Ghosts of Brisbane Preview

Meet Violet Thorne

Elegant, enigmatic, and bound to Brisbane’s forgotten past—Violet Thorne is no ordinary tour guide.Draped in velvet and silence, she walks the edge between the living and the dead. A historian of shadows. A listener of whispers. A storyteller for those who can no longer speak.Through her voice, you’ll encounter tales drawn from true psychic encounters, local legends, and spirits who still linger on the fringe of the city’s light.Follow her carefully.She knows the path well.But not everything that follows… walks in daylight.

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Stop 1

Completed in 1872, Brisbane’s GPO was once the beating heart of communication—where news arrived, secrets were sealed, and time itself was marked by the tower’s clock. Beneath its classical sandstone façade, letters passed between lovers, soldiers, and strangers… but not all messages were meant for the living. And some, they say, were never delivered at all.

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Stop 2

St. Stephen’s Cathedral has stood since 1863, built upon ground that once held Brisbane’s earliest dead. Beneath its stone floor lie the crypts of bishops and priests, while its walls have echoed with prayers for over a century. But where the faithful once gathered to speak to God… some say the dead still linger to listen.

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Stop 3

Built in 1889 as a warehouse and later reborn in 1976 as the Metro Arts Theatre, this building became a sanctuary for Brisbane’s artists, actors, and dreamers. Its walls have seen ambition, heartbreak, and obsession unfold on stage. Though it no longer houses performances, some say the echoes remain—especially from those who gave everything to be remembered… and never left the spotlight.

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Stop 4

Long before these paths were manicured and paved, the land that became the City Botanic Gardens was a place of deep history—first cultivated by First Nations people, then transformed in 1828 into a convict-run food garden for the colony. Over time, it grew into a sanctuary of exotic plants and winding shade. But beneath the beauty lies something older. Something quieter. These gardens have seen secret meetings, stolen moments… and the kind of silence that never fully fades.

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Stop 5

Built in 1862, Old Government House was once the seat of colonial power in Queensland. Here, governors dined, ruled, and died—two of them within these very walls. Beneath the chandeliers and cedar staircases lies a quieter history: of servants in shadow, unspoken secrets, and lives lived under duty’s heavy hand. Some say not everyone who served here… ever truly left.

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Stop 6

Built in 1889, The Mansions once housed Brisbane’s most respectable women—widows, landowners, and those of quiet independence. With its red-brick grandeur and sweeping arches, the building stood as a symbol of social grace. But behind closed doors, these rooms also held secrets… of solitude, sorrow, and silence that never quite left. Some stories here were never written down—only whispered, softly, through the walls.

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Stop 7

Built by convict hands in 1829, the Commissariat Store is one of Brisbane’s oldest surviving buildings. These stone walls once held rations, supplies… and punishment. Within its cool interior, chains dragged, orders barked, and silence enforced. It was a place of survival and suffering—layered with hardship, hunger, and the weight of those who were never meant to be remembered. But stone remembers what history tries to forget.

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Stop 8

Once the seat of Queensland’s colonial government, this grand building housed the Treasury and Land Administration departments from the late 1800s. Behind its neoclassical façade, powerful decisions were made, secrets whispered, and reputations shattered. Today, it glitters as a hotel and casino—but beneath the marble and velvet, the energy of its past remains. Because some debts… can’t be settled with coin.

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Stop 9

Opened in 1929, the Regent was once Brisbane’s most glamorous cinema—a palace of velvet seats, gilded arches, and silent dreams. Beneath its chandeliers flickered romance, tragedy, and illusion. Though much of its original splendour was lost to time and redevelopment, fragments of its golden age remain. And in places built for stories… some spirits still wait for the curtain to rise.

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Stop 10

Opened in 1924, the Brisbane Arcade was built atop land once owned by the powerful—and scandal-shrouded—Mayne family. Behind its elegant glass and polished timber, whispers of old money, madness, and mystery still echo. Designed with beauty in mind, its upper floors once housed private dressmakers and milliners… though some say not every presence behind those windows was living. After all, beneath every arcade of light… shadows always wait.

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Stop 11

Completed in 1930, Brisbane City Hall was built to project order and grandeur—but beneath its polished marble and towering clock lies a history touched by the dead. During construction, human remains were unearthed—remnants of an early burial ground long forgotten. The building has seen celebrations, protests, and silence… but the past here was never truly buried. Some say the footsteps echoing in its halls belong to more than just memory.

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Stop 12

Perched above the city on historic ground, the Tower Mill Hotel watches over Brisbane’s skyline. Built near the site of the colonial windmill and once a focal point during the political unrest of the 1970s, this modern structure carries the weight of more than just its architecture. Stories linger of a woman who fell—whether by accident or something darker, no one can say. But buildings remember. And sometimes… they reach back.

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Stop 13

Built in 1828 by convicts, the Old Windmill is Brisbane’s oldest surviving structure—and one of its most feared. Once used to grind grain under brutal labour, it later became a site for public hangings, its tower a grim silhouette against the sky. For those who lived in early Brisbane, the windmill didn’t just mark time… it marked death. And though the rope is long gone, the stories… are still hanging.

Farewell

And so… our walk through shadows ends.You’ve heard the whispers, felt the silence, and glimpsed what still lingers behind Brisbane’s polished face. The stories we’ve uncovered—some forgotten, some waiting—are now part of your path too.Remember… the dead do not always rest.And not every goodbye is final.Until next time—in silence, in shadow, in memory…— Violet Thorne