It was a property to die for years ago but a beachside “studio’’ is no longer getting the attention its selling agent was hoping for.
Advertised as “something different’’, the original Port Germein morgue has returned to the market for the third time in six years, complete with the cellar that was once used to store bodies of the recently deceased.
Wardle Co Real Estate agent Sean Manfield, who also sold the property in 2022 and 2024, said little was known of the morgue’s history, other than it later served as the meeting quarters for the local RSL.
Property records list no date of when the corrugated iron building was constructed but it is understood the now-defunct Port Germein RSL sub-branch started in 1946.
“It’s like a lot of (buildings in) those small little towns – they are curiosities from the day,’’ Mr Manfield said.
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The former Port Germein morgue and RSL at 32 High St is back on the market.
It’s being sold as a studio because it can’t be considered a house in its current form.
“It was the original morgue in town. Down underneath was the cellar and my belief is there’s a chute down the western end.
“If there was a deceased coming off any of the boats or ships – because Port Germein was (a popular port with) the longest jetty (in the Southern Hemisphere) – or there were deaths in the town, they (the bodies) were put down in the cellar where it was quite cool.
“Was there ever a Ned Kelly (notable character) that was in the morgue? I don’t know.
“There’s some mentions (of people who died off the Port Germein coast) down on the foreshore where there’s (commemorative) plaques of historical stuff.
“And there is a plaque down there that does mention that (mortuary) building.’’
Among those likely to have been taken to the morgue were Able Seaman Lars Rasmussen and ship carpenter Axel Harry Lindquist, who tragically died off the Port Germein coastline in 1937.
Newspaper reports from the time stated the 21-year-olds were crew members of the Finnish barque Penang who were on a dinghy returning from a dance in the Spencer Gulf town when they capsized in rough seas.
Witnesses reported seeing a “shark about 15ft (4.5m) long suddenly rise out of the water’’ with the “fully clothed corpse’’ of Ab Rasmussen “in its mouth’’.
“The flesh of the left leg had been torn,’’ The Chronicle report stated, although it remains unclear whether Ab Rasmussen drowned earlier or died from the shark attack.
Mr Lindquist’s body was later found washed ashore.
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It’s basic with the building offering power, water and a cellar, where it is understood the deceased used to be stored.
A large shed with basic shower and toilet facilities has recently been added to the site.
Despite the building’s grim past, Mr Manfield said there were no signs of ghosts, although he conceded the last owners never slept in the building, preferring the comfort of a caravan parked on site.
“I joke (with those inspecting the property) that if you go down (to the cellar) and you hear some voices or someone knocking on the walls then you know there’s something there but none of the owners have ever said anything,’’ he said.
“No one has really been uncomfortable about going down there (into the cellar for fear of ghosts).
“There was someone that didn’t want to go down and have a look but you’ve got to climb down some steps (to reach the cellar) – I’m probably 5ft 8 or 9 (1.72m-1.75m) with my boots on but for anyone taller it would be quite uncomfortable.’’
Mr Manfield said he had received one email a day inquiring about the property since it was listed for sale but had expected more interest.
He said council regulations prevented the building being a full-time residence in its current “primitive’’ state, which probably deterred some buyers and had led to its listing as a one-bedroom studio rather than a house.
Those wishing to live on site full-time would likely need to demolish the building, which is not heritage listed, and rebuild, he said.
The property has a price guide of $169,000.
– by Lauren Ahwan
English (US) · 