Episode 32 | Caroline Collits - The Ghost of

Mt Victoria Pass

High in the Blue Mountains, the road at Mount Victoria Pass twists steep and narrow through rock and mist. By day, it’s breathtaking. But by night, it carries a darker reputation. Travelers whisper of a woman’s ghost drifting through the fog. Her story etched into the stones of the pass nearly two centuries ago.

This is the story of Caroline Collits. A child of the early colony whose short life was marked by hardship, betrayal, and violence. Her murder in 1842 shocked the settlement and left behind more than a legend, it left a haunting reminder of injustice that echoes into the present.

In this episode, we explore the history, the haunting, and the legend of the ghost of Victoria Pass. Was Caroline just a tragic figure of the past, or does she still walk the road today?

Then and Now...

Places to Visit

Collits Inn

Hartley Historic Site

My Adventure.

Source Information

Ask Roz AU 2024, The Ghost of Victoria Pass, Ask Roz, 14 July. Available at: https://www.askroz.com.au/blog/the-ghost-of-victoria-pass/ [Accessed 14 September 2025]. askroz.com.au

Australian convict records n.d., John Walsh (convict) 132009, ConvictRecords.com.au. Available at: https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/walsh/john/132009 [Accessed 14 September 2025]. convictrecords.com.au

Black Gold Motel 2023, Hartley Valley, Black Gold Motel. Available at: https://blackgoldmotel.com.au/hartley-valley/ [Accessed 14 September 2025]. Black Gold Motel

Blue Mountains Local Studies 2014, Murder on Victoria Pass, BMlocalstudies, 18 March. Available at: https://bmlocalstudies.blogspot.com/2014/03/murder-on-victoria-pass.html [Accessed 14 September 2025].

Forgotten Australia 2019, The Ghost of Mount Victoria Pass, Season 1 Episode 12, Forgotten Australia Podcast, 17 March. Available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ghost-of-mount-victoria-pass/id1442763878?i=1000432130694 [Accessed 14 September 2025].

Lawson, H. 1891, The Ghost at the Second Bridge. In: Verses Popular and Humorous. Angus & Robertson, Sydney. Available at: https://www.simple-poetry.com/poems/the-ghost-at-the-second-bridge-63006791934 [Accessed 14 September 2025].

Mamamia 2019, Victoria Pass ghost: Who is the Blue Mountains' Lady in Black?, Mamamia, 7 April. Available at: https://www.mamamia.com.au/victoria-pass-ghost-blue-mountains/ [Accessed 14 September 2025].

Trove n.d., Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, reports on trial of John Walsh (1842). National Library of Australia. Available at: https://trove.nla.gov.au [Accessed 14 September 2025].

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