dr Pollen’s Avondale brickyard. After the building was gutted by an 1877 fire, Philip Herapath supervised the reconstruction. From 1869 to 1879, Dr. Thomas Aickin served as medical superintendent.

In 1891, Dr. T. R. King, Medical Superintendent, resigned because of ill-health, and was succeeded by Dr. Gray Hassell, who had been an administrator at the Wellington Hospital and Wellington Asylum. In December, 1900, there were 494 patients—306 males and 188 females. The staff included 31 males and 21 females.

The average net cost per patient was, in 1898, £19 13s, and, in 1899, £20 8s. The average number of patients sent out cured in 1898 was 51%, and in 1899, 38%; average deaths, 1898, 7.5; in 1899, 8.8. The officials of the institution at the time were Dr. Robert Martin Beattie, medical superintendent; Dr. William Webster, assistant medical officer; Edward Newport, head attendant; Sophia Campbell, matron; and J. D. Muir, farm manager. Religious service was held on Sunday by ministers of the denominations of which patients are members.

The asylum underwent several name changes. It was known as Auckland Mental Health Hospital in 1959. In the 1960s, the work week averaged 60 hours and staff had only one day off each week.

Avondale Mental Asylum became Oakley Hospital, a male forensic unit. The institute’s centenary was celebrated in Oakley Hospital in 1966. The Auckland Psychiatric Hospital was officially renamed Oakley Hospital in 1962. After merging with Carrington Hospital, the hospital had 600 beds. In 1964, Dr. G.M. Tothill retired as medical superintendent and Dr P.P.E. Savage was appointed to take his place. In 1971, the building was considered to be one of the best Victorial buildings in Auckland.

The Auckland Hospital Board took control of the hospital the following year. Controversial plans were considered for the hospital’s M3 Ward to be turned into a medical security prison in 1986. In 1992, Carrington Hospital was closed by the Auckland Area Health Board and was purchased by a tertiary education provider, Carrington Polytec, who refurbished the building, opening the Unitec Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Design in 1994.

The original building is now used by Unitec’s departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Design and Contemporary Arts. Specialising in hands-on, more creative courses like Graphic Design, Filmmaking and Building, Unitec offers fantastic tertiary programmes that are now recognised and valued overseas.

Architecture and fittings

The facade is neoclassical and has polychromatic detailing. Built of brick, it faced the junction of Great North Road and Carrington Road, leading to Mount Albert. In the central portion of the building were the dining halls, kitchen, and store-rooms, and the two adjoining wings were the male and female wards. The male dining hall was also used for theatrical and musical performances. Auxiliary wood buildings were destroyed by fire in December 1894.

A new brick building was completed in 1896–1897. The chapel of St Luke the Physician, built in 1865, was used as a dormitory since 1875, but was renovated and reopened as a chapel in 1961. The Conolly Room at the hospital was named after English doctor, Dr. John Conolly.

Grounds

A spring on the estate, with a waterfall on Oakley Creek, was ample for domestic and fire prevention purposes. A farm, consisting of nearly 200 acres (81 ha), was attached to the asylum, providing for healthful recreation and fresh vegetables. There were approximately 50 milk cows on the estate, and a large number of pigs. An unlimited supply of fresh eggs, were obtained from the farm’s poultry. Part of the land was turned into an experimental sewage farm.

The oldest building has several notable trees and shrubs of interest including holm oak, sweetgum, chaste tree, and pigeonberry, now part of the Unitec Arboretum. In 1969, the Auckland University Council decided that the farm was not suitable for university development, but wanted to convert 50 acres (20 ha) for playing fields while Auckland Technical Institute wanted 20 acres (8.1 ha).

Unusual Deaths

In the late 1800s committed patients averaged 900 in number, with an estimated average of eight deaths a year. The Asylum was gutted by fire twice. On 20 September 1877, the first of two major fires occurred at the Lunatic Asylum that century. The first, and worst, was set by a patient and resulted in one female “inmate” being burned to death. The charred remains of a patient, were recovered amongst the ashes of the dilapidated building.

The woman responsible gave evidence to police and reporters about her role in lighting it. It was believed that Mrs Fortune had instigated the fire after gaining access to a box of matches, during a visit from friends earlier that afternoon.

Names, day counts and pictures etched into the exterior brickwork by the patients.

The spread of the fire remained mysterious, reports show officials could find nothing to indicate why the abundant water supply from Oakley Creek had failed on the night of the fire. Accusations were made that the City Council had turned the water off.

Over the years there have been sightings of a woman in Building one. Could this possibly the patient who was burned alive?

Additional deaths ensued among both patients and staff in the subsequent years and it is estimated that hundreds of people died on the site during its 130 years of operation as a mental institute. In 1922 alone 60 patients are believed to have fatally contracted typhoid.

These deaths were allegedly not made public because they related to the poor sanitation at the hospital, due to the use of dirty water wells. Other peculiar deaths include the pitch forking of a warden, by an inmate, killing the guard instantly. Another was the blundered suicide of Thomas Meredith, found more than two weeks after he had slipped away from the premises, hanging by his own belt, from a tree near the asylum and the suicide of Thomas Lynch.

In more recent times, the 1982 death of Michael Watene, following the administration of electro-convulsive treatment.

Hauntings

When asked, Unitec Security put the ghost rumours down to folklore, urban legends passed down from one student to another. They say eerie noises are a result of air entering joints of old windows, and creaking and banging is caused by the old iron heating systems. They say there is a logical explanation for every peculiar noise. However, they understand it is common for people to believe that, because it was an institute that incarcerated people, the spirituality of some patient’s remains.

Through the years there have been many reports of unusual activity within Building 1.

- Shadows seen moving around rooms and down hallways.

- Glimpses of ‘people’ through the glass portion of the locked door. On entering the room is empty.

- Voices heard when no one is around.

- Flickering lights.

- The sound of keys clanging.

- A large paintbrush was thrown across a room.

- A mug flew across the room and break in the old chapel.

- Books thrown off shelves.

- An apparition of a ghostly woman wearing a black and white nurse’s uniform.

- Students and tutors being ‘pushed’ on stairs.

- Sensations of being slapped.

- Music playing.

- A woman has been heard screaming in one of the bathrooms in the west wing.

- Doors heard or seen slamming by themselves.

- Many stories of footsteps heard down corridors.

- Various items seen moving or falling without reason.

- Radios changing stations on their own.

- Feelings of being watched.

- Feeling of nausea, headaches and unease in certain areas.

- Lights switching on and off.

- Machines turning on by themselves.

- Curtains moving with no windows open.

- Scratching sounds heard at windows

We put the call out on the Haunted Auckland Facebook page for those that had experienced unusual activity with the Carrington buildings, to write in with their stories.

From Alex C – “Hey, I study architecture in building 1 of Unitec and last week I went to the toilets by student Central (the opposite wing to long black cafe) at about 7am I was alone and as I walked towards the tap it turned itself on, then I tried to use another tap but it was jammed so I went up towards the tap going and as my hand went under it turned on more like pouring out water ( these taps are not censored they are old twisty ones) and I freaked  out so walked quickly out and as I did my cubical door shut!”

From Jay – “I myself had an experience in building 76 when I studied there (early 2000’s). I was there at around 2am (yes, I used to work late). I was just leaving and saw what I would describe as a very strong glowing ball that swayed as it moved down the corridor. It was I guess slightly higher than waist height. I don’t think it was a security guard with a torch because there was no “beam” to the light, and they didn’t call out or say anything (plus, no other vehicles where in the car park). I have also spoken to a few close people who have had experiences of their own.”

 

From Matthew C - “Oh yes…I work on the top floor of building 1 now (the old psych ward building)…Have had, and continue to have many experiences there…”

From Cassidy – “I never believed in any ghost stuff but unitec has definitely got some shit going on. Our darkroom which is in the basement is pretty active with things and I always find it’s a horrible place. Radio always goes static and makes noises and always banging. I have heard people when it’s been completely empty. i never go down there by myself because something always ends up happening!”

