The Auckland Ghost

During August 1901 Aucklanders were being terrorised by a ghost. It haunted the central Auckland areas of Grafton, Eden Terrace, Newton and Western Park. The apparent apparition was heavily reported on in the newspapers and the cartoonists of the day all had a take on it as well. Even an advertising copywriter got in on the fun.

Ref: New Zealand Graphic, The white-sheeted ghost has again made its appearance in Auckland, 24 August 1901, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, NZG-19010824-367-2.

Ref: excerpt from The Observer, Volume XXI, Issue 1182, 24 August 1901, page 13.

The great tumblr page Wanted Known, which features a collection of curious tales from Auckland’s history, wrote about the Newton Ghost:

http://wantedknown.tumblr.com/post/39977601382/the-newton-ghost

Ref: excerpt from the Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 185, 17 August 1901, page 1.

Ref: Auckland Weekly News, The Auckland ghost, 22 August 1901, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19010822-12-1.

With 37 articles in Index Auckland about local ghosts it seems that this hasn’t been the only haunting down the years. For more on the history of Newton, Robyn Gallagher wrote about other ghosts of Newton here.

Author: Andrew Henry