Last Orders for George the Ghost?
High Spirits at Queensland's Historic Pub
The iconic St Bernards Hotel on Tamborine Mountain in Queensland Australia, is renowned for its resident dogs, wonderful views and old-world charm.
For years it’s remained a favourite haunt of locals and visitors alike, but one particular patron has a special connection with the place. You won’t see him propping up the bar, in fact no one knows for sure what he looks or sounds like, but George the ghost makes his presence felt in other ways.
When Warren Morton took over St Bernards Hotel in 2004, he was warned about its resident spirit, but was naturally quite skeptical.
“I thought it was just a story. I never believed in ghosts. But one time early on in the piece, I remember it being a dead quiet night when the bell rang for a takeaway. I walked down to the front, but when I arrived there was no one there and no cars in the carpark…. That’s when I suddenly felt a presence. I knew at that point it was George.”
Anita Foster, who managed the pub for 9 years, declares that far from being scary, their resident ghost is friendly and has on occasion helped out when required.
“If I needed a door closed, I’d call out to George, and sure enough he’d do it straight away…But he did like playing pranks, which annoyed some of the staff.”
Those who have worked there over the years can testify to that. Chef, Darryl Jordan, was on the premises alone one night after locking up. “I saw it for myself,” he says. “The light switch went on and off and I definitely felt a presence.” Although he freely admits that he too didn’t believe in ghosts until his encounter, Darryl explains, “I shut and locked all the doors again before turning off the electrics, but when I came back early the next day, the first person in said they arrived to find the lights and fans were all on.”
When I put to Anita that there could be a rational explanation behind the goings on, she dismisses the notion. “He’s definitely there…. You can hear him… And we have him on camera racking up a bill on the till one night. He liked 4X Tallies, also rum and coke… It was 2am and he was ringing it through. You could see the buttons pressed and the cash drawer open. He liked playing with the till.”
Whilst George has only ever made himself known to members of staff, and remains to this day a minor celebrity, the locals are less likely to have heard of the other ghostly presence who used to frequent the place….
“I called her Lucy,” declares Anita. ‘She’s the little girl who would sit at the top of the stairs.” There was a head chef years ago, Michael Hudson, his children said they saw her. I tried to find out who she was, I did a search but drew a blank.”
When questioned, Warren confirms that he and his partner would hear Lucy running along the corridor at night, when they lived above the premises.
“Lucy’s mischievous. Cupboard doors would open and shut…. But only children could see her. Adults never could. There were many occasions when parents in the bistro area mentioned their children seeing this little girl, and always in the same spot.”
“The dogs could sense her too,” says Anita, referring to Warren’s St Bernards. “They’d sometimes be looking at something we couldn’t see. When we got Syrah the pup in 2016, that really calmed Lucy down. She obviously loved the dogs.”
It’s perhaps no surprise that a site as historic as St Bernards lays claim to figures from the past. When the holding was bought and built on in 1881 by Scotsman Robert Muir, he didn’t have long to enjoy what was an accommodation house, before he died tragically in the 1887 Logan River floods. As studies into paranormal behaviour often suggest that ghosts tend to be the spirit of a human who has died suddenly, indicating a reluctance to often move on, I suggest that we may have found the true identity of George.
Warren and Anita dismiss the idea, believing it to be more likely someone who frequented the place at a later date. In fact, St Bernards operated under a number of different guises over the years. After serving as a post office receiving centre, it was sold to local businessman, John Siganto. He and his family lived at the hotel for close to a decade, and in 1915 St Bernards obtained a liquor licence. After which the hotel was sold to a group of doctors and used as a private convalescent facility.
Allan Rosser has lived on the mountain for ninety-seven years. He remembers when the Bradley sisters ran the hotel in the 1940s-1950’s.
“I recall there being lots of talk in the bar amongst the soldiers during wartime. It was said they’d hear footsteps or see doors rattle. There was a dispute as to who the ghost was. We assumed it was a man, and then one day someone said, “I saw her! It’s a woman!” But really, who can say for sure?!”
The ghost at that time may well have been female, but how does that account for the fact that many insist the current spirit is definitely male, and one with a taste for Tallies?!
A photo on display at Tamborine Mountain Heritage Centre may hold a clue to his true identity. The image is of a smartly dressed gentleman, who went by the name of Gus Samuels. A retired Swedish sea captain who worked for the sisters as a butler and handyman, Gus used to greet guests as they arrived and escorted them to their rooms. When I suggest that Gus might’ve opted to stay on after hours, Alan laughs.
“It could be him. In fact, I’d be pleased. He was there for many years. Good on him.”
George has been quiet of late. He hasn’t been heard of since the hotel recently changed hands, but Anita assures me that he comes and goes. While no one can say for sure who he is and why he remains so attached to St Bernards, locals will no doubt continue to speculate for many years to come.
*Article first published in the Tamborine Times on 02/05/23*
This is a great article. It reminds me of a ghost that hangs out in an old cafe in our Yorkshire market town. The owner and staff had so many stories of spectral mischief. She was most active in the ladies' toilet, so they named her Flo. :D