From Jeff - “I’ve felt a few things when I’m there studying at night. Once my paperwork got blown off my desk and there wasn’t a single window or door open. Freaked me right out!”

Haunted Auckland has so far conducted three investigations of this location.

One was done by just two H.A team members (Mark and Barbara) and a host, William on June 5th, 2013 (2 Hours), the second session, Mark connected up with Wellington’s Strange Occurrences leader, James Gilberd to lead two teams (3.5 hours) on the 26th March, 2014, and a third April 27th by Mark and a host. (2 hours)

Note – The data and gathered information from the three sessions has been compiled and condensed into this one report.

Weather conditions on all three nights: Fine and cool. Clear sky.

Description:

The building is a huge old brick psychiatric hospital. It has three wings, is two storied and has a labyrinth of tunnels running under it. The interior of the building bears little resemblance to the original hospital as it is now is a tertiary institution with classrooms, artist’s studios, computer labs, cafeterias, lecture theatres, libraries, conference rooms etc all linked by a maze of corridors and ancient stairwells.

The tunnels under the building have not been renovated so remain in a similar state to original. Some can still be seen around the outside of the building as they have metal grates over them. Activity has been ongoing for many years.

So much so that the Uni gets ‘blessings’ and Tapu liftings on a somewhat regular basis. Many of the students spoken to, can tell a story about some odd activity that has happened to them or someone they know there. Most of the apparent paranormal activity we have heard about ranged from touchings and pushings, to fleeting shadows and witnessed moving objects. Through the generations there were many deaths within the location.

Natural, suicides, accidents, fires and murders. Though locating definitive information about these has proven difficult so far, so at present we are relying on anecdotal evidence with perhaps a few years of chinese whispers and urban legend. There are many stories, but how many are based on fact?

Impressions:

Barbara – A very impressive yet imposing brick building. I can imagine the terror of anyone who was being brought here as a patient when the building was a hospital. It never ceases to amaze me how the building can look so imposing on the outside but so school-ish on the inside. I know (from a previous investigation) that there was ‘something’ (a black shadow), that lurks in the entranceway, close to the pillars in front of the room before the library, so I am immediately into ‘paranormal investigator’ mode upon entering the building!

I met Mark and our host in the entrance of the No. 1 building. We were shown around all areas of the interior two stories of Building 1 as well as areas of interest on the outside. Pointed out were the locations he had seen or experienced paranormal activity which sometimes coincided with experiences I had had (or had heard others had had) in the building.

An odd circular design on the ground brickwork on one on the outer courtyards. (Note the 5 pointed pentagram)

Rooms that stood out to me…..Probably the entrance way, as I have seen and heard things there before. Also the cafeteria had a sense of ‘something’ being there. Some of the stairwells were very interesting and the corridor where the computer labs are felt like there may have been some odd energy levels there. The old chapel is where a previous group experienced a cup fly across the room, and the last time I was there we experienced odd noises while sitting in the room and members of our group saw

Mark - The building is huge and covers a lot of land. To get to the main entrance, a drive around the back way is required. A slow, speed-hump laid, cruise around its perimeter really starts to show you the immensity of this building. It is as impressive inside as it is outside.a figure walking past a nearby window.

Investigation –

Session 2 –

For the second session, an investigation of the mighty Building 1, James and Mark lead a small team of 6 photographic tutors and students each.

An enthusiastic group of photographic students, interested in delving deep into the world of the paranormal, getting familiar with techniques and equipment and seeing firsthand how different things can be when reality is held up against the stigma of U.S TV shows.

James Gilberd did a guest lecture for the photography students in the morning, and with tutors Yvonne Todd and Marie Shannon, we were invited to conduct an investigation of the design school area in the evening. We did not go in the Architecture area (SE half of Building 1) or the Library (centre of bldg).

Present: Mark Wallbank (Haunted Auckland) Yvonne Todd & Marie Shannon (Unitec tutors), James Gilberd (Strange Occurrences, Wellington) and students: Isobel, Jamie, Lauren, Rachael, Yvonne, Mark, Garrett, Cass, Wei May, Wayne.

– Weather was mild. Inside temperatures in the low 20s C.

Surface temperatures within the building stated pretty stable through the night, ranging from 21.5 to 22.3 degrees.

We synchronized our Audio recorders at 7.45pm.

In James’ team, one was retained by James, the other by Marie.

In Mark’s team, Mark held an audio recorder.

Both teams utilised 3 EMF Meters, audio recorders, cameras and a thermometer during their sessions.

James - After an initial walk round from the NW side of the building to the central area (we didn’t look at the SE end of the bldg) with the entire group, we arrived at the café and split into two groups, one led by myself, the other by Mark.

High EMF readings:

During the second investigation, the main activity we experienced during the night, were unusually high EMF levels. The teams were picking up unusual Electromagnetic field readings in various places throughout the building. What made these even more interesting, was that they seemed to move. Appearing in one spot, then, within seconds moving a few feet away.

Whether this was in fact natural occurrence or typical building energy field, we were unsure, however, surely if the energy emissions we were documenting were fields caused by wiring, internal electrics etc…surely they would be stable and static and not ‘move around’?

The size of the fields were interesting also, most we detected measuring only a few feet in circumference.

Please note that we are not stating that we had been experiencing paranormal activity during the sessions. Only that we were picking up many interesting energy field levels that didn’t make sense to the team at the time.

Also, to be noted was that 2 different models of EMF meter were used this night, so we were able to compare and reading to further confirm whether or not the activity was caused by something happening internally within the meter. Faults or glitches etc.

Mark’s team:

– Off the scale readings (beyond 5 Mg) were documented in a hallway leading out into a court yard on the North West wing. Outside room 1167.

– We picked up numerous odd EMF fluctuations throughout the night. Mainly in hallways, but not along wall lines or down low, with would present the possibility of internal wiring. The fields seemed to be ‘floating’ down the hallways. Always at about chest or head height.

- Outside room 001- 1094, along the Contemporary craft design product and furniture design hallway. A heavy field was measured along a section of the hallway wall, at very unhealthy levels. We deducted this was due to steel plating and air venting fitted into the wall.

– A couple of the rooms were locked but gave off Low EMF readings showing that there was electronic equipment inside. On asking we were told that these rooms did in fact house many larger pieces like photocopiers and around 4 or 5 computers. Still the level of EMF seemed an unhealthy high in these circumstances with the EMF meter jumping over the 5 mg mark. Even when held a foot away from the door.

– ‘Toilet’ studio. (jokingly called that because the sound of the next door toilet flushing can clearly be heard during lessons) We picked up a brief EMF jump. From 0-5 Mg suddenly, at chest height, then after about 5 seconds, nothing in the area at all.

– In the café / lunchroom we found that there was a strong electrical field within 4 support poles in the middle of the room. 2 of the poles showed unusually high 5 Mg levels, whilst the other two didn’t. However when walking into the centre of the surrounding poles, the field was off the scale. We thought that perhaps there was wiring within 2 of the poles causing this as they sounded hollow, but are unsure. The kitchen equipment levels were tested with only the fridges registered on the EMF meter, which is quite typical. Highest reading in the kitchen was a Red Bull fridge at 3 Mg.

– At one point when both teams had converged in a corridor, all four EMF meters were triggered at the same time, creating a bizarre momentary orchestra of meters, all beeping in electronic, almost harmonic unison.

- In the chapel we spent quite a bit of time tracking mysterious energy ‘balls’ around the room. The fields seemed to be constantly moving. Never remaining static in one area. The Sound system amp gave off a 1.5 to 2Mg Reading, which was understandable. At one point we seemed to be able to get one to move from one EMF meter to another, a few metres away. We had asked whatever we might have been experiencing to move from meter to meter, which appeared to happen. Coincidence?

We were unsure, but enjoyed the experience.

