Ghosts of the Goldfields: Hauntings, Hoaxes, and Halloween

Join Dr. David Waldron for a spine-chilling exploration of ghostly tales from Victoria’s gold rush era. 

Drawing on his extensive research, Dr. Waldron will uncover how ghost stories emerged as a cultural response to trauma, blending history, folklore, and the eerie tradition of ‘playing the ghost.’ 

From the haunted halls of the Ararat Lunatic Asylum to Ballarat’s spectral legends, discover the strange and supernatural world of 19th-century Australia.

About the Presenter

Dr. David Waldron is an Associate Professor of History at Federation University Australia with a research focus on folklore and community heritage. He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press 2008), Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay – a Case Study in Local Folklore (Hidden Press 2010) and Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2013), editor/contributor of Goldfields and the Gothic: a Hidden Heritage and Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2016) and author of Aradale: the Making of a Haunted Asylum (Australian Scholarly Publishing 2020). 

He is regularly involved in public engagements, festivals, and multi-media displays, including the Ballarat Heritage Festival, and is the co-writer and researcher for the 2019 National Trust of Australia People’s Choice award and 2023 Victorian Community History Award-winning podcast series Tales from Rat City. He is also the winner of 2024’s Jane Hansen Award for History Advocacy from the History Council of Victoria.

About the Australian Centre for Gold Rush Collections

Sovereign Hill's Australian Centre for Gold Rush Collections(Gold Rush Centre for short) is home to an amazing collection that brings together 150,000 objects that tell the stories of this region, and its many diverse people, practices and ideas.

It’s a place for new ideas and for discovery.

Through unique programs and experiences, the Gold Rush Centre presents stories and objects that connect you to our heritage and culture.