7/29/2019 Haunted Yard (1920) http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/haunted-yard-1920 1/4 Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Tuesday 6 January 1920, page 7 National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40341712 THE HAUNTED YARD. ( Fo r- t he "Post" and "Herald.") We have many picturesque : places in sunny Queensland, and" lovers of: nature's creations can"; easily satisfy their craving for1 adventure by either sea or land." For who is there that does not enjoyé a" cruise along our" rugged mountain coast, separated from the Great Barrier Reef and its numerous islands? While steaming along on a smooth glassy-like ocean one can lie at ease and ponder over the problems of the past, for they, ? wi th ou t d ou bt ,_ are very many and are also very interesting. But those problems must remain as a dead let- ter to us, for our Socialistic originals have left no records or traces of the long-lost past. In our time they had arrived at that stage that is generally spoken of as the survival of the fit- test, and to eat. sleep, and die, was their whole ambition. But I forgot my subject, which also belongs to the past; but it is the re- cent past, and has nothing in com- mon with the dark and silent ages of our land that can never be truthfully recorded, or rather, I should say, hon- estly, for the best conclusion that we can arrive at is just surmise cr ima- gination. Between two lines of hills there ran a constant stream of pure water, the old road followed the wes- tern bank of this stream for about two miles, and'then straight ahead at a short distance the stream rose with abruptness "on to. a lovely Tableland that was noted for its richness in her -L hage and natural grasses. The water- fall was a beau tif ul sig ht, especially when it glistened beneath the mid- day sun rays. At one particularpiece of rising ground the stranger would notice the relics of an early pioneer's homestead, and but a short distance apart was what once had been a faith- fully erected cattle yard. I use the word faithfully, for the workmen who had been engaged on the job had evi- dently directed their attention to its lasting q ua li ti es , f or many years had past and gone since the homestead was. deserted. But still the yard did good service as a safe place for the travellers and drovers'who would risk the night's adventure. For the adven- ture was there alright and that is why the place was called the haunted yard, The eafly. pioneers had wandered on to the Tableland and had been re- warded by. finding the precious metal in payable* q ua nt it ie s b ot h in the main 'stream and. its. tributaries. A good, -serviceable wheel road was opened to the site I haye m ent io ne d, a nd a min "er's store was soon erected and a thriving business carried on with the miners. The storekeeper did not be- miners. The storekeeper did not be- long to the old school of goldfield business men, for he was too refined in both his manners and speech, and his general behaviour indicated that he was far above the common, and also was but a new arrival who had made the venture principally^ for health reasons. So the tale ran, but few, if any, knew then of the true facts, nor were outsiders likely to get any information on the subject, for the young storekeeper could not be drawn at any price. By his honest dealings he soon became a favorite with the nomads, who according to their custom gave him the royal title of Duke, and it was by that name that he was ever afterwards referred to. The Duke fell in love with the p la ce , a nd he had many improvements made. He had erected a substantial dwelling place, and his water supply was drawn from the higher levels of the creek and converted to the house in pipes that he had secured and had I carted from the coastal port, and then when everything was complete he surprised those hoary nomads by bringing, a very refined lady on-.to'the' field whom he presented as his Wife, They had one child, a little toddler that they called Eva, who was much caressed and nursed by those hoary old sinners, who would go to no end of trouble to gratify her wishes. They were a really happy young couple, and although it became known that their former days had been spent in the highest circle of society, they often admitted that they were contented and quite happy in what they termed their new Paradise. The Duke seem- ed to have any amount of money at his command, and when the men of experience cautioned him about the -chance of the field being some day deserted for richer finds, he would j just smile and thank them for their j kindness. i Naturally, as the shallow but rich alluvial patches were worked cut. many of \ the d igg er s left for other fields. And it was then that the Duke took up a large grazing area that in- cluded the partly-divested gold field. It was at this particular time that the yard and many other improvements were erected. A head stockman was engaged, and the cattle were brought from various parts until the country was declared as stocked. The Duke also went in for horse-breeding, and, to make a success of the venture, a \ couple of the o ld d ig ger s were kept as retainers for household and farm- ing duties. The Duke seldom left the station, but when he did the reins of authority were entrusted to the old diggers, who faithfully carried out his instructions. At this period the Myalls were un- tamed, but htey did not cause much trouble, as they had experienced some lessons that had the effect of
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Duke's relatives to sell .the propertyby public auction, and when the date
arrived it was readily bought by the
adjoining stationowners, who altered
the situation by removing the build-
ings, etc., to their headquarters, andso the Duke's efforts were once more
allowed to drift back into its wilder-ness. Some of the employees, includ-
ing the head stockman, found em-
ployment with tue new purchasers,but our two old diggers once more
struck out on their own, and erected
permanent camps on the old gold-field. Those two worthies had a silent
contempt for the head stockman, andin the privacy of their
camps theyoften had an earnest conversation on
the cruel deed that robbed them of
.the kindest-hearted master that theyhad ever experienced in their walk
through life.Our two old worthies
drew their supplies from the same
station, where the Mystery and others
received theirs. They made gardensand purchased a few cattle and mares
for breeding purposes, and in a short
space: of time their camps and >-"ards
gave one the impression that theyhad settled down for the remainder oftheir lives, and it is just here thatthis tale should end, but strangeevents happened that must be re-
corded.