One of the stained glass windows in the Chapel room also gave off a strong reading, though we could find any wiring or possible sources for such high fluctuations.

The second team also reported some ‘subtle responses’ via EMF meter, to their questions, whilst they were in the Chapel.

– [Mark] – In Print studio One, I experienced sudden battery drain on my camera. New batteries were inserted at the beginning of investigation. A battery draining occurred twice during our session.

James’ team:

– 8PM, outside Rm 1165, the Trifield meter carried by Garrett registered a magnetic field up to 3 milligauss in the middle of the corridor, while held at about head-height.

– We were unable to relate this reading to any of the electrical wiring in the vicinity.

– Other, similar readings were noted at various points along the corridor, NW wing (outside Rm 1167 and in other places).

– Rm 1094, (corridor outside) Cell Sensor EM meter and other meters reading up to 3 milligauss mid-corridor. At 8.30pm we all met in the café on the ground floor, then re-synchronised the recorders. The two groups remained the same and we swapped floors. We explored for an hour, doing EVP sessions in various rooms.

We met up again at 9.30pm and again re-started the recorders. Some of the students left at this point. A group of us (James, Yvonne Todd, Garrett, Cass, Yvonne) went to explore the darkrooms.

– Darkrooms under SW wing: we had a 3-minute period of the natural EM meter and the other two EMF meters reacting strongly. The Natural EM meter was placed on the ground by the big rail enlarger in one of the inner darkrooms. I was showing how it would react to vibration and movement by tapping my foot next to it. This seemed to set something off and there was intense, fluctuating readings for several minutes.

– After this we conducted an EVP session, with little apparent reaction (although the Natural EM meter was heard to react at a low level following some of the questions).

- Some people upstairs could be heard very faintly in the background of the EVP recording, in places.

– I don’t have a time check on the start of the recording, but the incident occurred at about 10pm. I have no idea what would make the Natural EM meter react this strongly for this length of time. It would require a moving magnetic field of some kind. The rail enlarger was turned off and utterly stationary. The EMF meters were reacting as well. After the three minutes the reactions lessened significantly.

– The darkrooms are in a basement area and are quite claustrophobic-feeling. You have to go through several rooms to get to the internal one in which we had the EM reaction.

The investigation concluded at 10.30pm.

General Activity –

–     On entering a small storage room at the end of a long hallway, 2 or the team reacted to an ice cold blast of ‘wind’ swishing past their necks.

–     A loud ‘bang’ was heard down one of the corridors. Possibly a door slamming with force.

–     Unusual EMF readings.

–     A few team members reported feeling ‘drained’ at times.

Session 3 yeilding very minimal results this time.

Only a few subtle EMF fluctuations, (light and brief flickers from 0 – 2 mg) but nothing I would get excited about. Slightly longer EMF occurrence (1 minute) whilst visiting the Chapel once again.

Mark - As it did at the previous investigation, the energy field seemed small in shape / size. It again appeared, then disappeared. I was unable to track any movement this time as it didn’t hang around long enough. 2 x 10 minute EVP communication attempts with no anomalies on audio review.

EVP sessions -

A few attempts were made to capture Electronic Voice Phenomenon, but proved unsuccessful on completion of audio analysis. No audio anomalies were found on any of the recordings from our sessions.

Summary:

Barbara - I saw nothing during this visit to make me think the building is haunted but from the stories I have heard and from prior experience I believe it would be beneficial for the group to do a full investigation of this building. Our host pointed out the locations he himself had seen or experienced paranormal activity in the past, which interestingly enough coincided with the experiences I had had (or had heard others had had) in the building.

I saw nothing during this visit to make me think the building is haunted but from the stories I have heard and from prior experience I believe it would be beneficial for the group to do more full investigations of this building.

Mark – During the 2 sessions I was present at, I found the most activity happening during the second, group / 2 team investigation. Mostly EMF responses, but odd because they didn’t seem to be reacting to any wiring or electrical equipment we could see.

The fields we picked up on that we could not find sources to, were mostly down the centre of hallways and in the chapel room. Almost all were at around chest to head height.

The EMF fields we were experiencing seemed to move from one spot to another. Never static and stable. We spent some time ‘tracking’ anomalice energy field around rooms. It was definitely interesting to say the least! Do I think that Unitech is haunted? At this point I don’t know what is going on there, to be honest. I can’t disregard all the stories and claims that have been forthcoming through the many years. People are seeing, feeling and experiencing something in this place.

The high EMF levels might explain away some of the feelings of paranoia, sickness, dizziness etc. If people are feeling dizzy, then that might cause them to stumble on stairs and as if being pushed….maybe.

But, to come to a solid conclusion such as this, first we need to find the sources of the EM fields. Something we found rather difficult to achieve in our sessions there so far. More research and investigation will need to be done to gather more data, before coming to any serious conclusions as to the buildings haunted status.

A big ‘Thank you’ to James Gilberd for inviting me on his investigation session.

CASE STILL OPEN.

This article by Mark Wallbank was brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand.

This article by Mark Wallbank is brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand - Investigating Ghosts, Cryptids, UFOs, Urban Legends and Forgotten Histories of Aotearoa

In recent years it is said that some of the tenants had complained of hearing unusual Banging coming from the kitchen, toilets flushing by themselves, unusual voices recorded on gallery computers and windows that appear to open by themselves after hours.

A woman who had worked in the Art Gallery (large ground floor room) in the building had said she had seen a teenaged girl several times. 

The girl was dressed in a maids uniform and was usually sighted by the old kitchen area. (Unfortunately no-one now seems to know where the kitchen area on the ground floor was). 

Urban legend is that the building was a nunnery and that the ghost of a nun has been seen.

From a news article ……

Frances Baker swears she works with ghosts. ”I would suspect that she’s a junior maid, a scullery maid or something like that,” says Frances, who insists that over seven or so years working in Lopdell House, the Titirangi arts centre, she has been treated to regular sightings of the maid’s spirit in and around the old kitchen.

”She’s nice. She’s just a sweet, simple, young girl.” Add to that other reports from staff members, peculiar human-like sounds recorded on the gallery computer, riotous clinking and clanking in an empty kitchen, toilets flushing and doors opening in empty corridors, and it’s not as if Frances’ experiences are isolated.

”They are not bad ghosts. They don’t go out of their way to frighten anyone. They are just interested.”

Team: Mark, Barbara, Ian, Karen, Matthew, Sam

Weather: A humid autumn evening with patches of light rain. Overnight low of 9.2C at midnight. Northerly winds gusting to 11km/h.

Lunar phase: Waxing Crescent (10%), 3 days after the New Moon.

