DIARY OF A GHOST HUNTER

Last weekend I held a ghost tour at Grossman and Brough Houses on Church Street Maitland. Originally Maitland consisted of three separate towns which arose roughly all around the same time. West Maitland, now just Maitland, was a privately founded town which grew because of its proximity to the Hunter river and which today is the commercial centre of the city. The other areas were East Maitland, which was established by the colonial New South Wales government, and Morpeth, another private town founded by Lieutenant Close, a Peninsular War veteran. Each town functioned as if they were separate municipalities. I was born in Maitland and lived there with my parents until 1976 when my father lost his job and was forced to look for part time work in Newcastle to make ends meet. We moved to Wallsend, Newcastle and I have lived in that city ever since. To be honest I really didnt like Maitland when I was growing up. In fact many of the areas scared me to death. As I grew o...