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Poinciana Woman (folklore)

Poinciana Woman is the subject of an Australian urban legend that dates to the 1950’s. There are multiple versions to the myth, but most follow the story of a woman who was raped and hung, under a Poinciana tree, by a group of men in the East Point Reserve of Darwin, Northern Territory. It is said she haunts the area which has intrigued many news and media outlets.

Legend

The first mentions of the urban legend go back to 1950’s and different versions of the myth have been created since. Roland Dyrting delves into these versions in his award-winning essay ‘The Poinciana Woman of East Point’. One version is that the woman is Asian and that she was raped by Japanese fishermen. The essay’s main depiction in on the Poinciana Woman is that it’s actually Pointianak (female vampiric ghost in Malay mythology) living in Darwin. This claim is backed with historical evidence of Asian migrants coming into Darwin in the late 1930’s.

The earliest mention of Poinciana Woman was in a book written by Maisie Austin, Quality of Life: A Reflection of Life in Darwin During the Post-war. This version of the Poinciana Woman is a spirit who meets mothers that died in childbirth underneath a Frangipani tree. It also has another mention of a ghost found under a bridge, specifically Daly street, a road which enters Darwin’s CBD. An interview was held on ABC live radio, where one caller concurred saying she heard of the Poinciana Woman being a ghost on the Daly street bridge.

Like other urban legends, the Poinciana Woman seems to have spread across Australia. An ABC article was written within a project called Curious Darwin where locals can ask questions for journalists to report on. One writer tells the version of the Poinciana woman being Aboriginal and that the men were soldiers. The article also has an interview with a Darwin local who claims to have photographed the ghost at East Point Reserve.

There have been some articles written in the NT newspaper of an Indigenous man claiming the Poinciana Woman had strong ties to Larrakia folklore. A response article was then written with George Brown (Lord Mayor) admitting the Poinciana Woman was a story important to the Larrakia people. However, this could be misinformation due a lack of sources containing no information about the East Point Reserve being an important Larrakia site. Also, the Poinciana tree is an introduced species from Madagascar planted in the 1900’s.

To summon the legend it is said that one has to be at the right location on a moonless night and spin around three times while calling out her name. This form of evocation is similar to other urban legend summing practices such as Bloody Mary and Hanako-san where some sort of action is repeated three times.

Location

Poinciana Woman is said to haunt the area of East Point Reserve. This area, now a popular place for recreation, was fortified in WWII and today has a military museum. Directly east of the museum is the supposed exact location of The Poinciana Woman where many Royal poinciana are home to. The tree is considered a invasive weed which grows on the southern edge of the remnant monsoon forest. https://www.darwin.nt.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/attachments/east_point_reserve_biodiversity_survey_report.pdf

Royal Poinciana Close up (21363086772)

In popular culture

• In an episode from the series Shadow Trackers, entitled “The Poinciana Woman”, actors Hunter Page-Lochard (Cleverman) and Zac James (8MMM) document their trip to Darwin in which they interview the local community to try and unveil the truth behind the urban legend of the Poinciana Woman.
• Urban Thrillogy, directed by Bunji Elcoate, performed at the Darwin Festival in 2006, in an on-stage review that counts-down the Northern Territories’ top five myths and legends. Poinciana Woman received first place.
• The urban legend received the award of being Darwin’s “number one urban myth” by the ABC.
• A play called Smells Like Impulse, written for Darwin High School students has an act in which a girl is being chased by a group of boys until she is hiding away underneath a Poinciana tree. The girl unknowingly summons the Poinciana Woman who scares the boys away.