Noah's Crystal Cave, Castlemaine

 

The Crystal Cave, Castlemaine, ca. 1900

The above structure, which became known as The Crystal Cave, or The Cave House, was one of the more remarkable structures ever built in Castlemaine. Forged out of clay and earth it was the work of an equally extraordinary character, Noah Parker. [It will be argued in this article that he was also known as Noah Baker, and used those names interchangeably. I will conform to the evolving use of the names given in the newspaper articles].

    At the time of his death in Sept 1921, Noah Parker's age was given as 85 and had been a long term resident of the Benevolent Asylum, these days incorporated into the Castlemaine Hospital buildings in Cornish Street, Castlemaine. However it's more likely he was 74, having been born in 1847 (this is just one of numerous discrepancies that can be found regarding Noah's age). More details of his birth and family are given in the Epilogue, below. It seems somewhat remarkable that he lived as long as he did, as for many years he'd battled extreme alcoholism. But more of this a little later.

    Here's another view of Noah's underground home.

Photographer William S. Bale. Above photos: Castlemaine Art Museum  

     This photo, taken in 1906, shows that in the years between the first photo and this one, Noah had continued to embellish his ornate building, his clay obelisks further adorned with pottery fragments and decorative stones.  The cave itself was an old adit. It's not known how far it once penetrated into the side of the hill. 

    So where was this extraordinary work of art and architecture? As far as we can tell, it was in an area of bushland adjacent to the Mount Alexander Golf Club at the end of Wimble Street, Castlemaine. A number of older residents state that Noah's underground home extended under the first tee of the club and that this flat-topped hill had to be shored up at various times when it threatened to collapse into the old mine (Russell Chapman, Friends of Wattle Gully and Chewton Facebook group: 'The first Tee regularly developed a sinkhole over the years that has been filled in a few times).

    Noah Parker seems to have been quite an unusual character.  Besides creating a house that these days would be classed as a work of art, and which in the early 20th century drew the attention of tourists and the admiration of Castlemaine's townsfolk, he'd raised himself up from the depths, to become, if not one of the town's upstanding citizens, at least one of it's notable eccentrics.

    It seems his early career was as a bricklayer. On his death in 1921 it was reported that in 1853 he'd built the first brick house in Castlemaine. But if he was born in 1847, as claimed above, then he would have been just 6 years old which is certainly a very young age for a bricklayer! 

    At any rate, by the 1880's Noah had fallen on hard times and had gained a reputation as a ne'er do well, in particular, earning the ire of his relatives, George and William Baker. In 1884, George had accused Noah of stealing a blanket (Mount Alexander Mail, [MAM], 28 June, page 2) and in the following year had reported him to police for threatening language and assault. In 1887 William reported him for much the same. In court he claimed that Noah 'had been a drunkard for about 20 years, and was constantly annoying those with whom he resided' (Bendigo Advertiser, 12 May, page 2). Unable to pay the fine Noah took the alternative of one month's imprisonment.

    And then in 1888, a newspaper report links Noah Baker for the first time with Noah Parker (see above), proof that he went by two names. We have no way of knowing now why he chose to hide his identity through the use of a different surname, nor why he obscured his real age. Perhaps it was to confuse the police? But here he is, once again completely inebriated in a public place. For this he was given a small fine, in default 12 hours imprisonment (MAM, 10 March, page 2). For Noah, it seemed destined that he'd end his days in mental and physical ruin, no stranger to the inside of the Castlemaine Gaol.

    But then something akin to a miracle occurred. The Tyson Sanatorium opened up in Ferndale Manor, Winters Flat, Castlemaine (now 60 Ray Street). Besides offering services for the treatment of a range of mental health problems, it advertised the Tyson cure for alcoholics. To test the efficacy of the cure, and also to try to reclaim the, by then, infamous drunkard Noah Baker/Parker, the Rev. Mr. Steggall, a Congregational minister, paid for his treatment at the sanatorium. Ferndale Manor had long been one of the most prestigious houses in Castlemaine, having been owned by a succession of well respected citizens.