Lopdell House was first opened as Hotel Titirangi in 1930.
In 1942 it was bought by the Ministry of Education and became a school for the deaf, and then a teacher’s residential centre named Frank Lopdell House. The Waitemata City Council (later Waitakere City Council and then merged with Auckland Council) purchased it in 1983 and reopened it in 1986 as an arts centre. Adjacent to the house is a statue of Titirangi founder, Henry Atkinson.
The original architects of Hotel Titirangi are Messrs. Bloomfield, Owen and Morgan of Auckland. William Swanson Read Bloomfield was one of the original directors of the Hotel Titirangi Ltd company. He was born in Gisborne and is considered to be the first qualified New Zealand architect of Maori descent, having trained in England, Europe and at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Bloomfield retired in 1959 and is also known for the design of Queen’s Arcade (Queen St), Yorkshire House (cnr Shortland and O’Connell Sts) and the Masonic Temple (St Benedict’s St).
Designed in a Spanish Mission style to accommodate over 60 guests, Hotel Titirangi was noted for having central heating, hot and cold water in every bedroom, and private bathrooms attached to five of the 24 bedrooms, all of which were fully carpeted. The building also had tea-rooms, two shops, a post office, a roof garden and a garage below. The main room on the ground floor was a tearoom and cabaret, running the whole length of the building to accommodate 200 people, with a dining room on the first floor. The cabaret featured a special dance floor laid down on rubber buffers. Particularly innovative was the installation of a “Wireless and Talking Machine”, which allowed music or talking to be simultaneously broadcast to the cabaret, roof garden and all landings.
In 1935, alterations were undertaken to add a a new lounge on the roof, to enlarge the tearoom and dining room, and to convert a shop in the building to a private dining room.
By early March 1931, the Hotel Titirangi company was put into liquidation, blamed on “the present dull times.” The Hotel never secured an alcohol license, becoming known as the ‘pub with no beer’, and struggled to attract patrons, most business being done by the restaurant and tea rooms – a nightclub was added towards the end of the decade but struggled without a license. In July 1939, the then owner-occupier of the hotel, Leonard James Shrubsall (Mr Finlay) was charged and fined for deliberately selling alcohol without a license in a no-license area, and a large quantity of liquor was confiscated.
In 1939, a Mr George Hunter took over the lease and changed the building’s name to the Titirangi Country Club, occupied by his wife, family and other relatives, and managed my Max Hunter. It was established as a country club for members, who were allowed to introduce guests that could use amenities such as tennis courts, a ping pong table etc., and it was proposed that, as a dwelling for Mr Hunter and his family, it is exempt from licensing regulations that would apply to a restaurant or public dance hall, but a police raid and subsequent case in 1941 proved otherwise.
In June 1942, Hotel Titirangi was purchased by the government for use as a residential school for the deaf. More than 60 students arrived in September 1942 while alterations were still in progress. In 1960, the school transferred to purpose-built premises in Glen Eden.
After functioning as a school for the deaf, the building was used by the Department of Education for in-service teacher training. It was renamed Frank Lopdell House in 1960 after the Superintendent of Education and became a venue for week long training courses. Music courses for primary school teachers were a particular feature of the in-service teacher-training programme. One course aimed to instruct up to 35 teachers to play simple melodies on a range of instruments in as little as two days, which was described in a Southland News report as a “mild revolution” in music pedagogy.
Frank Lopdell House was vacated in 1982 and purchased by the Waitemata City Council. It was then leased to Lopdell House Society in early 1985. Later in 1985, the Titirangi Drama club (now Titirangi Theatre) took up a separate lease with Waitemata City Council for the sub-basement, which they held until 2012.
On 19 November 1986, Lopdell House Society reopened the building as the Waitemata City Arts and Cultural Centre, later simply known as Lopdell House. Lopdell House Society, trading as Lopdell House Gallery, occupied the ground floor with offices above and managed the building until the start of a major redevelopment in 2012. They sublet other spaces to other organisations including McCahon House. Significant additions were made to the rooftop and, for a period, a restaurant operated in the rooftop extension.
Construction work began in 2012 and all tenants moved out, leaving the Lopdell House Development Trust to take over the lease from Lopdell House Society and become the developers of a new precinct, a project that included refurbishment, restoration and earthquake strengthening of Lopdell House and the addition of a new, purpose-built contemporary gallery building alongside as part of a larger precinct along with the Treasure House behind.
Lopdell House was completed and reopened on Saturday 1 March 2014.
As part of the building’s refurbishment, the exterior paint was returned to its original white, having been khaki green for a period and also salmon pink.
Another feature of the restoration, designed by Mitchell and Stout Architects, was the removal of rooftop additions from 1935 and the 1980s, to reinstate the rooftop terrace.

Community arts have flourished since.

What were once the hotel rooms now appear to be rooms that have been rented out and used as office blocks for smaller businesses, therapists and non-profit organisations.

Barbara - Downstairs from the main entrance was a theatre with a bar/reception area, dressing rooms and bathrooms.

On the ground floor was a large empty white room which had a series of arches down one side.  On the first floor was a corridor with an old-fashioned bathroom at one end and doors down each side.  At one time the doors would have been to hotel rooms but now housed businesses and offices.  We were unable to have access to these rooms apart from the manager’s office at the end the corridor. The second floor was very similar but we had access to a meeting room and also a vacant room above the manager’s office.  There was access to the roof via the stairway.  The roof area had once been a restaurant but now is a tiled area with low sidewalls which can be used as an outside area.

Ian - Downstairs is the main gallery area. Here there is a newly built theatre with a small bar and most of the above ground level floors have been rented out as offices. The top floor is an open rooftop which has been used as a restaurant in the past. It was a wet night so in order to see the amazing views from the rooftop we had to go out in the rain, but you could look out from the glass exits to the roof. All floors were accessible by a old fashioned but very modern lift. There is also a very cool spiral staircase serving floors above the ground floor. The corridors on the main floors are bright and narrow and make you feel like you are in a hotel

First Impressions

Sam - What an amazing building. My first impression of Lopdell house was that it still looked like a hotel. I felt as though I could have walked in on its opening day in 1930 and expected to see much of the same layout. I’d only ever seen the old fashioned “sliding gate” elevators that it had, in movies. I was almost disappointed to see that there was no bellhop waiting for me inside asking me what level I wanted to be on!

It was interesting how similar each level of the building seemed to be. I found myself on a few occasions feeling lost and confused as to which level I was on despite the fact that finding my bearings really shouldn’t have been that hard.

The corridors ran down in a straight line with room doors mirroring one another all the way down. Standing at one end and looking down kind of reminded me of the famous scene in Stanley Kubrik’s version of “The Shining”.

Ian - It was a nice relaxing day but a wet evening. It is a beautiful building and has just been newly renovated.

We entered through the main door. The building is protected by a high tech/ modern security system, it is all freshly painted, modern and still retains some of its original character. We had a tour around before being left with access to most of the building. I did not have a different feeling when entering, I was just thinking how good the place would be to live in. The main art gallery area is a nice place to stand and look out at the rain. It has wooden floors and feels like an oversized apartment. It has pillars running alongside the windows on either side and behind the back wall has a row of toilets. I am guessing this may have been the old kitchen area as this is where some people claim there has been activity.

Matt – The gallery appears to be quite tall and narrow compared to other buildings in the area. Perched on the edge of a steep slope. The ground floor consisted of an open space with pillars which was undergoing renovation. The upstairs floors comprised of approximately a dozen individual small offices on each floor for various organisations. While the structure of the building was old, the office interiors were all renovated.

The building was quite comfortable and devoid of any “creepy” areas, even in the unlit parts of the building. The fact that most of the building had been renovated inside made it feel quite open and modern.

Barbara - This is a lovely old building.

It was very well renovated and looked modern and well maintained on the inside.  It had sweeping, ornate curved stairways and still had the old-fashioned lifts that had the cage-type doors. Each area of the building had its own “feel” from the open-planned art gallery area, the hallways with offices off to each side and the tiled roof area.

Temperatures in building

Surface / Ambient
Entrance 16.5 / 20
Arch Room 15.8(front) / 18
16(back)
Stairs (G-1) 15.5 / 18
Landing 1st floor 16.5 / 19
Hallway 1st floor 16.6(by bathroom) / 19
17.2 / 19
16.9(end by st’well) / 19
Meeting Room 16 / 19
Kitchen 16.6 / 19
Office 16.5 / 19
Stairs(1-2) 15.5 / 19
Landing 2nd floor 16 / 19
Hallway 2nd floor 16.1(by bathroom) / 19
17.5(mid) / 19
17.2(end) / 19
Vacant Room 15.3 / 19
Stairs (2-roof) 16.2 / 19
Landing 16.7 / 19
Roof(outside) 12.6 / 16
St’well(top) 15 / 17
St’well (2nd floor) 15.4 / 17
St’well (1st floor) 17.4(door open) / 18
St’well(Ground floor) 14.5 / 17

Later in the evening it was commented upon that the Vacant Room felt a lot chillier than it had during the initial walkthrough but upon checking the temperature in the room the thermometer did not corroborate this temperature drop.

