DIARY OF A GHOST HUNTER

Maria Windeyer moved into Tomago House in 1847 and the story goes that she still keeps a close eye on her homestead in the Hunter Valley. Visitors and also volunteers have claimed they can feel her and her family's presence at the site over a hundred years after her death. A few years ago big storms did loads of damage but they also revealed some surprises - during the renovations two trap doors were discovered in Maria's bedroom! "Until the storm, this floor was covered by carpet," says Marjorie Biggins from Friends of Tomago House. "I knew it was there because it creaked - it's a proper little room. We think she used it because there were still bushrangers ... and wild aboriginal tribes and she was a lone woman." The underground cellars, trapdoors and attics all tell stories about the social history and status of the Windeyer family. Maria became the mistress of Tomago House after her barrister husband Richard died just before they w