Australia's Most Haunted House Monte Cristo Homestead Junee

Monte Cristo, meaning 'Mount Of Christ', is an elegant Victorian homestead located in the southern NSW country town of Junee. It was built in 1884 by Christopher William Crawley, a local farmer who's fortune changed after he acquired land under provisions of the Robertson Act of 1861. He had the foresight to build the Railway Hotel opposite what was soon to become a busy railway station. When the Great Southern Railway Line opened in 1878, the town's growth exploded and Crawley became a wealthy man.

Monte Cristo's interior included three bedrooms, two box (storage) rooms, a sitting room, drawing room, dining room and breakfast room. The exterior boasted stables to house Mr. Crawleys prized race horses, a dairy, and a grand ballroom which stood opposite the original homestead which was converted into servant's quarters.

Christopher Crawley died at Monte Cristo on December 14, 1910 at the age of 69 when a carbuncle on his neck became Mr & Mrs Crawley

infected from rubbing against a starched collar. His wife, Elizabeth, spent the remaining 23 years of her life in mourning. She converted the upstairs box room into a chapel and immersed herself in the Bible, reportedly only leaving the house on two occasions. On August 12, 1933, she died at the age of 92 from a ruptured appendix. In 1948, the last of the Crawley family left Monte Cristo.

Due to the high selling price, Monte Cristo had been on the market for many years. One fateful morning in 1955, the house on the hill was spotted by Reginald Ryan, a tailor from Wagga Wagga. He felt drawn to Monte Cristo and somehow knew, without a doubt, that he would one day live there. It took eight long years for Reg to purchase the homestead and finally, on the 3rd of June, 1963, Reg, his wife Olive and their three children moved into their new home.

Unfortunately, the homestead had been subjected to years of vandalism. Most of the interior was in desperate need of repair. Windows and doors had been smashed from their frames, the cast iron frieze was scattered in hundreds of pieces, and the grand staircase had been cut in two. Reg worked day and night, earning money to support his family and restore the mansion.

The hard work paid off and today, Monte Cristo is as grand as when it was first built. The house is furnished and decorated much the same as it was when owned by the Crawleys, with stunning period antiques, furniture, and unique objects d'art.

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