The Investigation

Equipment set up for this investigation -

• DVR 4 Camera system.
  ◾Tripod and handheld cams x 4
  ◾Audio recorders X 5
  ◾Go pro cameras
  ◾Trigger objects: balloon, playing cards, torches, ball bearings, classic music
  ◾Parapod 2
  ◾E.M field generators
  ◾Natural Electromagnetic (EM) Meter
  ◾Vibration / Motion sensors X 3
  ◾Thermometers and EMF meters (Double and Tri- field)
  ◾I.R Illuminators
  ◾Phone apps
  ◾Ghostbox

Barbara - We did EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon)  sessions in the theatre, in the large downstairs “art gallery room” and in the empty 2nd floor room. 

I also conducted an EVP communication attempt on the roof and in the hallway. 

We did all hear some odd noises (bangs and clicks) during both the EVP sessions and while investigating, but upon reviewing the audio they are not easily heard so were dismissed. I have also caught on audio, what sounds like people talking, but this could have easily been people outside. We asked the usual questions but don’t seem to have gotten any responses. 

Along with the usual communication sessions, I also tried my spirtbox and Matthew trialled an EVP phone app. Neither seems to have gotten any positive results. 

Matthew tried playing a sampling of 1930s music, as a trigger, in an attempt to get any possible spirits there to communicate. No apparent responses were recorded.

We conducted our first EVP session in the Gallery of the first floor of the building. We couldn’t quite get an exact location of where the “old kitchen” may have been where the spirit of the young girl was previously seen, but it was suggested that it was likely to have originally been in the area where the gallery is today.

Matthew – I spent the majority of my time in the “haunted” room on the 2nd floor.

This was the room which had apparently been a kitchen, and  the ghost of a maid had been reported by former staff members.
The room itself was a little damp, which may explain why it was unoccupied, but it was an otherwise unremarkable space.

It was unfurnished apart from a 2-seater couch. A recorder left in the room for the entire investigation did not pick up any unusual sounds or voices, and nothing visual occurred during the time I spent in the room. EMF readings were standard, with no “hotspots” or anomalies noticed.

Photos taken in the room did not yield anything unusual, or were too dark to make out any details, depending on the camera or exposure settings used.

—————————————–

A balloon was used as a trigger object in this area as well as having set up a laser grid to pick up any possible movement.

Upon viewing photos taken in this area during the session there appear to be some images that seemed to have a few unusual light anomalies and shadowing that appeared interesting. We did eventually come to the conclusion that this was likely the result of passing car lights shining in through the windows. Nothing unusual was found upon reviewing the audio recorders.

A second EVP session was held in one of the vacant rooms on the third floor of the building. It was this room that the tenant complained that the window would open by itself.

Mark tested the weight of the window by opening it. It was clearly a window that heavy enough for it not to stay open by itself and there was no clear reason that we could find that would indicate that it could open by itself without assistance.

DVR cameras were set up in this room as well as one camera aimed down the corridor outside of the room.

During the session a few noticeable bangs were heard from outside of the room coming from either the corridor or one of the other rooms. The lights down the hall were automatic and are triggered to turn on when sensing movement. None of the noises we had heard had triggered the lights to turn on suggesting that the noises were indeed coming from one of the other rooms.

Unfortunately these rooms were occupied by businesses during the day so therefore we were unable to investigate further as we did not have access.

Ian - There were a few noises through the night but there were also machines and equipment in the building making various noises. I did not record any evidence and nothing in any video I took. I would expect if there is going to be any activity it is going to be now, since renovations have been done.

Later in the night we set up a laser grid here. The other room that stood out is the room at the back on the second floor. There was a guy renting this room and he claimed that window would open on its own. Even though the windows are the old fashioned sliding type, they were too heavy and still to move on their own. It is a small room and might have been rented as an office space. Stories of haunting have been going around in the media from 10 years and before so it would be very easy to read and have the idea inside his head. there are pipes on the wall, possibly all for water. I did not record any activity in this room

Barbara - I didn’t like the concrete stairwell. There was an odd chemical odour in them and I felt uncomfortable there. 

My camera malfunctioned while I was in the stairwell and was fine for the rest of the investigation.  I was drawn to the large “art gallery” room also.  It had an interesting feel and I had heard stories of the lady who once worked in that area seeing a girl there.

My camera malfunctioned in the concrete stairwell while I was between floors 1 & 2. 

About a minute before that happened I felt uneasy and had a sense that someone was with me. While the group was in the vacant room on the second floor we all heard a noise outside in the corridor.  This was followed by the lights in the hallway turning on (they were on motion sensor) and what sounded like footsteps.  We thought that perhaps a security guard was coming but it turned out that the security guard had been cancelled for that night. I stood up a torch and invited anything present to knock it over.  I also stood a couple of playing cards against each other and asked that they be knocked up over.  Both items remained standing.

We did evp sessions in the theatre, in the large downstairs “art gallery room” and in the empty 2nd floor room.  I also did an evp session on the roof and in the hallway.  We did all hear some odd noises (bangs and clicks) during both the evp sessions and while investigating but upon reviewing the audio they are not easily heard.  I also have caught what sounds like people talking but this could have easily been people outside.    We asked the usual evp sessions but don’t seem to have got any responses.  Along with the usual communication sessions I also tried my spirtbox and Matthew trialled an evp app.  Neither seems to have got any positive results.  Matthew also tried playing 1930s music in an attempt to get any possible spirits there to communicate.

Noted: Some of the group thought the vacant room had had a large temperature drop but the actual temperature readings remained constant throughout the
investigation.

In Summary

The Team carried a class two investigation of Lopdell House in Titirangi.  Upon arrival we did a walk-through of the entire building (including the theatre in the basement and the roof-top where the old restaurant used to be). Temperatures were noted and monitored in all areas of the building ane a sweep was done for EMF fields.  We then took hundreds of photos, hours of video and audio recordings throughout the whole building.  Some areas of the building were also monitored by DVR Infra red cameras.  We then focused on a few key areas (theatre, large ground floor room,  2nd floor corridor and vacant 2nd floor room) and conducted communication sessions there.  Unfortunately, although there were some unexplained noises were not able to capture any evidence of paranormal activity.

Sam - Personally I didn’t get much of a feeling at all from the Lopdell house which was a shame as it was an awesome building that by looking at it you could tell that it had a rich history and many stories to be told about it. It’s the kind of place you’d almost want to find a spirit or two but unfortunately my feeling is that it’s just not the case here.

I still however consider the night a successful outing as I finally had a chance to meet Karen and Matthew for the first time since joining the Haunted Auckland team. Many interesting stories and theories were shared between us all on that night which I enjoyed.

Ian - It was a big building, a lot of space to cover. I think we did the best we could, we covered all the areas that activity was reported. I took audio recordings in the rented floor 2 room and we got to see most of the building. It is a beautiful building, we were lucky to spend some time there. I don’t believe there is any activity there now but its nice to hear from past reports that they were all positive experiences, Im guessing residual ones. I have not heard any stories of any contact with the spirit, just a friendly young maid walking around the building. I think the art gallery will be very good for the town and hope the rooftop restaurant is reopened. They have done a very good job renovating it.  I hope to visit the gallery sometime.

Barbara - It was a very quiet investigation with very little activity.  The group worked really well together and it was a nice relaxed night with lots of time to chat with each other.

There were a few unexplained noises which we heard on the night and at one stage we did all hear noises in the corridor, the hallway lights turned on and we thought that a security guard was coming down the hallway however no-one was seen and it turned out that the security patrol had been cancelled for the night due to our visit.  I did not however, see enough to
convince me that this building is haunted.  This does not mean that the building is not haunted but simply that I saw no activity to prove or disprove a haunting.

