Ghost tours to explore the spooky side of Geraldton

If there is something strange in your neighbourhood, it may make an appearance at an upcoming series of spooky tours around Geraldton. Goldfields creative Sarah-Jayne Eeles has partnered with Geraldton arts producer Euphorium to present the darker side of the Mid West’s past in a new and immersive way. Euphorium actors will help bring infamous convicts, mutineers and other crooked characters to life, with Ms Eeles warning participants to be on the lookout for mysterious happenings along the way. “Nagle Catholic College has a pretty interesting history and there have been many rumours from students about a blue nun who haunts the hall,” she said. Ms Eeles said secrets about the Batavia shipwreck will be unveiled during the walks, as well as tales about how Geraldton survived a pandemic more than a century before anyone had even heard about COVID. “In the early 1900s Geraldton had the black plague and there were a couple of fatalities,” she said. “Obviously back then they didn’t have the same facilities as we do but the same sorts of things were done. There was social distancing and people complaining in the paper about how some of the people who were supposed to be in isolation would be chatting over the fence.” Ms Eeles produced a similar program in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and said the tours helped make local history more accessible. “Not everyone is going to open up a history book and read about what happened in 1920, but when you find a different way to deliver it you can reach a lot of people,” she said. The tours are recommended for anyone older than 13. Each hour-long session starts at the Geraldton foreshore, with the first event scheduled for January 27. Tickets are $25 and can be bought at euphorium.com.au.