The haunted yard and itsmany (no
doubt exaggerated) tales became
known both far and wide. Generallyin this spook business there is onlyone of the party who can swear to
having seen the unknown Mystery, but
in this caseit
was different, for sev-
eral parties of drovers had the same
experience. In the quiet of the silent
hours of theni'-1-'-
their cattle withoutfail would become restless, and then
with frantic tear would rush arid break
through the heavy timber fiats. To
try to check the brutes was both a
useless and dangerous task. And when
they were once again secured,- theywere in most cases a sorry sight, for
wounds and broken horns would bethe special feature. Camp_ horses
were also difficult to keep within th«
enclosure of the old1 yard, and thej
would snort and prance for hours
trying hard for their liberty and free-
dom. But, from,what? .None :,could
?swear they had ever. seen, anythingthat bordered
^on".to the supernatural
Those,who had gone through-fh'e tryj mg' ordeal used tb relate how. a moan
hing or humming-noise would óécm
about midnight, leaving the same im-
pression as though they were in th«
centre of a.tornado. And at that tim«
the maddened beasts would breal
away with fury and fear. And ye
the strangest part of the-whole busi
ness was that it was but pure fancy
for generally all else was silent an«
still, and scarcely a leaf was stirred bi
the cool night breeze. Still, all drover:
breeze.
and bushmen learnt and heard of tin
haunted yard, and it became so wei
known that itwas given a wide-berth
for no one cared about risking thei
cattle or horses for just the sake o
experience, and itwas in this manne
that the old homestead and yards wen
abandoned and looked on by the tra
veiling public with suspicion and feai
As the years rolled on, the place re
verted back to its almost natural state
except in the care of the Duke's las
resting place, for itwas always care
fully attended to by the two old digge
mates. /There is an old saying that murde
I
will out, which saying has proved cor
rect times out of number, and ther
came a day when the Duke's crim
was exposed'in all its hideous naked
ness. As the'years rolled by ther
came many* changes. The head stock
-man had launched out on his own,b;
investing in a small holding that wa
about too miles' distant from th
i haunted yard. The two old digger
had also improved matters by locatin
a payable reef,, and the strangest even
was that they had become bosorI
friends with the Mystery, who had erj
lightened them on many of the. event
that had passed.::
The haunted -yarstill kept Us reputation, and. even a
the present time manystill hold th
I belief that-it is worthy of. a wide berti
hutit is not alone in that respect
i
this land of ours. The Mystery, as
have said, grew very friendly with th
two old diggers, and often of a nigh
while sitting at the campfire, the
would discuss a very serious questioi
and that was bf bringing the murder«
to justice who had committed th
fiendish crime on the Duke and h:
wife and child. The Mystery's ev
dence was quite sufficient to impre;
the-old diggers that he was on th
right track, but weall know what la
courts are. and so did our trio, so the
one night decided to go the whole he
or none by boldly accusing the' su
pected party. One morning the ¿rw
diggers and the Mystery saddled up
and rode away together, and a week
had "Hst and gone before they ..re-
turned, and when they arrived they
brought the startling news that the
head stockman -ad committed suicide.
There were no further details to be
gleaned from them, but press reportshinted that it
was expected that worry
and trouble in connection with busi-
ness matters had been the root of the
evil. But the Mystery and his two
friends knew better, for they had
plaved theirgame
skilfully and won,
and itwas some years later before
the whole of the facts became known,fer the Mystery had carefully record-,