Matthew - Personally I did not see or hear anything during the investigation which would lead me to believe that the location was haunted. Most buildings of this age tend to have some stories attached to them about ghosts or unusual activity, but often it cannot be substantiated. Stories get passed from employee to employee over time, and the details are changed and origins become lost. It is odd that the one “haunted” room in the building was not occupied for use as a office like all of the other rooms on that floor, so there may have been something about that room that made people uncomfortable. Whatever that may be, it was not something which I could measure or perceive during our time there.

Mark – It was a great priviledge to be granted unsupervised access to this beautiful and iconic landmark.

I’ve been wanting to go behind the scenes within those walls for many years now, so to finally get to knock it off my bucket list is something special personally.

After reviewing all our many hours of video footage, audio recordings, around 1000 photgraphs and pages of gathered data and meter readings, we didn’t spot anything which we would consider overly unusual. The stories surrounding this place are fascinating and im sure that to those that have been lucky enough to experience this activity, they are thought provoking and memorable events. However, after our six hour session within the building, we were unable to capture or document anything we would consider even borderline paranormal. We were told the activity is sporadic and not often , so the chances of it happening while we were there were slim at best. But as with everything in this field, its about trial and error, much experimentation and being in the right position at the right time with the right recording equipment aimed in the right diresction, to be lucky enough to capture the elusive evidence needed to prove either way if the location is haunted, or not.

A huge thank you to the staff at Lopdell for your trust in allowing the team unaided access after hours. It was a thrill and an honour.

Lopdell House is a beautiful place, nestled amongst the ferns, flax and Tuis, in the peaceful community of Titirangi.

If you’re after a relaxed weekend escape sometime, pay Titirangi a visit, and if you pop into Lopdell House to check out an exhibition….say a quiet ‘HI’ to the resident spook for us, will ya?

This article by Mark Wallbank was brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand.

This article by Mark Wallbank is brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand - Investigating Ghosts, Cryptids, UFOs, Urban Legends and Forgotten Histories of Aotearoa

The Cameron Blockhouse is a timber blockhouse in Wanganui, New Zealand, built during the New Zealand Wars in the mid-1800s. Farmer John Cameron built this blockhouse at Marangai in 1868 as a place of refuge for his family. Though war never actually reached this locality between Whanganui and Turakina, fears at the time were well-founded. That winter and spring, the growing forces of the Ngati Ruanui leader Riwha Titokowaru won a series of stunning victories over the small New Zealand army in south Taranaki. In November, with Titokowaru just west of Whanganui, the colony was rocked by Te Kooti Rikirangi’s raid on Poverty Bay, in which about 30 Maori and a similar number of Pakeha were killed.

The blockhouse was typical of structures that were built in haste around the lower North Island at this time. The blockhouse consists of a floor of compacted earth, double-skinned totara walls with clay infill and a corrugated iron roof. Clay was used in the walls for protection against bullets and the threat of fire. It is a rare surviving example of a privately constructed redoubt from that era.

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This article by Matthew Tyler is brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand - Investigating Ghosts, Cryptids, UFOs, Urban Legends and Forgotten Histories of Aotearoa

Waiouru Military Camp is a camp of the New Zealand Army in the central North Island near Waiouru. All New Zealand Army soldiers complete their initial basic training at Waiouru Military Camp.

Waiouru Military Camp

History

In mid-1940, 800 construction workers from the Ministry of Works built the training camp with capacity for 7000 soldiers. Within six weeks 25000 tons of building materials had arrived at Waiouru Railway Station. 450,000 tonnes of earth was shifted to make a flat area. At the same time, hundreds of soldiers camped under canvas in the snow and completed extensive field training.

By Christmas 1940, there were 230 buildings constructed, served by 20 km of streets. By mid-1941, seven regimental camps housed 7000 soldiers. There was a bakery, a hospital, two theatres and five “institutes”, each with a concert hall, library, writing room and tea-rooms. However, there were no bars; soldiers had to go to Taihape to buy a beer.

More land was required for the camp by 1949. Plans were made to upgrade the Desert Road track through the artillery range to a major State Highway and build a high-voltage power line to transfer power up the Moawhango valley. The Army Schools at Trentham were to be transferred to Waiouru, compulsory military training was about to commence and, as defence responsibilities shifted to South-East Asia, the Army needed forests for jungle warfare training. These considerations resulted in another 250 square kilometres of land to the north and east of the camp being acquired by the New Zealand Government.

Compulsory military training was carried out at Waiouru from 1950 to 1958, and balloted national service from 1962 to 1972. In 1978, the National Army Museum opened at Waiouru, and in 1985 the Officer Cadet School of New Zealand. These were busiest years at Waiouru. 100 recreational clubs were active in the 1970s and 80s: the Ski Club alone had 300 members. At the time, Waiouru had a population of 6,000 people, including 600 children.

Reported Hauntings

Army recruits stationed at the camp have reported seeing shadowy figures at the end of their bunks at night as well as sounds of tapping on their metal bunk frames. Faces have been seen outside the windows at night after curfew.

In another tale, a presence known as “Harvey” has been felt in one of the shower blocks were a young man was said to have hanged himself, and his spirit is said to appear each year on the anniversary of his death. On one of these anniversaries, several recruits reported an intense feeling of cold in the middle of the night, and a pressure forcing them down on their bunks so that they could not move or speak. One also reported the sight of a dirty white mist, blurred and vaguely human-shaped but without arms or any identifying facial features.

Whether these stories are true, or just tales to frighten new recruits, we may never know. But many agree there appear to be something lingering in the barracks and dormitories of the Waiouru Military Camp.

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Chateau Tongariro is a New Zealand hotel and resort complex located close to Whakapapa ski-field on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu. It is also close to the volcanic peaks of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe, within the borders of the Tongariro National Park, New Zealand’s oldest national park.

The Chateau Tongariro Hotel building was finished in 1929 and remains in a pre-Depression era style, despite recent refurbishment.

Chateau Tongariro Hotel

History

In 1887 the Ngati Tuwharetoa chief, Horonuku Te Heu Heu Tukino gifted the Maori tribes land to the people of New Zealand. The intent was ensure the area, including the sacred peaks of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro, was protected for all time, for all people.

In 1923, the Tongariro National Park Board investigated a site for a hostel to encourage tourists to visit the newly formed National Park. In 1925 the New Zealand Government offered to lease the land and lend up to £40,000 to any company which would build and operate a hotel on the site. That same year a new road was pushed through towards Mt Ruapehu using labour from the Whakapapa prison camp early in 1925. Until then the trail to Whakapapa had been a rough and potentially dangerous trek with many kilometres of untamed country to cross on foot or horseback, wild rivers to ford and mountainous terrain to navigate.

The Chateau was designed by Timaru-based architect Herbert Hall , who based his design on the Canadian Resort of Lake Louise and design it in a neo-Georgian structure of four stories and basement.

The foundation stone was laid in early 1929. Using a workforce of over 80, with the construction company offering an incentive of free accommodation and a free suit to workers. Most of the labourers were recruited from the Waikune Prison. Construction was completed on 1st August 1929.

The Chateau was commandeered by the New Zealand government as an asylum when an earthquake damaged a hospital in Wellington and then served as a rest and recuperation centre for Air Force personnel returning from service in World War II. In 1948, newly renovated, the Chateau reopened to provide accommodation for visitors to Mt Ruapehu and the Tongariro National Park.

Reported Hauntings

Chateau Tongariro Hotel’s spooky tales date back to its use as a women’s asylum in the early 1940’s, following the temporary closure of the Porirua Lunatic Asylum due to the 1942 Wairarapa earthquake. The staff tell stories of a nurse named Charlotte, who was said to have died in one of the rooms. It is believed that Charlotte continues to make her presence felt in the hotel, particularly in one of the rooms which was said to be her favourite.

Staff and guests also report mysterious instances of fires stuttering in their fireplaces, and curtains moving as if blown by a strong breeze, despite no breeze being felt. Many also remark on the hotel’s resemblance to the Overlook Hotel from Stephen King’s The Shining, which was based on the notoriously haunted Stanley Hotel in Colorado.

