Sydney Urban Legends

Whether you’re someone who’s into thrills or are a bit of a sceptic, great stories in different places are always interesting. Legends and tales are found everywhere, and no one can help but look upon what a seeming story is like. Intrigues fuel curiosity; but definitely not for the scaredy-cats and the faint-hearted. 

From morgues, giant mountain cats, and secret tunnels, sure Sydney has some stories that can be compared with famous ones. If you’re from Sydney, you probably know most of them. But it does not hurt to know something more about what’s actually in the busy city streets of the city.

Here are some popular Sydney urban legends you may have heard. 

1. The Sydney Harbour Bridge Bodies

There’s nothing better than getting in your car and enjoying the views from the architecturally beautiful Sydney Harbour Bridge (unless you’re in a traffic jam of course). However, as mesmerizing as it may be, constructing the Sydney Bridge was not easy. There were 16 reported deaths while the construction was still in progress with rumours that there are also three additional bodies that were not declared. 

It has been said that the three workers fell into the hard-rock pylons of the bridge. Once in the pylons, the bodies were too difficult to remove so they were left inside the bridge never to be removed! Some people believe the deaths can easily be hushed as they are itinerant workers who travelled from place to place. They even say that during the calmness of the night, you might see their spirits working on the bride. 

2. The Tunnels Beneath

Sydney is riddled with many underground tunnels for trains and railways. Though tunnels may just be normal to everyone. It has been said that Sydney has secret tunnels lying underneath its streets. These tunnels are thought to be used for smuggling narcotics, a pathway to deliver illegal activities, and even with bunkers to be used as a secret training ground for military ops. 

Moreover, tunnels are thought to be connecting pubs to the waterfront, including the Hero of Waterloo Hotel, where a punter was allegedly killed only to find himself waking up in the tunnels. 

3. The Highway Girl

If you ever go past Wakehurst Parkway near Middle Creek Bridge, don’t ever dare travel at night (but we know you would if given a chance). The parkway is known to be one of the spookiest roads in Australia and is believed to be a home for a ghost in a white dress. It is also said that when people cross the road after daylight, a silhouette of a woman would appear on their backseat, angrily staring at you once you look at your rearview mirror.

Consequently, if you ever happen to travel alone at midnight, she would take control of the car unless you order her to get the hell out. Hence, the Wakehurst Parkway on the northern beaches has been creeping motorists out for years. 

4. The Secret Military Bunker

This might be connected to the urban legend about underground tunnels, but it has a different setting. If you know Bankstown, you may have heard that it was a hub for military activity as the airport was a landing ground for several military crew during World War II. As a result, the military was rumoured to set up various dummy houses to camouflage as a residential area and make the airport look like a farm. These secret bunkers are believed to be a meeting place where the military would plot and train unseen, covering the bunkers with trees looking like typical farmland. 

Several bunkers were then discovered, however, it is said that there are still loads of steel-type bunkers that have been shut to hide evidence inside. Some even had tunnels leading to the primary headquarters of the military during the war. 

5. The Black Ghost At The Blue Mountains 

The Victoria Pass is not just a boring road, truck drivers and night travellers have said that they usually see a female ghost dressed in black along the road of Mt. Victoria to Little Hartley on the current Great Western Highway. 

The woman is said to be a ghost of Caroline Collet, a child bride who was beaten to death on the road by her ex-boyfriend John Walsh in 1842. She was believed to roam around the roads as she is still on the hunt and waiting to avenge her untimely death. Some even say that the woman is usually seen during cold nights when heavy fog makes the road rarely visible, forcing drivers to slow down where she would eventually show up.

6. The River Monster of Hawkesbury

Like any other deep rivers and bodies of water, talks about creatures of the deep are likely to be followed by them. In Hawkesbury, rumor has it that there is a river monster lurking at the deepest ends of the waters, depicted to be having a snake-like head, a long neck, and a large body, with an eel-like tail. This description might be familiar for some; thus the Hawkesbury version of the Loch Ness Monster.

The Nessie of the Hawkesbury has been told around for decades and elaborated in recent years. There have been various accounts that boats have been found sailing unoccupied along the river, with other versions seeing big slide marks on the riverbanks. This tale has also been traced back to the Darug People, the indigenous people of Australia, having paintings in caves of the so-called river monster.

