The Paranormal Guide Presents: Ghosts and Hauntings - Whepstead Manor

Whepstead Manor

Ghosts and Hauntings 

In the 1840's Government Surveyor Robert Dixon, along with fellow surveyor James Warner, documented the lands they would name Wellington Point, Queensland, Australia. Although named after The Duke of Wellington, as the hero who led the British army at the Battle of Waterloo only several decades before hand, (They also named the nearby bay 'Waterloo Bay') they may have also taken it as a reminder of the footwear one would have to have worn in the boggy mudflats surrounding the point.

It was not until the 1860's, and the first land sales, that European settlers settled the area. One of those settlers was Captain Louis Hope who purchased a substantial amount of land. Louis Hope was one of the driving forces of the local economy with the establishment of his home and land which he named Ormiston, now a nearby suburb.

In the 1870's, Captain Louis Hope returned to England and a man by the name of Gilbert Burnett leased much of Captain Hopes land. Burnett soon set to greatly develop the Wellington Point area and he set up several mills (sugar, bone and saw). Burnett soon purchased the land he was leasing off Hope with the money he was making from his mills and other ventures.

In 1889 Gilbert Burnett moved into his new residence, a 150 square meter home that he named 'Fernbourne'. It is a massive house, built with two levels with a spacious attic space. The name Fernbourne would not stick for long as the house was soon renamed Whepstead Manor (also Whepstead House). It should be noted that later on Burnett built another house which he named 'Fernbourne' which is still known by that name today.

During the year 1937, the nearby area of Cleveland saw one of it's two private hospitals 'Bayview' move into the now empty Whepstead Manor. Burnett had left the manor in 1891 with it's sale and the liquidation of many of his assets. 'Bayview' Hospital continued operations at the manor until it was converted into a convalescent home (nursing home) in the 1960's and operated as such until 1973.

It is from this point that it is a little harder to find history on the manor. We do know that since the 70's it has been privately owned by a number of people and at one point it was turned into a restaurant. It is since it's beginning as a restaurant that the ghosts that inhabit the building are talked about.

Owners, staff and guests of the old manor house have all reported strange goings on. Two children have been seen, one a young woman and the other a young boy. It has been suggested that they may be two of Gilbert Burnett's children; his daughter who went missing without a trace and his son said to be afflicted with a 'withered' leg (legends). At times people have seen the face of the little boy peering between the bannisters of the central staircase.

Another of the ghosts is said to be that of Gilberts wife, whose presence can be followed by the smell of the strong lavender perfume she wore in life, or by seeing a glimpse of her face in the manors windows.

People who have stumbled across the apparition of a man in the attic have described it as disconcerting, while others have been startled to see the image of a man suddenly appear in one of the mirrors.

Although much of the paranormal phenomena is said to be harmless and curious: candles lit by unseen persons, stains on the carpet manifest to later disappear and at times a thrown object out of nowhere, there have been at times incidences that are not taken so lightly. On more than one occasion staff had complained of getting their hair pulled by an unseen hand - an action the matron of the old Bayside Hospital employed this to keep her workers in line.

By Ashley Hall - The Paranormal Guide 2012

Main Picture: Whepstead Manor about 1909.
Inset Left: A newer photo.
Inset Right: Campers at Wellington Point.

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