Tales of Black Rock House – The Underground Tunnels

One of the most popular and biggest mysteries surrounding Black Rock House is the underground cellar and whether or not there were tunnels leading from the cellar to the beach. Last weekend, as we were preparing our seminar, some members of the public showed up who had just been to the beach looking for the entrance to the underground tunnels. They asked us: ‘Do they exist?’. Before I answer that question, let’s delve deeper into the mystery of the underground tunnels.

What mysteries lie behind the doors of Black Rock House’s underground cellar?

From a lot of the research I’ve done on haunted places in Melbourne, there seems to be a common theme. It was rumored that many properties near the beach had underground tunnels leading to the sea. I first noticed this when we were researching Milanos Tavern in Brighton. There was an urban legend that a lady named Tilly was haunting the building when she was murdered by one of the landlords, dragged through the underground tunnels and left at sea. This was a myth and I even saw where the so-called tunnel entrance (which is of course now closed) was said to have been. Why would a place like this have an underground tunnel? In the case of Milano’s Tavern, the rumor was that it involved bootlegging alcohol, which of course was illegal in the 1920s when the crime was rumored to have occurred. Pirates would run a trade and use the tunnels to import the alcohol. While I have visions of Captain Jack Sparrow guzzling his whiskey, I’m sure it wasn’t as extravagant as that, and again, that was a “myth.” Just like the myth of the tunnels in Black Rock House.

The stairs leading to the underground cellar. Rumor has it that the tunnels were behind these steps! The steps themselves have of course been restored in recent years.

Why would a beachside holiday home need underground tunnels? Rumor has it that the family needed the tunnels to quickly escape to the sea. Once again it was thought that they were afraid of the local native tribes and so a castle wall was built. There used to be a hatch from the basement to the bedroom above through which you could quickly escape (the fact is that this hatch existed because it was recently closed). This reason is extremely unlikely, as I mentioned in my previous post, since the family traded fruits and vegetables with the local tribe, so they certainly didn’t have to escape from them anytime soon, unless perhaps they didn’t pay. Considering how wealthy the Ebden family was, again a very unlikely reason. A more controversial reason would be importing illegal goods from pirates. Alcohol was legal at the time the Ebden family used the property, so if they were smuggling goods, it was most likely not alcohol. It should also be noted that as Victoria’s first Auditor General it would have been very controversial for the family to smuggle goods in, so again perhaps an unlikely explanation for the myth. Adding to the mystery and perhaps merit of the myth itself is the fact that Black Rock House originally had a lookout tower on its roof. It is possible that the lookout tower was for the family to enjoy an exclusive view of the beach, OR it was used as a lookout tower. Maybe to send or receive a signal?

In this original photo of Black Rock House you can faintly see the observation tower that is also at the bottom of the photo. (Photo source Sandringham Library’s book on Black Rock House)

Another rumor circulating around the property was that the convicts were actually used to build the property. Now this has been denied, and of course it is, as these are ‘illegal’ activities. Perhaps the tunnels were used to smuggle in convicts? Ebden himself has also been working hard to bring Germans to Australia as well (weirdly we think we commented on a German girl several times during an investigation). Were the tunnels used to bring them in under the watchful eye of someone guarding the tower? Of course we will never know this. The claim has been denied by everyone associated with the house. One of the property’s better-known caretakers, Ellen Cullinane, the first child born at Black Rock House (her father was one of the original builders), was considered the local gal for all things Black in the early 1900s. Rock House who has said that the myth of the tunnels was nonsense and that the basement was used to store food and the tunnels didn’t even exist.

A former manager of the property denied that there were ever any tunnels and that the basement was used purely for food storage.

We even went as far as going to the local community, as many who visit Black Rock House swear there were tunnels there and that they played in them as children. Others say they weren’t tunnels they played in, but stormwater drains. An entrance on the beach side, rumored to be the tunnels, was closed off in the 1960s to keep the children out, according to a local resident. Was it the entrance to the underground tunnels leading to Black Rock House or was it just the storm drains? The council had the area inspected and according to a report they found no evidence of tunnels. It was noted that if there had been tunnels, they would have collapsed by now. This is a myth that we cannot express in any way.

In terms of creepy stories around the basement? While it may be cold, smell damp, and have a very creepy feeling about it, we haven’t experienced too many unexplained things down there. Fun fact: Although it tends to flood when there has been heavy rain, it is actually said to be the quietest place in the property. One time we had a guest who said a rock had been thrown at them. Watching the video it wasn’t a ghost, but rather a cheeky guy on our tour who thought they were funny. We have some lanterns turned on and off on command and we are usually under the watchful eye of a former caretaker when we are down there, but he usually follows us everywhere. Glenn even locked himself in there for an hour (padlock and all) to see what would happen and most of what happened was a major case of boredom for Glenn and a story of courage for our tour guests for spending an hour there. Honestly, the basement doesn’t have to be “haunted.” It has its own mystery and simply walking down the stairs in the dead of night with your lantern is a fun and spooky experience. Add to that the possibility that there were tunnels and the myths associated with them, and the tunnels speak for themselves. They are a must when visiting Black Rock House – if you are brave enough!

All photos were taken by Sarah and remain the property of @ Black Rock House Paranormal Tours.

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