 

Ferndale Manor, Winters Flat, Castlemaine

    In 1893, in the space of just three weeks, Noah Parker claimed he was cured of his alcoholism. 

    

        The Mount Alexander Mail reported that Noah had 'stated that before going into the institution and when in work, he used to drink from 13 to 20 pints of beer per day, but now he cannot bear the smell of it. To make a thorough test before turning him out as cured, Parker was sent for grains to Fitzgerald's brewery, and he avers that the smell of the beer made him sick. He has at present not the slightest craving for stimulants, and thinks himself that he never will again. Those who have known Parker for nearly 30 years as a confirmed inebriate are astounded at the change not only in his general appearance, but also in intellect' (MAM, 2 March 1893, page 3). Whether he ever drank alcohol again isn't known but thankfully there are no further reports of him being hauled before the Castlemaine courts for drunkenness. The crucial ingredient in Noah's cure had been the administration of a special cocktail of 'vegetable extracts'.

    In 1902, reportedly at the age of 58, Noah Parker applied for a disability pension but withdrew it so he could apply for admittance to the Castlemaine Benevolent Home (MAM, 11 Jun 1902, page 2). It appears he wasn't admitted because within a few years the Mail describes 'Mr. Noah Baker (as) the presiding genius of the picturesque cave so well known to the residents of Castlemaine and district.  It is nearly four years since the ingenious Noah began operations on that part of the hill at the north end of the town, which he holds under a miner's right, and although sixty-four years of age he is still ardently interested in the beautifying of his subterranean retreat' (MAM, 4 Oct 1905, Page 2). (Note the discrepancies in age. If he'd been born in 1847 then he would have been about 55 in 1902 and nearer 58 three years later).

    One of the benefits of holding a miner's right was that it allowed the erection of a dwelling on the miner's claim. Noah seems to have taken advantage of this provision and in so doing created a unique home that attracted attention from far and wide. 

    That year, the Bendigo Advertiser reported that 'Noah Baker, an old identity, lives in a cave at North Castlemaine, among the old diggings, and has beautified the front of the cave with pieces of colored glass, broken china, etc., until it presents an interesting appearance, and has become one of the show places of the town' (Thu 5 Oct 1905, page 2).  Noah became known as 'The Hermit".

    Apparently the Crystal Cave became so popular that Noah opened up a tearoom in the small hut next to the cave's entrance and visitors regularly brought 'offerings of colourful broken china and glass pieces' for Noah to use to enhance the decorations ('The North-End, Castlemaine: Some Early History' R.A. Bradfield, 1978).

    However, in 1908, Noah disappeared. A number of theories were put forward. He had fled because of some trouble with the law, he had fallen down a mine shaft and died, a squatter, now in residence in his cave, had done away with him. Months went by and he appeared to have simply vanished off the face of the earth.

     There was further drama with a new resident of The Crystal Cave, who the local papers had hoped would maintain and further enhance what had become one of the town's premier attractions. But the interloper had ideas of his own. 

    In November 1908, The Mail reported that 'an old-man named Samuel Boulter (later amended to Poulter), who is in possession of Noah Baker's cave, was charged with lighting a fire in the Borough to the danger of property. ... It appeared that on the night after King's Birthday, Boulter (set fire to) a heap of bushes near the cave, the sparks from which ignited some bagging which formed the roof of the hut. Constables Clark and Cumberland extinguished the burning bagging but Boulter continued to run about with lighted torches. On Constable Garland speaking to him next day Boulter said, as the place was so dull he intended to give the people of the village a treat' (MAM, 11 Nov 1908, page 2). 

    Poulter was true to his word in his intention to liven up the town. His stay at the Castlemaine Hospital proved to be somewhat short. 

