The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 25 January 1947, page 13

The Min
By
BILL BEATTY

Mystery, of the Min Light

not
1

graveyard when all of a sudden I saw right a in the strange glow appear 1 looked at middle of the cemetery Australia's remost of I it amazed he glow got bigger, till manifesta- it was markable ghostly size the about of a wateris the strange wandering light melon 1 couldn't believe my eyes as tions it the ground hovering over indefinite periods 1 saw that appears at And then broke into a cold sweat, Boulia, in westMin, near at Min for it started to come towards me 1 locally as It was Queensland. Known for my nerves too much ern 1 stricken terror of was light," it is a moon dug the spurs the "ghost the into headed horse and towards light suspended in space, darling But Boulia as fast as 1 could every hther thither, vanishing ghostand shoulder ture 1 looked back over my of the like the dark recesses in

ONE

'

trees.

Q>
it which appears 'THE * a happens to have been the site of as known shanty which was notorious the Min Min Hotel lower than No spots on caith were shanties of the of these westein some Queensland of 70 odd years ago The regarded as the Hotel was Min Min It stood dens of these vicious worst and Warenda, to the road beside the other outlying stations, towards border of Ccntial Australia. Dispensing adulterated liquor and Min Hotel derived its drugs, the Min as the process known prouts from shearers and 'lambing down" unwary station-hands, who arrived there with still larger thirsts large cheques and theic. of these men remained Many fierce, The doped spirits caused their killed in wild Others were deaths. for their murdered were brawls, or of the hotel and at the rear money,

locality

in

I could see the light following me' It 1 only disappeared when got to the outskirts of ti e (own sei gant1 Can't you' "Dont smile

see

it's

the

truth

ni

telling

you''

light of the But the police made town stockmans stoi), and the whole the unfortunate about man ragged the

spook

he

had

seen

report after report thal st bsianti o ited the storv day the an is established fact phenomenon the of people have seen Thousands Min Min light Many scientists have the hope of solving lo Boulia in gone ihc mvsterv but have been completely Then
carne
I

baffled

by

it.

>
'TRUE,
.*?

site Min tims years

fire

there Min
were since

is

still

to

be

seen

the
vic-

graveyard, buried the hotel

the

where
It was
is

these

nearly

70

dcstioyed

by

in features some the will o'-the wisp, light seen that curious in marshland northern church and grave) ards in Europe But there are vital points of difference between the will o'-the-wisp and the Min Min light The former is pioduced troni decaying animal mat ter in churchyards or marshes, where the Australian light not only shines as but a about moves above gi ave) ard hard, rocky plain country totally over unlike European marshlands unsolved. The riddle remains

it

common

has with

fire a stockman night to the police gieatly agitated, and it was some minutes bcfoic he could pull himself together After the sergeant had given him a glass of water, he told his story t won "You believe mc, but it's it's I the gospel truth' trueswear 1 was 10 o'clock this evening About the riding from not far Min Min

Shortly after wildly one station He was

rode

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