Haunted Yard (1920)

7/29/2019 Haunted Yard (1920)

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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.

(For- the "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 whois

there thatdoes not enjoyé a" cruise along our"

rugged mountain -

coast, separated

from the Great Barrier Reef and its

numerous islands? While steamingalong on a smooth glassy-like ocean

one can lie at ease and ponder over

the problems of the past, for they,

?without doubt,_ are very many and

are also veryinteresting. 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 purej

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 beautiful sight, especially

when it glistened beneath the mid-

day sun rays. At one particular piece

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 qualities, for 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* quantities both in the main

'stream and. its. tributaries. A good,

-serviceable wheel road was opened to

the site I haye mentioned, and 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, ifany, 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 gavehim the royal title

of Duke, andit

was by that name that

he was ever afterwards referred to.

The Duke fell in love with the

place, and 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 i

althoughit

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 theirj

j

kindness.

i Naturally, as the shallow but rich

alluvial patches were worked cut.

many of \the diggers 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 improvementswere erected. A head stockman was

engaged,and

thecattle were

broughtfrom 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 old diggers 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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as some

previous lessons that had the effect of

keeping them in their place. The

Duke bore the reputation of being a

good master, and the employees work-

ed for him with true loyalty and

energy, and no traveller was ever re-

fused a night's shelter or the com-

forts of the workman's table. It be-

came very noticeable that althoughhis mail-bag'was usually full of letters

and papers, it was very rare that heever received calls from visitors, ex-

cepting from those who were com-

pelled to do sp under business obliga-tions. Another. peculiar feature was

that the Duke" loved a good horse,and was acknowledged .as an-,expert

horseman, but it was seldom if ever

that he camped out for a night with

the men during the mustering and

branding. It was his hobby to reach

home every night, no matter how

pressing the work in hand would be.

and when'he had occasion to visit the

seaside port, his wife and child al-

ways accompanied him.' He also used

to take one of the men as an armed

guard, which was looked on as an

other peculiar thing, for the Duke

never left the station homestead with-

out being fully armed. The majorityof the men put down this craze to

pure nervousness, but there was no-

thing nervous about the Duke, as the

two old diggers had found out, and

in their rough'way they summed upthe situation as a precaution of being

ready when the time came. It was a

happy home, for under. skilful work-

men the wild bush had been trans-

formed into gardens and walks, andagricultural fields, where grew lucerne

and oats and bright tasselled corn that

was used as fodder for the stable-fed

beasts; and of an afternoon, when OldSol slowly dipped into the west,

itwas

a charming sight to watch the small

flock of sheep slowly following the

leader into the enclosure where safetyfor the night was assured. The nu-

merous flocks of domestic birds would

also foregather to receive their last

peck of food before retiring to their

perches. It was, as I have said,..an

ideal home, where happiness reigned

supreme, and one and all enjoyed con-

tentment and peace.

Eut, life'schanges come and go,

and, somehow or other, very few es-

cape for all time what is known to us

as our worldly troubles. At the time

I am trying to depict; a few fossickersstill remained on the old field, and

they all. with the exception of one,

drew their supplies from the station.

The exception drew his supplies from

some distant place, and on account of

his surly manner and stand-offishness,

camejn for, a fair amount of comment,

and was looked on as a mystery, bywhich name he was known among the

few diggers arid station hands. It was

quite apparent- that the Mystery had

no mining experience, as the most

part of his time was spent on horse-

back, but for what reason no one could

back, but for what reason no one could

explain. On several occasions he was

noticed to ride towards the station,

and when he arrived at the. end of a^

spur where there was a clear view, he

would calmly sit and watch for hours

at a stretch. He without doubt, was a

peculiar character, and not one around

that part could faithfully describe him,

andit

was no wonder, for hiscamp

was pitched in an isolated part, and he

courted favors from no one, nor yet

did he receive callers with bush hos-

pitality.

The Mystery had taken his pack

horses, and had be«n absent for'some

days from the creek when the cruel

blow fell: on that quiet and peaceful

homestead, and the Duke and his wife,

and.child were left silent and still for

ever. It was a horrible tragedy, for

the maniac had committed the deedin the most brutal manner, by hackinghis victims with

'

a butcher's cleaver.

Naturally^ the Myalls .got the credit

for tbe¿foáí.deed," but"ás the'few who

hung around- the 'oütskírts of Wie sta-

tion exhibited no fear, and did not ran

away. to. the mountain fastness, that

theory was laid to one side, and every

effort was made to find and secure the

real culprit. The police and their

trackers hurried on to the scene and

made all the investigation that was

possible, but bad luck was on their

side, for heavy rain had obliteratedthe tracks and made

itan impossible

task for the trackers. The Mystery'sname was frequently mentioned, and

the police went in hot pursuit, but

here again their efforts failed, for they

found the Mystery with loaded pack-

horse slowly making his way towards

his isolated camp on the creek. Natu-

rally the" police cross-questioned and

tried all the tricks of the trade to try[and trap the Mystery, but again their

efforts failed, and when they returned

to the homestead they gave orders for

the burial of the bodies, who had met

such a_ tragic end. They laid the Duseand his wife and child side by side ii:

the one large grave, the site being on

a little knoll that overlooked the once

peaceful homestead. They erected a

wooden cross at the head of the grave,which was replaced soivc time afttr

! wards by a stone monument that was

erected to their memory by inends

and relatives who resided m far-off

lands. And it was there thattheDuke slept peacefully, close to the

home "that he had loved so well. Amember of a large firm visited thestation and made all

arrangements

necessary to carry on the station

work, until such time as the Duke's

relatives would vis-.: the place and

manageit according to their o wi,

uishes.

Tte brutality of this crime was re-

corded far and wide, and every pos-sible effort was made to track thecriminals, but all efforts proved in

vain, and the general conclusion was

to cast the blame on the

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was

to cast the blame on the aboriginals.

Some time had passed when instruc-

tions were received from the late

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-,

ed every detail, which must be the

subject for a separatetale. The old

goldfield has long .since been deserted,

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goldfield has long .since been deserted,

and all, or nearly all of the old bat-

tlers, including the Mystery and his

two friends, have been gathered to,

the home of their fathers, where we

are supposed to believe they will be

allowed to rest in peace, and be free

from the maddening crowd, or the

-"COYYAN."

Documents

Haunted Yard (1920)