Slamming doors, moving furniture and lights turning themselves on are just some of the unexplainable occurrences within the historic Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) building.
The building, which stands proud at the entry to the Bundaberg CBD, is expected to draw crowds as a new addition to the Open House line-up on 24 August 2019.
It opened as the Commercial Bank in 1881 and included a manager’s residence on the upper floor.
The once warming black marble fireplaces now sit cold, gathering dust.
What was once a lively verandah and upstairs dining room, filled with the chatter of the bank manager’s family and guests, now sit quietly in a sober, professional setting.
However many of the building’s staff members have felt a presence from the past still living within its walls.
A long-term BMRG staff member recounts an evening when she had been the last to leave.
She turned back to the building when she had reached the car and saw the figure of a lady standing in the upstairs kitchen.
Gail Dodd, who works on the upper floor, has had her own experience with that very same kitchen.
One day, despite a lack of wind or anyone close enough to witness how it occurred, the kitchen door slammed shut so forcefully that all the glass in the window was shattered.
“We can’t explain that.”
Various cleaning contractors have also shared stories of strange encounters and to this day, staff said the current cleaner refuses to enter the building at night.
The last few times he has, he said he has felt someone tap his shoulder, yet when he turns around there’s nobody there.
Multiple staff experience strange events
Gail is far from calling herself a “believer” but said a number of things had happened in the building which could not be explained.
“If you heard this from someone else you’d probably think ‘yeah right’.
“I’m really sceptical. I just try to look at it rationally, they’re just things we can’t explain.”
One day, when Gail was busy going back and forth setting up the boardroom for a meeting she moved a chair out of the way in a connecting room to ensure no one tripped.
“A person, who is very sceptical, walked through.
“We saw him at the sink as white as a ghost.”
When concerned colleagues asked what happened, he said “that chair in that room moved and tripped me up”.
“When we went in that chair was in the middle of the room,” Gail said.
She said she had also had clients who felt a presence or even saw doorknobs turning without cause.
But all in all she said clients mostly loved visiting such a beautiful and historic building.
In Gail’s office sits a beautiful ornate fireplace which she believes was imported from England when it was built in the 1800s.
“I love it, we’re very fortunate.”
The Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, another Open House venue, is also said to join BMRG in having it's fair share of unexplainable occurrences.
- Do you have a ghostly story from the Bundaberg Region? Send an email to news@bundabergnow.com
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