John Bedford – a fortune seeker

Some twenty-four years ago I was contacted by Edward Hellewell regarding his grandfather, John Edward Bedford who came to the WA Goldfield as a young man in 1895 to seek his fortune. His grandfather died some years before Edward was born so he never knew him but has always wanted to know more about him […]

Whispers of the Outback – a verse

Whispers of the Outback The red earth hums a song of old, A tale of heat, of sun, and gold. Where kangaroos in silence leap, And ancient secrets softly creep. The wind it carries, warm and dry, A whisper from the endless sky. Through gum trees tall and desert wide, The Outback waits, the land, […]

Marjorie Lancaster – a wonderful life

The Kalgoorlie Miner – Weekend Edition – 5 Oct 1991 Marjorie Frances Minson was born in Northam WA in 1912 to Charles Henry MINSON and Elizabeth JEFFREY. This is a story she told about her early life in the Goldfields, first with her family and then as a married woman. She married Richard Alfred LANCASTER […]

Meat for the Fields – The Rowell Boys

Western Mail 12 February 1953, page 23 WESTRALIANA Meat for the Fields by E. Rowell A Butcher who was a heavyweight athlete and successful prospector too, will be remembered by some who were on the Eastern Goldfields in 1894. My elder brother Bill went to Coolgardie some months after Bayley and Ford found the rich […]

Arthur Cyril Leevers – pioneer & publican

Arthur Cyril LEEVERS was born on the 9th of March 1866 at Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire, England. His parents were John LEEVERS and Mary Ann RATHY. In 1872 he travelled to New Zealand with his parents and brothers. He married twice, 1st to Isabella HEBLY in June 1886 in Wellington, New Zealand and 2nd to Alma […]