On many a dark, damp night, an eerie phenomenon made itself visible to locals and flitted around paddocks just outside of Tinonee, in what used to be known as Milbai.
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The apparition came to be called the Tinonee Ghost, or Wynter’s Ghost, after the owner of the property it was said to haunt, and it became a part of Australian folklore.
What many believed to be a supernatural spectre took the form of a light that could be seen from the opposite riverbank at Taree West.
The Tinonee Ghost put Tinonee on the map in 1927, as the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Observer reported the spooky manifestation on April 22, saying it was “just the brand of ghost that would scare even a courting couple.”
It was just the brand of ghost that would scare even a courting couple.
“It seems that periodically curious lights appear in a valley situated a little north-west of the village. The light appears quite suddenly and unconcerned, and travels rapidly up a hill nearby, and then disappears as suddenly,” the Wingham Chronicle reported.
“Some people are now of the opinion that the ghost is produced by 'Marsh Gas' – whatever that is. It certainly is not produced by 'Tinonee Whisky' for Tinonee 'went clean stark, staring dry' a long time ago.
“Whatever has produced the ghost this at any rate is quite agreed — the Tinonee Ghost is a real live ghost and is awe inspiring to those who have had the privilege and the displeasure of gazing upon its movements – for they are of the greased lightning variety.”
The story was picked up a few days later by the Daily Telegraph, and then spread like wildfire to regional newspapers throughout NSW.
In 1932 the Tinonee Ghost again made the rounds of the press, as being one of three places in NSW the “mysterious phantom lights” made their presence felt. Marsh gases, will-o’-the-wisps, and corpse candles were said to be “not uncommon” and were given as possible explanations for the lights.
Many people believed them to be Min Min lights – spirits of Aboriginal folklore that pre-dates European history.
In 1974 the Tinonee Ghost again made itself known, though it had believed not to have been seen since the 1950s. The Manning River Times writer ‘Uncle Des’ thought the ghost to be due to a type of flashing firefly, and a visitor from New Zealander who said she had contact with the supernatural made the papers when she said it was possible it could be UFO.
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Mr John Waterman, who was a boy in the ghost’s heydays, wrote in his letter to the editor, “Though it did not unduly scare people most were quite content to give it a wide berth, and there were amusing tales in those days of folk proceeding to or from Mondrook, on foot or horseback, clapping on a tidy turn of speed as they passed the Milbai property.”
Mr Frank Saxby joined in the conversation:
“Ghost watchers used to gather on the Taree side of the river bank. The ghost took the form of a light. This light sometimes shone brilliantly, sometimes only glowing. It raced and danced about the paddocks, sometimes travelling at great speed, ground level and in the air. I would estimate it would cover a distance of a quarter of a mile in a matter of seconds. It’s brilliance was great enough at times to light up surrounding vegetation and trees. It often lit up a group of trees at the Tinonee village end of Mr Wynter’s property, lighting up the trunks quite visibly.
Watch this amusing video on Min Min lights:
“Another theory was that it was a practical joker with a lantern, But believe me, no practical joker could get about as quickly as I saw this ‘lantern’ move, nor as bright as it,” Mr Saxby said.
Mr Saxby wrote about brave local youngsters going on ghost hunting parties.
In 1998 Manning River Times journalist Peter Hay wrote about the ghost, with some old locals weighing in on the discussion. Veteran Taree historian and author Len Holstein was one of the people that believed the ghost to be Min Min lights.
The Tinonee Ghost has been said to be due to pranksters, marsh gases, fireflies, glow worms, corpse candles, Min Min lights and even UFOs, however the odd thing about the ‘ghost’ was this: there was only ever one light at a time.
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