Being raised in Brown Hill Road, East Kalgoorlie or the Paddy Hannan reward, etc. was a wonderful experience for many reasons.
Let me share several of my many experiences with you:
In the 60’s and early 70’s Aboriginal elders used to come to our home at 76 Brown Hill road in the search of bread, particularly lightly moldy bread. These lovely people were always extremely polite and always offered to do menial tasks such as splitting wood for the fire, weeding etc. for any spare bread. My adopted parents used to mostly refuse their offer and provide loaves of bread, which we children had the pleasure of delivering to them at the side gate. One day, when I was about 10 years of age, I became brave enough to ask the elder why he preferred moldy bread to any other bread and he responded that it was the mold they were after. That when mixed into the wattle seed or acacia seed cakes, and baked, it did good things ‘inside’. It was not until I was serving in the Military that I understood that some molds can be dangerous but, remembering what the elder told me, may have good qualities when mixed into other bases and baked. I am still happy to toast and eat moldy bread and have hardly had a sick day in my life (of course these may not be related)
1975 – Brown Hill road Kalgoorlie looking South from Austral Rd.
An aboriginal elder came to our house one day and asked us children if we would like to hear a dreamtime story. Aboriginal elders regularly visited our house requesting any spare bread we might have. This particular gentleman asked us to get any small jars we might have to bring with us. My adopted mother gave us an empty ‘Bex’ bottle each. ‘Uncle’ then took us (my adopted sister and myself) several hundred metres to the West of 76 Brown Hill Road, and up near the fence of the Hannan’s reward mine property. The story he shared was about his people from the dreamtime who used to wander this land seeking gold with which to decorate ‘churinga’ tapping sticks. What made this particular moment so funny to us was that, whilst next to us was the very deep mine shaft and open cut, here we were wandering about on the surface not far from the mine fence picking up gold flakes. We went home with over half a bex bottle each of these gold flakes. We were informed that during the dreamtime, giant frogs lived in this area (the ocean had receded) and, when the rains came and dampened the soil, the giant frogs would dig upwards to breed bringing the flakes of gold with them. These giant frogs would then dig back down and hibernate leaving the gold flakes all over the surface. There are much smaller frogs (Cyclorana Maini) doing the same thing nowadays, well maybe there are no flakes of gold now.
Brown Hill Road 1975 Looking South.
Moya Sharp
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very interesting story,thank you,cheers Bob
Very interesting story and in terms of bread and the politeness of the aboriginals is true
I lived in Campbell Street and we had a half sized vacant block at the rear
The elder would knock on the back door and my mother gave him bread tea and sugar and the group would sit down and light a fire and have tea and bread etc this was in the 1950’s
The “do gooders’ have wrecked a race of people
Yes Graham you are exactly correct … back then they understood the word no…. and they had respect for us… a good bunch of people.
enjoyed the Brown Hill Rd. article, my husband’s grandparents were at No. 12, Charles James Louis Hunt.
kind regards, Bethell Hunt
My father Herb Blacker was bought up in Brown Hill. My Auntie’s photo Mona Blacker is on P. 34. The Sonsee’s ( who are mentioned in the book) were Dad’s cousin’s & my great grandfather John Mitchell was underground manager on the Brown Hill. As a young girl I can remember the hair raising stories Dad would tell me of his young day’s there!! he would be astounded to see that all the old leases are now in the Superpit!
Hi June Are you related to the Blacker’s who had the stor in Ward Street?
https://www.outbackfamilyhistoryblog.com/2016/04/13/blast-past-blackers-store/