To represent his wealth and social status, due to the vast amount of land he owned and as a devout Catholic the civic duties he carried out, Christopher William Crawley had Monte Cristo built in 1844-1845. Previous to this he had a lived in a small brick cottage which was built in 1876 and is now called the original homestead, this become the kitchen and servants quarters. The house stood up on a hill overlooking the rest of the town below, even though he was of high social standing Mr Crawley still not mind in going about and getting his hands dirty. As it was still a farming property and this is how Mr Crawley had started out as a farmer.

He went on to have 7 children all of whom were privately educated and went on to have happy successful lives.

Mr Crawley died at home aged 69 in 1910 from heart failure, which followed on from blood poisoning. Mrs Crawley died in 1933 aged 92 also from heart failure. It ceased to be a Crawley family home in 1948 when the last family member moved out, it then remained empty for a decade until someone brought it, by this time all the furniture had been sold and it was falling into disrepair due to neglect and vandalism. The Ryan’s still own it today and as well as being their family home it is a tourist attraction and a place full of antiques. And it is thanks to them that the Monte Cristo home was saved and continues to thrive.

Most of the haunting here stem from when it was the Crawley’s home. It is known that there were quite a few deaths in and around the property and the majority of the rooms in the house are known to have a ghost or two, including Mrs Crawley herself, things are known to move by themselves, lights turn off and on, people have the feeling of dread and voices have been heard. It is known as one of the most haunted houses in Australia.