The end product / of Guddia law
is a viaduct / for fang and claw,
and a place to dwell / like Roebourne's hell
of a concrete floor / a cell door / and John Pat.
He's there - where?
there in their minds now / deep within,
there to prance / a sidelong glance / a silly grin
to remind them all / of a Guddia wall
a concrete floor / a cell door / and John Pat.
(from'John Pat', by Jack Davis)
(Sign the petition to stop ghost hunts in places where deaths in custody took place here)
In late 2012 I was sat in Brisbane with three senior Public Works officials discussing the controversial short-term reopening of part of a Boggo Road cellblock. They were trying to assure me that future site interpretation at the old prison would be both historical and respectful. Things like ‘ghost hunts’ were neither of these and would accordingly be banned.
Fair enough, I thought. A few months later I made an enquiry to Public Works after seeing online chatter about new ghost hunts at Boggo Road, and was told that they were still banned. All good.
Fast forward 12 months and there has been a sudden backflip. Ghost hunts can now be held at Boggo Road, Public Works say, because they have received ‘assurances’ that they would be 'respectful' and 'historical'.
Oh really? Let’s take a look at just how respectful and historical we can expect these ghost hunts to be.
I was going to write something about my opinions onghost-hunting pseudoscience and the ethics of selling a fraudulent product, but the reality is that any opposition to these hunts really only needs to be based on the fact that they are incrediblydisrespectful - and here's why:
Boggo Road was the scene of a number of deaths in custody, many within living memory and involving both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Some of these people were named in the 1991 report of the ‘Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody’.
These people died while in the custody of the Queensland Government.Is it therefore appropriate or respectful for the Queensland Government to sanction - and possibly even draw indirect revenue from - ‘ghost hunts’ at the scenes of these deaths in custody?
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| This memorial in front of the prison walls of the historic Fremantle Prison was was erected in 1994 after the death of prisoner John Pat, and was placed 'in memory of all Aboriginal people who have died in custody in Australia'. It was erected after the death in custody of prisoner John Pat. (Creative Spirits) |
And what do people directly affected by all this think about it? A relative of one of the deceased prisoners contacted me this week and had this to say:
‘Family members have varying views on the afterlife but the one thing they all agree on is that if seeking an audience and commercial gain is the ultimate goal, this type of sensationalist ‘ghost hunt’, especially when the poor miserable man's children still live, seems completely insensitive and unethical.’
I was also contacted by a man who was a prisoner there during the 1960s:
‘It is sad that people do not realise how offensive it is to trivialise the deaths of people in Custody. You may recall that I remembered a person who died in F wing while I was at No.2 (Suicide) I also was in the cell that Jimmy B------- died in (Pneumonia). Both men were Aboriginal. Mervyn T------- (Suicide) was Caucasian. He was quite seriously mentally compromised. Yet he was in mainstream Gaol. Have the people who are running round at night in the Gaol no sense of decency or sensitivity. That place drove people insane. It will bring them no joy to do this. Despite the crimes that Jimmy and T------ committed they were my friends and I feel a sense of outrage over what is taking place.’
Former officers who were first responders in these incidents and continue to be affected by those experiences are also unhappy. As one said to me just yesterday:
‘None of the ----- who run this shit ever stepped foot in the place, they don’t know what it was like. They don’t know what death is. And now they’re making a fucking mockery of it.’
And let’s not forget that an officer, Bernie Ralph, was bashed to death in Boggo Road in 1966. At a recent officer reunion there was emotional discussion about the alleged sullying of his character during tours at the prison. I do know that he is named in ghost tours. Here’s what a member of his family had to say about it:
‘For years my family have been tormented with nonsense in the media and on the internet about my grandfather’s death. This was a traumatic event that affects all of us to this day. My own father wasn’t much more than a boy when Bernard was killed, and the sadness and struggle the family endured shaped the adults they became, and the children that they went on to have.
The loss has been compounded in the years since by an awful man perpetuating stupid stories and rubbish about Bernard. He conducts tours and interviews focusing on my grandfather's supposed ghost... This man has even contacted me, as have a few ‘internet crazies’. It has all been very upsetting... They are also hurtful and distressing. And it makes me so angry that people are trying to make money by exploiting my family history. This man, Bernard Ralph, is still a very large part of some people’s lives.’