Is it possible the presence of former staff, patients and soldiers still linger in the halls of this remote landmark? If you have a tale to tell about Chateau Tongariro Hotel, let us know in the comments below.

This article by Matthew Tyler was brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand.

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Alberton is a distinctive colonial mansion, built about 1863 by one of Auckland’s elite landed families.

Once the centre of an estate that stretched as far as the eye could see, this beautiful building grew from a farmhouse into an 18-room mansion – including Oriental styled decorative verandahs and towers. Famous in the 19th Century for its balls, hunts, garden parties and music, Alberton was the ‘party house’ for Auckland’s Colonial elite. It was owned by the Kerr Taylors, a leading family in Mount Albert, until it was left to Heritage New Zealand in 1972.

Alberton was home to Allan Kerr Taylor and his second wife Sophia – an outspoken advocate for women’s suffrage – as well as their 10 children. Alberton contains a wealth of original family furniture and other possessions, including exceptionally rare 19th Century wallpaper and Alberton’s original landmark fountain.

Alberton is significant as one of the best-preserved houses of the colonial elite in the Auckland region, providing tangible evidence of the grandeur and individuality of many such residences.

Historic Alberton is surrounded by a beautiful half-hectare park-like garden.

Visitors can stroll around the lawn and admire the many protected trees including magnificent old oaks, Californian redwood, Japanese cedars, rare sandpaper figs, and old fruit trees. The garden provides a peaceful oasis amid the bustle of central Auckland where you can hear native bird song and the sound of water splashing from the ancient fountain.

The picturesque garden is a small reminder of the large formal garden which was originally located in front of Alberton. It is a lovely area to enjoy for a stroll or as a backdrop for wedding photographs.

Ghostly activity has been reported in this well-known Mt Albert homestead. Manager Rendell McIntosh says people have reported seeing “women dressed in Victorian clothes, mainly on the first floor, where the bedrooms were”.

“One man came downstairs and asked the women on reception who the woman upstairs was. She answered ‘you were the only one up there’.”

Rendell says that all the sightings are of happy people; “Alberton has always been a happy place.”

From musician Bruces Paine’s website….

When I asked the manager of Alberton, Rendell McIntosh, he explained that there are only happy spirits and experiences at the house compared to the frightening incidents recorded at other places in New Zealand and overseas.

“There haven’t been a lot of sightings compared to other places but many psychics have felt and seen things at the house. Some spiritually “in tune” people have even been summoned to specific rooms.”

One example was the chef who was assisting with a wedding at Alberton and was summoned from the kitchen to the girls’ room upstairs. His Scottish grandmother and mother were fey (clairvoyant) and he didn’t want to let himself be involved but at Alberton it was impossible to ignore what he was feeling.

On a separate occasion, a man came downstairs and asked the person on reception who the woman upstairs was. She answered ‘you were the only one up there’.

Retired Heritage New Zealand employee John Webster was looking down from Alberton’s upper verandah and saw a lady on the lawn wearing a long, old fashioned dress. He only saw her momentarily then she was gone. He went downstairs to see who it was dressed up for the occasion but she was nowhere to be found. John was very attuned to experiencing ghosts of people and animals during his time as curator at Ewelme where he and others witnessed such sightings. His assistant (the late) Rani didn’t see ghosts at either Ewelme or Alberton (she worked weekly at both) but she did confess to saying there was something strange about the Alberton nursery and the “blue room” alongside had a feeling of unhappiness or sadness.

One of the most dramatic events happened on the day of a visiting “bridezilla’s” very stressful wedding. She claimed that she had been chased out of the guest room by the Kerr Taylor sisters! The Alberton staff members realised that such an occurrence made sense because the ladies of Alberton would not have tolerated such inappropriate behavior. However as lovers of all creatures great and small, they could well have approved of the canine ring bearer that took part in the ceremony!

Funnily enough though, it is always and only the visitors who claim to have had such experiences at Alberton. Nobody who has worked there full time has seen or heard a ghost. That’s not to say there haven’t been some scary and hilarious moments. One such being the day that the manager had a hell of a fright. When closing up the house he heard weird ghostly sounds, that made his hair stand on end, coming from the attic rooms. Should he climb the steep ladder to the rooms above in order to investigate, he wondered? Or would it be safer to call ‘Ghost Busters’? Closer inspection revealed that there was no attic ghost but instead two even less welcome visitors – opossums! It was not long before the four legged ‘poltergeists’ were trapped and found a new home!

Last but not least, it’s worth noting that well known Auckland musician/composer Gary Deverne felt the need to portray the spirits of the house through descriptive music and wrote a piece for orchestra entitled “Ghosts of Alberton”. A recording of the piece is included on his CD “Gallipoli” which was recorded in the Czech Republic. The track “Ghosts of Alberton” is, according to the sheet notes, based on Allan Kerr Taylor and Alberton, and in particular the ghostly traveling around the house by “Aunt Muriel” and three other sisters.      http://www.brucepaine.co.nz

This article by Mark Wallbank was brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand.

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Kinder House is located in Parnell, Auckland.
Built in 1857, Kinder House is one of Auckland’s most notable stone buildings. It was commissioned by Bishop G.A. Selwyn and designed by Frederick Thatcher, the architect for many Anglican buildings in Auckland.

The house was the residence of London-born John Kinder, a former teacher, painter, photographer and reverend of the local Church of England Grammar School. He occupied the house with his wife and the six children of his brother Henry Kinder, who was murdered by John’s sister-in-law and her lover. The house was opened to the public as a gallery in 1982. The house is also used for wedding receptions and other functions.

Kinder House, sometimes known as “The Headmaster’s House” was built in 1857, commissioned by Bishop G. A. Selwyn and designed by Frederick Thatcher, architect of many Anglican buildings in Auckland. The house is a Gothic-style, double-storey mansion built of grey volcanic stone quarried from nearby Mount Eden.

The schoolmaster’s house is of rubble construction, basically using scoria from Mt Eden, with dressed stone at corners and openings thought to have been quarried at Mt Wellington. Michael Dunn wrote an article in 1982 for the publication Art New Zealand which is available on the net at art-newzealand.com and incorporates a number of historic photographs. He notes that Kinder House was the grandest of three stone buildings constructed in Parnell by the master mason, Benjamin Strange, in 1857/8. It cost £1404, a considerable sum in those days. This was not surprising, as it was unusual to build in stone or brick at the time, particularly stone, there being a shortage of masons of sufficient skill. This is evidenced by structural difficulties which were experienced following the construction of a number of stone churches in the region at the time, namely the earlier St Thomas’s on the corner of Kohimarama Road and the original St Stephen’s chapel in Judges Bay.

The schoolmaster’s house, on the corner of Ayr Street and Parnell Road, was sold by the church and remained in private ownership through to the 1970s. On the death of the then owner it became available on the open market. Councillor Sheila Horton and Deputy-Mayor Dr Lindo Ferguson convinced the Council to purchase the property because of is heritage value. The Civic Trust Auckland was also active in helping convince the Auckland City Council to purchase the property.

The Kinder House Society was formed to manage the property and operate it as a gallery. Its first Chairperson and driving force was Sheila Horton, who is commemorated by a sundial and plaque in the garden.

The Ground Floor rooms are devoted to the display of watercolours, photographs and sketches by John Kinder (1819-1903).

It is claimed that the house is haunted by the apparition of a man. The house’s spooky resident is reportedly a black, shadowy figure said to be Kinder, or perhaps his brother.

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The team briefly returns to Unitec, the grounds of the former Carrington Lunatic Asylum, to further investigate the underground tunnels beneath Building One.

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November 14th, 2015. Haunted Auckland headed back to this beautiful, yet allegedly haunted slice of bush land, for a third overnight visit for further exploration. This time, we were joined by members from two other teams; Midnight Paranormal [Hamilton] and Whangarei Paranormal Society. [Click photo to enlarge to full size]

This article by Mark Wallbank was brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand.

