It has been mentioned to me a couple of times that I should go and check out this particular location as the site of some mysterious happenings. So, off to Ghost Gate Road near Warwick, I headed. Actually located in Goomburra, I reckon its closer to Allora than Warwick, but either way, down the Cunningham Highway I went.
Before I set off, I thought I’d take a bit of a look into the location to see what I might find out and it’s a good thing that I did. Though the road itself is not very long, it is kind of difficult to travel completely unless you have a trailbike, pushbike, horse or 4WD. I’m afraid Scooter had to sit this one out unfortunately, which is a shame because the ride through Cunningham’s Gap is quite a treat on the bike.
Being a place shrouded in mystery, item number one on the agenda was one of my favourites – The Australian Yowie. First step, check out Dean Harrison’s AYR website (https://www.yowiehunters.com.au/) to see if there were any sightings reported nearby. Well, there have been alleged sightings at Killarney, Toowoomba, Gatton, Laidley and even, get this, Redbank Plains but as to whether the big guy has traversed Ghost Gate Road itself, I’m afraid that remains a mystery.
Mystery number two is about the name itself. Why Ghost Gate? If you do decide to go for a trip out to this road, you will find near the top of a rise, a statue of a white owl. To explain the significance of the owl, I must first tell you about the gate itself! In the 19th Century there was a “stout wooden gate” which stood in the boundary fence across a track between Glengallan and Goomburra Stations. This track was used by travelers during the day and stockmen seeking entertainment of a night time. As the gate naturally hung closed, if there was no stock around at the time of passing, the stockmen could leave the gate unlatched and this was the common occurrence. Now, late one night when a stockman was returning home after an evening out, this gate mysteriously swung open as he approached which caused his horse to shy. He was terrified and rode back to his associates with tales of ghosts.
As it is today, the gate is long gone, but here is how it all fits together. It was found that a large white owl would occasionally sit on the gate. If a horseman approached, it would take off, pushing the gate and causing it to swing open. Of course, the gate would then close under its’ own weight after. With a moonless night, strong liquor and superstition it is easy to see how a stockman might be a little spooked. Oddly enough, though the area was not considered to be haunted at the time, there has been talk since of the apparition of a horseman being seen from time to time.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE
Whilst I was researching Ghost Gate Road, the deeper I went, and the more places I went looking for answers, the more questions I came up with about mystery number three!
· Who or what is the Warwick Boogeyman;
· How does Ghost Gate Road connect to the Whisky a Go Go bombing;
· Who is this Vincent O’Dempsey the locals talk about?
· Does our man Vince have connections to Ipswich (I’m thinking yes) – he certainly has connections to Brisbane and Sydney.
So many questions!!
Fortunately, I stumbled across a series on YouTube from 60 Minutes where they talked about a Warwick man named Vincent O’Dempsey. They mentioned the podcast series by journalist and author Mathew Condon (https://www.ghostgateroad.com), who had even been threatened by
O’ Dempsey from his prison cell! What an intriguing and disturbing podcast – are there really bodies on this road?
So it turns out that Ghost Gate Road is a very interesting place indeed. This particular story has been one of my all-time favourites to look into and I would love to pursue it further. Ghost Gate Road has seen me travelling a lot of kilometres, talking to a lot of people and consuming a lot of coffee and beer. I really hope you have enjoyed what I’ve shared with you so far and that I’ve tempted you to follow-up yourselves and see what more there is to discover out in what we like to call, the 2 hour circle.
The podcast mentioned in the video can be found here: https://www.ghostgateroad.com/episodes/01-the-bogeyman/
Dean Harrison's Yowie Hunter Page can be found here: https://www.yowiehunters.com.au/
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