Professional historians have also voiced their opposition to these hunts. As a historian myself, I have previously made my own views known in the book The Haunting Question. This short extract refers to the fundamental issue of significancein cultural heritage:
‘The pursuit of a quick dollar can damage the long-term cultural heritage values of places that have more important stories to tell. In the case of Boggo Road, there are also essential lessons to be learned, lessons that cannot be learned if children are too afraid to go inside it, or are distracted by schlocky ghost stories.’
Is Boggo Road a historic prison with an important social history, or a novelty haunted house?
You also have to look at who is running these things. What is their track record, ‘respect’-wise? Ghost hunts run by ‘Brisbane Ghost Tours’ and ‘Queensland Paranormal Investigations’ were banned from Brisbane municipal cemeteries in 2009. A promotional video for the hunts featured smoke machines, ‘Ghostbusters’ music, and ‘investigators’ passing 'ghost-detecting equipment' over war graves in the South Brisbane Cemetery. To make things worse, one of the lead investigators in that segment was exposed on the ‘Australia and New Zealand Military Imposters’ website as a military imposter.
So that’s not too good, then.
So that’s not too good, then.
BCC also had to intervene to stop pseudo-occult rituals being performed during ‘Ghost Tours’ in Toowong Cemetery, and people wearing horror-themed fancy dress during those tours. I understand that ghost tours and hunts are also not allowed in Ipswich cemeteries .
Then of course there is the now-infamous ‘second most haunted city claim’.
Then of course there is the now-infamous ‘second most haunted city claim’.
All of this indicates to me that when it comes to choosing between 'respect' and a dollar, Ghost Tours will chase the money every time until they are pulled into line. So clearly there are issues with respect here.
In fact, right now the field of paranormal research is infected with too many role-playing posers and frauds, chasing cheap thrills and a sad kind of celebrity.
Unfortunately, what we are getting right now is Kentucky Fried Ghosts. People pissing on the memory of someone else's loved one. Important heritage sites being reduced to the status of fairground haunted houses.
I believe that there are two basic questions that anybody who supports ghost hunts should ask themselves. Firstly:
‘Would I allow commercial ghost hunts in the place where my own loved ones have passed away, with customers being told that the spirits of my loved ones haunt that place?’
And secondly:
‘Where do we draw the line? If ghost hunts are OK in places where people died in horrible circumstances in living memory of their loved ones, should the government approve commercial ghost hunts at the scenes of recent murders and suicides?
So my basic arguments as to why the Queensland Government should immediately reverse this decision and guarantee that such activities will not be allowed at Boggo Road in future are:
- ‘Ghost Hunts’ upset living relatives of the deceased.
- Governments should never sanction 'ghost hunts' in ‘deaths in custody’ locations (or any other place, for that matter).
- Where does the government draw a line between where ghost hunts are and are not allowed?Over-focussing on the paranormal demeans the real history of a place.
- Can the business involved here be trusted to conduct themselves in a respectful manner?
When people talk about ‘A Better Future for Boggo Road’, it is not just an empty slogan. This is precisely the kind of inappropriate greed-driven activity that will continue to happen under the wrong management, and that is why better management is needed to make sure that all interpretation and use of this important historic site is respectful and appropriate.
The Boggo Road story should be told in many ways and by many voices. ‘Ghost hunting’ is not one of them.
If you want to express any concerns on this issue with the Public Works minister, you can do so here. Liking the Better Future for Boggo Road Facebook page is also a great way to keep up to date with developments.
The Boggo Road story should be told in many ways and by many voices. ‘Ghost hunting’ is not one of them.
If you want to express any concerns on this issue with the Public Works minister, you can do so here. Liking the Better Future for Boggo Road Facebook page is also a great way to keep up to date with developments.
And of course, don't forget to sign the petition to stop these hunts.
We can do better than this, both for Boggo Road and all those people who experienced that prison.
We can do better than this, both for Boggo Road and all those people who experienced that prison.