VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE

You’re strolling leisurely down Commercial Road, when your eye is drawn to a curious figure sitting outside the Visitor Information Centre. There’s something nautical in the strange fellow’s appearance, a long dusty trench coat, and tricorn hat.

From within the folds of his coat, he’s laying down a selection of old, wooden toys. As he gently sets down a carved wooden doll upon the stained cloth before him, he becomes aware of your presence and hesitantly glances up, revealing an eye patch, out of place in the 21^st century.

Without warning, he grabs your arm. “You can see me!”

You jerk back, feeling the chill of his fingers as you pull free.

His good eye pleads up at you. “You have to help me – no one else can see me! My name is John Smith, I am a trader but I’m trapped in these lands.

“These toys are all that are left to me and every day I lay them out in the hope of catching the attention of someone who can help me. But people seldom see them…or me,” John trails off.

There’s something compelling about the man’s strange claim. “What do you mean?” you ask.

“For over 100 years I’ve been trapped here. When I first sailed over from England it was a treacherous journey. The seas were rough, food and water were scarce. Many died. Yet being stuck in time is a fate I would not wish on anyone”.

You wonder if he’s crazy. You also can’t help but wonder at what’s beneath the eye patch. Your curiosity gets the better of you.

“What happened to your eye?”

John’s face falls, and he reluctantly lifts the eye patch, exposing a darkened, purple glass eye.

Something swirls in the depths of the glass and you feel yourself pulled into a vision. Out of the murk emerges an ornate, carved, wooden caravan on a moor in the pouring rain. Darkness surrounds you find yourself drawn to the shimmering glow from the caravan.

Inside, a cloaked figure is hunched over a candle-lit table, strewn with precious stones. The figure stares into an orb that swirls like a gas giant, hypnotic and captivating. You lean towards the orb, and see a reflection. It looks like you, but much, much older.

“YOU!” The Gypsy looks you straight in the eyes. “WHAT WAS JOHN’S CURSE IS YOURS TO SHARE!”

…You jerk back from the vision and find yourself again on the streets of Port Adelaide.

John wrings his hands. “I’m sorry. It is part of the curse that I must let all who ask, see. The Gypsy sees through this eye and that is why I wear the patch.”

A cold shiver runs through you; the gypsy’s curse settling into your bones.

“If we don’t escape this curse we’ll both be trapped here, across time, forever,” John draws you over to his wares. Does his hand feel less cold than before?

“I owe the Gypsy a debt of cargo from around Port Adelaide that I have become too weak to collect. The only way I can get it back to England is aboard my original ship, the ‘City of Adelaide’ clipper, down by the wharf. It needs to be repaired to sail again.

“To satisfy the debt we need at least two of these items:

• Flour
• Wheat
• Wool
• Opal
• Or Gold

And at least two ship parts so I can return and break the curse on us. It could be:

• A Mast
• A Ship’s Wheel,
• Sails
• An Anchor,
• Or Copper to clad the hull of the ship

A light breeze picks up and John starts to fade. The urgency in his voice builds. “If you can see me then you may see other ‘ghosts’ too, but others will try to waylay you…or worse. Take my handbook, you’ll need it. You are our last hope. And… watch out… for the…”

Before John can finish, the wind picks up and he disappears like grains of sand. When the gust has passed all that is left is a small leather handbook, a skeleton key on a chain and a wooden doll.

You feel a little… fad­ed yourself, you better get moving. Do you:

WILLIAM RUSSELL, SAILMAKER AND SHIP CHANDLER: Head to the Sailmaker & Ship Chandler building nearby, to source parts for the ship? Head to the intersection with St Vincent Street and turn left down St Vincent Street.

OR

COMMERCIAL HOTEL: Decide to start by collecting the cargo first. The Commercial Hotel might be a good place to find some ghosts to trade with. The hotel is across Commercial Road, in the direction of the Lighthouse.

OR 

COUNCIL OFFICES: Go in search of helpful ghosts near the Council Offices, off the main street? Head up Commercial Road towards the Lighthouse and turn left onto Nile Street.