THE TRAGEDY AND THE HAUNTING AT
TASMA TERRACE By THE WIZARDRESS OF OZ: Sarah Chumacero
N
estled on the immediate outskirts of Melbourne CBD (central business district) sits Tasma Terrace; a collection of terraces built in the 1800’s which have now been restored and are the headquarters of the National Trust of Victoria. There are reports from staff of having uneasy feelings in certain rooms and some have even the seen the ghost of a woman standing by the photocopier. Many were too afraid to work late at night and would not lock up by themselves. Why would they be seeing the ghost of a woman? It just so happens that there is a darker history to Tasma Terrace that involves the murder of a woman. Edith Jane Forrester Jubb lived and ran what was called the lodging house of Tasma Terrace. Controversially at the time, she lived with her ‘lover’ Mr Alfred Turner. With them also lived her 15-year-old daughter Fanny who was not Alfred’s child. As you can imagine back in the 1800’s this was a very scandalous thing to be living with a ‘lover’. Edith was in fact rumoured to be an adulteress. It is unknown if she really was or if this is just an assumption consistent with the times based on the fact that she lived with her ‘lover’. Alfred was rumoured to be an aggressively violent man. His stepdaughter Fanny had witnessed his cruelty firsthand towards her mother. She said he had even threatened to shoot her mother on countless occasions. It seems that one day he followed through on his threat. On the 14th of August 1890, a barrister who also lived at the Parliament Place address, (now known as Tasma Terrace), heard the gunshots and went to investigate the scene. He then went to fetch Dr Charles Ryan to assist. On their way to the back to the terrace, they found Constable William Harley nearby. Constable Harley was the first officer on the scene. He found Alfred standing in the hallway with a gash to his forehead.
59
HAUNTED MAGAZINE