    On the 24th November it was reported that, 'A great sensation was caused in the neighborhood of the Castlemaine hospital on Sunday afternoon through a lunatic rushing out of the institution clad in his night garment only. He jumped the fence, rushed over Barker's Creek and the railway line, and entering a private house locked himself in a room. The police with difficulty took him back to the hospital in a cab. The demented man is Samuel Poulter, who at Friday's Police Court was fined for setting fire to the roof of a hut near Noah Baker's hermit's cave, of which he has been in charge since the hermit mysteriously disappeared some three months ago. The patients in the hospital were much alarmed. Poulter is now locked in a padded room' (The Riverine Herald, 24 Nov 1908, page 2).

    A year later Noah reappeared. 'It will be a relief to the minds of a great many people to know that Noah Baker, otherwise "The Hermit," returned to Castlemaine yesterday looking remarkably well. It will be remembered that this man mysteriously disappeared about 18 months ago, and since then nothing has been heard of him. He left his cave and all his belongings intact, and many people thought he must have met with foul play. Baker yesterday stated that on leaving here, he walked to Sydney, then returned to Melbourne and got admittance to the Eye and Ear Hospital, where he remained for some time'. (MAM, 12 Oct 1909, page 2) 

    If Noah thought he could resume his celebrated hermit-like existence in his beautiful cave home he was sadly mistaken. While he was away, local children had so thoroughly trashed his cave, as well as destroying his decorative sculptures, he was forced to leave Castlemaine to live in a hut at Woodbrook (the name of a long forgotten locality which appears to have been somewhere near Walmer). Subsequently he applied for, and was recommended for, an old age pension of 10 shillings per week. He doesn't appear to have lived at Woodbrook long because soon Noah was admitted to the Benevolent Home in Castlemaine where he lived out the rest of his days, dying in 1921.

    So are there any remnants of Noah's Crystal Cave? Other than fragments of pottery and some decorative stones, little remains of it. As stated earlier, we know it's approximate location but the area has been worked over numerous times, shafts and adits have been filled, and various other earth works have transformed the landscape here. In addition, the rampant growth of trees and shrubs make it hard to line up views to distant hills and recent rubbish dumping has contaminated the site.  

    This is my best guess at matching the photos.

  

  

 

    The story of Noah Baker is certainly one of the most colourful in Castlemaine's rich history. What a shame his Crystal Cave wasn't protected and preserved as an example of the outstanding inventiveness of our more creative artisans. 

EPILOGUE

    Just when you think there couldn't be any more surprises in the Noah Parker story, shortly after writing this story it came my attention that on the SBS series 'Who Do You Think You Are?', the well known musician John Butler traces his ancestry back to... Noah Parker. The show was the result of prodigious genealogical research but, at the time of the making of show, the researchers missed uncovering what would have been a fascinating chapter in this episode. At the start of the program John professes the hope that he might find among his antecedents someone creative, like an artist, a musician, or a revolutionary. Noah Parker AKA Noah Baker was certainly that. In spades!

    Presumably, as part of the research into John Butler's (fascinating) ancestry, his family tree was compiled which linked back to Noah Parker. Part of it is now available online. It shows that Noah was born in 1847 in England, probably Norfolk, and so, as stated above, would have been 74 at the time of his death in 1921 which, given the life he'd led, was a remarkable achievement. Of his 7 brothers, none lived beyond 1876. 

    It makes for a sad story. It seems that at least five of the 8 Parker sons, accompanied by their parents, came out to try their luck in Australia. The records show they settled in Campbells Creek, Castlemaine and are now buried in the main cemetery in that same suburb. Noah's parents, Mary and Henry, lived long enough to see most of their sons die before them. Besides an infant son that died back in England, Edward, born in 1835, and perhaps one of twins, died in 1854, aged 19, soon after the family's arrival in Australia. Isaac, born in 1841, died in 1858, aged 17. George, born in the same year as Edward died in 1871, aged 36, and Henry, born in 1844, died in 1876, aged 32. 

    Noah's mother, Mary passed away in 1867 in her early '60's and his father, Henry, in 1876, in his mid '70's. So, from 1876 on, Noah was the last surviving member of his family. If Noah took solace in alcohol then he had every reason to do so.