Skip to main content

DIARY OF A GHOST HUNTER - AN ODE TO ISAAC LOWES DIED 25th AUGUST 1878




A blacksmith from Northumberland, England, 37 year old Joseph Lowes travelled with his wife Francis, aged 37, and sons Samuel aged 17 and Isaac aged 6 and 2 year old twin daughters Sarah and Margaret out to Australia in one of the ships that were firstly directed to the Quarantine grounds at North Head Manly.

Despite Joseph's efforts, and the attentions of Dr Gibson and Matron Elizabeth Bant, upon arrival in Sydney on the 19th of August 1878 the ship was quarantined for numerous diseases.

Among its 453 passengers  some were stricken with measles, scarlet fever, typhoid fever and ophthalmia and eye inflammation.

Nine deaths at sea were followed by another four after landing,  and all the victims were aged 7 years or younger.

Dying on the 25th of August, Isaac Lowes was buried alongside fellow immigrant Thomas Convoy, aged four years old, with both of their families remaining and quarantine until late September.



The lonely grave of Isaac Lowes was once far from solitary, as a one among 102 known burials in the Quarantine Station's second burial ground.

His story echoes that of many children who sailed to the Australian colonies in the 19th century - susceptibility to disease and early death.

While the Lowes family settled in the Sydney area and had another son, Joseph, the Convoys and seven of their surviving children moved to Orange in Western New South Wales.

The second burial ground went out of used during the city smallpox epidemic of 1881, it's markers were pulled up and stored.



The second graveyard was closed in the 1880's as a natural spring began to run through the site, polluting the first class passengers' drinking water. 

All of the headstones were removed (except Isaac's) and were replaced with brass plaques on a post. 

Unfortunately, all of these brass plaques were stolen during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and now only Isaac Lowes' gravestone remains.


Today we pay or respects to little Isaac and the many children who died along the way to the new land of Australia and to those who perished in Quarantine.

Sydney's Quaratine Station at North Head Manly has many such stories and so many more remain to ghost the site even till today.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Diary of a Ghost Hunter - The Wallacia Hotel

  We were given the opportunity of staying overnight at the Wallachia Hotel in Western Sydney. The hotelwas officially opened on December 3rd 1937. During the Second World War the hotel was used as the Army headquarters for radiopyhysics. I had never been to the Wallacia Hotel before, but, my ghost hunting gal pal Anne, had been there about 5 years ago with a group of Paranormal Investigators that she was working with at the time. We arrived and we were greeted by Craig, the night manager, who welcomed us with open arms.  Craig recognised Anne from the last time she had visited.  Anne asked whether any spooky things had been happening over the last few years. Craig said that he always thought that there was something a little bit weird going on late at night. Over the last few months everything had changed as the Hotel had been very much affected by the COVID lock downs This was a huge hotel with quite an interesting history even though in the whole scheme of things the hotel was only
Post a Comment
Read more

Lemon Tree Passage Ghost - Local legend is alive and well

Lemon Tree Passage  is a suburb of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, located at the end of the Tilligerry Peninsula and surrounded by the waters of beautiful Port Stephens .  Ever since I can remember there have been a few urban legends about a stretch of highway named Lemon Tree Passage Road. The story begins when a motor bike rider and his pillion passenger died after colliding with a four wheel drive killing both. This seems to be the source of the ghostly lights and apparition. These sort of events don't stay quiet in small townships. Stories spread fast often not ending up like they started. Every so often this urban legend makes a comeback with a number to people tempting fate and poking the ghost rider.             A memorial to Dale Dickens on the Lemon Tree Passage Road / Pic: Robert Mckell Source:The Daily Telegraph The  Lemon Tree Passage ghost  first made headlines in 2010 after drivers cau
3 comments
Read more

Diary of a Ghost Hunter - Lochinvar House in the Hunter Valley NSW

 I have just spent a weekend at the historic homestead - Lochinvar House, just outside of Lochinvar in the NSW Hunter Valley. This was, for me, a team bonding opportunity and a chance to get away from worries associated with Covid. It was also where members of my ghost hunting volunteers got to head onto this site before we invited in the public, to check out the stories of ghosts and alleged hauntings. Now, as usual, not all historic houses are haunted. And even more intriguing, it seems that not all historic houses are haunted for all the families that live therein. Many times I have heard this - one family may experience seeing and hearing strange things happening at all hours of the day and night. Yet, another family will move in and.....nothing! And so it is.. Why is it like this? I don't know. Do the ghosts pick us? Lochinvar House was built back in the late 1820's by Leslie Duguid who was granted a enormous amount of land in 1822. He was one of the first land owners in N
Post a Comment
Read more