7. Big Cats of The Mountains

Believed to be haunted with mythical and never-before-seen creatures, Sydney’s Mountains are set to have another version of the BigFoot. The Blue Mountains are said to have Puma-like cats twice the size of a regular man, which happens to kill and eat livestock and pets starting from the 1930s. Numerous reports have also seemingly made the claim factual, with hundreds of sightings by farm men as the decades would pass by.

These creatures were proven to be untrue after various investigations, but people still believe it otherwise and are said to be seen during the night only. Some also suggested that the marsupial cats are circus pets that have mutated over the years for a chance of greater survival.

8. Sydney’s Hedonism On The Rocks 

Let’s take a quick break from ghosts and mythical creatures. Rather, urban legends can also involve salacious crimes. 

In 1878, it was rumoured that a woman was involved in an orgy with her co-convicts when she came ashore to Sydney to be imprisoned. Unlike prisons now, male and female convicts were not separated, and thus they can likely talk and see each other every day. Rumor has it that the male convicts were in so much pleasure when the woman arrived, letting themselves indulge in perversion with the female convict in The Rocks, which disgusted authorities. However, no signs of revenge on the woman; this is not a tale of another ghost lurking around the landscape of Sydney but perhaps an unlikely way to settle her case. 

 

9. The Shark That Spat Out a Human Arm

While this may be factual, still it goes on the list of haunting stories of Sydney. Sharks can indeed be dangerous especially when they smell blood from afar, and Sydney’s coast has a tale to tell as well.

Coogee, a relaxed coastal suburb in Sydney, is home to abundant sea species, including massive and deadly ones. It was believed to have an aquarium with a massive tiger shark which was said to be displayed for a week. People say that the shark was caught by fishermen, which was then displayed to be on nearer view for tourists; so it was an attraction for locals and foreigners alike. However, during its display, the shark was allegedly seen to spit out a human arm, which caused viewers and children to scream in horror as the arm surfaced into the aquarium. Nevertheless, the story was proven to be true and investigators also made an autopsy on the severed arm. 

More so, the tiger shark was suspected to have devoured a smaller shark, in which the latter had caught the arm of a human. Tattoo and fingerprints were also found as evidence, which led to the lost arm of former boxer Jim Smith. 

 

10. The Luna Park Horned Man

You may have heard of the Luna Park ghost train fire in 1979 but have you heard of the horned man? One fateful day in 1979 the Godson Family visited Luna Park. But tragedy struck when the family decided to ride the ghost train. The mother decided to skip the ride left to get some ice cream. The excitement became a tragedy after a devastating fire took place on the ghost train. Tragically 7 people died in the luna park ghost train fire.

However, things got weird when their mother scanned through their photos and found a picture of her son standing shyly beside a satanic-looking masked man with devil horns, holding their child posing for a picture. Yet, it was strange because none of the Luna Park workers identified the theme park worker, as they thought the park would be full of clowns and friendly faces only.

7 people tradgically died on the train ride. Still, one question is unanswered; is the horned man the perpetrator of the train fire? Some would believe so. 

11. The Sydney Harbour Bridge Design

No one ever thought of it but not everyone knows who exactly designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. If you know Normanhurst, they say it was named after Norman Selfe, who apparently designed the bridge in the 1900s. Selfe was known to be a great architect, always securing a place for national competitions when it comes to rural architecture, and was believed to have submitted various designs to build the ever-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. However, due to the economic downturn during his time, the bridge was not fully erected, and that he could not win the cash prize for his award. 

Nonetheless, he still submitted further plans in 1908, which was then turned down by the city planners as they favored having a tunnel instead. Still, people thought that he was played dirty by the city planners and that the Sydney Harbour Bridge architecture is one of the many things that he did which is still thriving up to this very day. 

 

12. Wakehurst Parkway Ghost

If you thought that you’re over the ghosts that haunt Sydney, then it’s time to revisit your thoughts. There’s another tale of a ghost in the Wakehurst Parkway when you get along the dark roads on the Northern Beaches. Some have claimed that the ghost would hop out of nowhere on the car back seats during midnight. 

Still, there are varying versions of the story. Others say that a section of the road near Oxford Falls will have you chilling, where a young girl or older nun would potentially lead someone to crash their cars without a single thought. The apparition is described to have a pale and cracked face, with green eyes and decaying teeth.

This may just be a classic tale to scare children, but you can always see for yourself… if you have the guts to do so.

There are still numerous tales brought around by Sydney. You may have heard them from your elders, but it’s part of what the city is ought to be; full of stories, no matter how good or dark they are.