The ”haunted” painting of Harry Fitzhardinge. Photos: Chris Roe.
We all love a good local mystery and if it involves creepy old buildings, tragedy and unquiet spirits, all the better!
In Wagga’s Historic Council Chambers, something strange is happening to the portrait of a former mayor who died a horrific death in April 1893. Is it a coincidence? Or could a curious discolouration somehow reflect the nature of his shocking demise?
Stories of haunted paintings have been around for generations and there are plenty of artworks in museums, galleries and private collections that are believed to come with a curse or a paranormal passenger.
Eyes follow you around the room, figures disappear, animals react in terror and strange marks appear on the canvas.
Something has happened to the portrait of Harry Fitzhardinge (right), who was killed eight months before the portrait was presented to the council.
The large portrait of former mayor Harry Berkeley Fitzhardinge occupies the northern wall of Wagga’s Historic Council Chambers, which have served as part of the Museum of the Riverina since 1998.
It was painted in oils by well-known artist CE Astley and presented to the council less than eight months after the grisly accident that shocked the nation.
“Mr Astley has been very successful in giving an admirable presentment of the deceased gentleman, and the painting will undoubtedly add to his reputation as an artist,” reported The Wagga Wagga Advertiser on 2 December, 1893.
“It is needless to say that the gift will be highly appreciated by the council as a permanent memento of a public-spirited citizen, who during his lifetime played a leading part in the civic government of the town.”
In daylight, the room is brightly lit and the painting in question is an unremarkable depiction of a middle-aged Victorian gentleman with a grey beard and unusually bright-blue eyes that stare vacantly over the viewer.
Harry Berkeley Fitzhardinge served on Wagga’s municipal council for 17 years, including four times as mayor.
But what captures the attention is the chalky white discolouration to Fitzhardinge’s forehead, which makes him appear to be daubed in ochre.
According to the accompanying plaque, the milky stain is the result of an “attempt to clean the painting some time in the mid-20th century”, and it could indeed be a case of blanching that afflicts oil paintings when moisture becomes trapped under the varnish.
But when you reflect on the nature of Fitzhardinge’s death 133 years ago, the stain could signal something more sinister.
Is it a coincidence that Harry Fitzhardinge lost the top of his head in a railway accident?
Fitzhardinge was a popular local figure who had practised law in Wagga for 27 years, founded the local infantry company and served on the municipal council for 17 years, including four times as mayor.
As the Advertiser reported on 22 April, 1893, he was “looked upon as one of the fathers of the community, was only in the prime of life, being some months less than 50 years of age at the time of his death”.
About 9:30 pm on Saturday, 8 April, Fitzhardinge was on his way from his office in the CBD to his home on the southern side of the railway tracks.
As he crossed the rails about 50 metres east of the platform, he appears to have become confused in the darkness about the movements of an engine that was pushing a “double bogie truck” away from the station.
According to the Goulburn Evening Penny Post, he was struck on the right shoulder, “which spun him round. He fell backwards, his head falling on the rails. The wheels passed over him, completely crushing his head.”
When Fitzhardinge’s mutilated body was discovered around an hour later, the top of his head had been severed, spilling his brains across the rails. It was clear to the horrified railway workers that he had been killed instantly.
Could it be that the prominent stain that is so clearly restricted to the decapitated portion of the former mayor’s head be some sort of supernatural manifestation?
Or is it just a coincidence?
