People spend months preparing their floats for the parade, and all organisers of the other events do the same. Campbelltown people greatly enjoy their two week community festival and people from all over Sydney come to watch the parade. There is a street stalls and lots of fun, art competitions and Miss Spirit competition.
Now you are probably asking who or what is Fisher's Ghost and why would any town have a festival with a ghost as a mascot?
The story dates back to the early nineteenth century when Campbelltown was just a little town surrounded by farmland. In those horse and cart days, it was a very long way to the main settlement of Sydney Town fifty-three kilometres away.
In 1826 a Campbelltown farmer named Fred Fisher suddenly disappeared. His friend and neighbour George Worrall said that Fred that returned to England and that Fred had given him power of attorney to look after his affairs and farm.
Four months later a respectable local man John Farley, ran into a hotel in a very agitated and excited state. After downing a few drinks, he told the astonished crowd in the bar that he had seen the ghost of Fred Fisher sitting on the rail of a bridge.
Farley related that the ghost had said nothing, just pointed to a paddock beyond the creek then disappeared. Naturally most were sceptical and thought he must have been drinking.
In the meantime, George Worrall had told people that he had heard from Fred in England and that he had said that he was not returning to Australia and had given his farm and property to Worrall.
But some in the area were suspicious about Worrall's story and eventually the police checked the paddock that the ghost had pointed to. The remains of Fred Fisher were found there.
George Worrall was arrested for the murder of Fred Fisher and subsequently hanged. He had murdered Fred to take his land.
Fred Fisher is buried in the cemetery at St Andrews Anglican Church in Campbelltown.
Now, whether it really was a ghost that John Farley saw, or there was some other way that he knew where Fred's body was, no-one knows. But story caught people's imagination, especially as it involved murder and well, every community has to have something to put it on the map.
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