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When the Leviathan Railway Temperance Hotel was built in 1884 it was situated beside the harbour, beside the original railway station, on land, which had been reclaimed from the harbour, with rock dumped during the flattening of Bell Hill. With 150 bedrooms, the Leviathan was then reputed to be the largest hotel in Australasia. The name Leviathan originates from the book of Revelation in the Bible and is used to describe a huge creature usually of the sea.

At the time the Exchange area of Dunedin was the hustling hub of the city with many fine buildings situated nearby. The railway station, steamboat landings and tram terminus were all minutes away making the Leviathan Temperance Hotel, unquestionably the most advisable Hotel, in every sense, to stop at, according to newspaper cuttings of the 1890s. This area has always been a wonderful site for hotels because of its proximity to all forms of transport and its ample parking. (Another, now historical hotel nearby was the Terminus Hotel, now the Gresham.)

The first owner of the Leviathan was Mr George Bodley, who sold it after five years to Mrs Anstiss Silk. She was born, Antiss Dottin in Devon, England in 1839 and immigrated to Australia with her parents and siblings (Henry and Edward) on the ship ”Blackwell” in 1857. In 1859 she married George Silk who later immigrated to New Zealand as a steerage passenger in February 1868. In October Antiss followed him with their four young daughters and they lived in Lawrence where George mined for gold and Antiss ran a successful baking and catering business. After George’s death in 1887 Mrs Silk moved to Dunedin and took over the Leviathan Hotel in 1889. At the same time she kept mining interests near Nenthorn and in the Lakes district, where she was mainly interested in dredging on the Nevus River. On display in the Leviathan she put a 2.3kg cake of gold recovered from her “Surprise Co” mine at Nenthorn, Antiss had purchased this company in October 1891 for £80. She was a true pioneer with a wonderful entrepreneurial spirit.

Antiss ruled the Leviathan with an iron hand. AII staff had daily uniform inspections and woe betide anyone who was caught misbehaving. Apparently it was difficult to keep house staff and waitresses because no sooner were young women trained than they would go off and get married – frequently to hotel guests. Still, under Antiss Silk’s direction the hotel prospered wonderfully. She died on 10 June 1899, and on 9 August 1899 the Leviathan Hotel Company was incorporated to run the hotel. The company’s shares were closely held by Otago people throughout the twentieth century and in 1999 they were sold to a company owned by the Laing family, so the Leviathan Heritage Hotel is still locally owned and operated.

There were big changes in the 1950’s around the time when the Queen came to Dunedin soon after her coronation. The Leviathan Hotel was extensively ”modernised” with most of the original ornate exterior being removed, and the dining room renovated. The 150 rooms were reduced to 75 rooms by making each alternate room into an ensuite.

More significant changes came in the 1970s. Until October 21st 1974 the hotel was ”dry” although there had been an unsuccessful attempt to get a liquor licence in the 1880’s. Subsequent owners were teetotal and one of the directors of the Hotel Company said it would be over his dead body that they would sell liquor. It is reputed that he died in October 1974 and the hotel started selling liquor the next day! Also during the 1970’s the adjacent Insurance Office of Australia building was purchased and incorporated into the hotel. This was a distinctly separate building with a different facade on the exterior and remains noticeable by slightly different floor levels inside.

In the twenty-first century the hotel is progressively undergoing refurbishment and is being restored as faithfully as possible to the original. The archway at the back of the dining room has been uncovered and restoration of the dining room has been completed to its former glory. The fireplace has been repaired, and we light the fire during meal times over winter or as required. This gives the room a wonderful ambience. The restoration of the wood panelling around the walls is now complete and all the woodwork has been specially run according to the original samples. As the restaurant had a wonderful reputation in Antiss Silks time, it has been named after her. It is planned that reception and the bar area will be refurbished soon.

The hotel was originally built around the parameter of a roughly triangular site with an internal courtyard, which held stables. The old stables are still there (now the hotel kitchen) although a laundry and boiler were placed in this area in the 1950s but have since been demolished to recreate a landscaped courtyard.

On the third floor of the hotel it is reputed that a ghost of an unknown lady lives. Many staff that have worked here acknowledge its existence. Their experiences range from a cool and spooky feeling, to glasses of water appearing and disappearing, doors opening and closing, floors squeaking from footsteps or your name being called but with nobody there. She is a nice ghost, and the general view is that it is Mrs Antiss Silk, forever watchful of her charge.

Haunted Auckland was granted exploratory access on Nov 26^th 2015

www.dunedinhotel.co.nz

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The Regent Theatre is a theatre in Dunedin, New Zealand with a seating capacity of about 1,650. It is in The Octagon, the city’s central plaza, directly opposite the Municipal Chambers (Dunedin Town Hall) and close to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.
The Regent Theatre stands on the site of Dunedin’s most disastrous fire, whereby on  September 8th, 1879, fire swept through the Ross Building claiming twelve lives, on the site of the Regent Theatre.
Originally a 2,000 seat cinema the Regent opened on 1 June 1928, and the interior is elaborately decorated in a revived baroque style, characteristic of the super cinemas of the time. The design is a variation of Robert Atkinson’s for the 1921 Regent cinema in Brighton, England, which was demolished in 1974. There were comparable picture palaces in other cities in Britain and Australia, few of which now survive and, apart from the Dunedin building, none in their original form. (There was one in Brisbane which survived until recently, Regent Theatre (Brisbane), another in Sydney, Regent Theatre (Sydney) demolished in 1988, and a still existing but re-modelled structure in Melbourne, Regent Melbourne.) All these designs are descended from Charles Garnier’s for the Paris Opera, (palais Garnier) completed in 1875. The Regent’s auditorium succeeds in replaying the exuberance of the original in a very different time and space.
The Dunedin building’s supervising architect was James Hodge White (1896-1970), one of the founders of the Dunedin architectural firm Miller White & Dunn. It was sited behind a building on the Octagon designed by David Ross (1828-1908) which was first opened in 1876. The Octagon building was given an additional storey in 1880 and remodelled at the ground floor in 1928 to provide the present theatre entrance.
Purchased by the Otago Theatre Trust in 1973, the building has since been adapted to work as a live venue, although it still also functions as a cinema during film festivals every year. It is now owned by the Dunedin City Council.
At the end of 2010, the theatre began $7.5 million refurbishments including upgrading the flying system, replacing the chairs, carpet and other work. It was re-opened on 30 July 2011 with a ‘thank you’ concert for sponsors.

Who kicked the seat? And other theatrical riddles

Regent Theatre marketing manager Hannah Molloy holds two clocks that stopped at the same time during the Phantom of the Opera show. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

These are the facts. Make of them what you will.

Since the Phantom of the Opera has been running at the Regent Theatre, two battery-operated clocks in the function room of the building have stopped at 9.40. Nobody knows if it was am or pm.

That is mystery number one.

Before Wednesday night’s show, Alan and Jenny Bromell were sitting in their seats in row B, downstairs in the theatre. Mrs Bromell said it felt as if someone was kicking at her seat.

Mr Bromell reports: ”We thought it was people just walking in and the whole floor shaking – but there was no-one behind us at that time.”

The couple changed seats. The result was he then felt the kicking.

Just to make sure, the couple called in an usher – she felt it too. Thirty seconds into the performance it stopped. At intermission it began again.

A staff member from the Regent used a walkie-talkie, communicating with other staff who maintained there was absolutely nothing below the seat in question.

The performance started. The banging stopped. That is mystery number two.

During Sunday’s performance a chandelier that drops from the ceiling to the floor during the show, run by a computerised winch, glitched.

Not once. Not twice. Three times. That is mystery number three.

These are the facts. Make of them what you will.

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/357211/who-kicked-seat-and-other-theatrical-riddles

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We were given access to photo-document the building on Nov 26th, 2015

This article by Mark Wallbank was brought to you by Paranormal New Zealand.