Books on the History of the Western Australian Goldfields

Hundreds of books have been written on the Western Australian Goldfields. From reference books to fiction and most of all the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the quest for gold and the search for adventure. There are also many biographies and history books some on the broader subject of the history of the region and others on a specific subject or town. Outback Family History would like to review some of these that you may not have heard of and to tell you where they can be purchased if you would like your own copy. We also have a monthly book giveaway!

Gold and Ghosts – book review

Gold and Ghosts Vol 1 and Vol 2 – by D W de Havelland Many of you, I am sure, will have heard of the series of books called ‘Gold and Ghosts’! There are four volumes in the series and many consider them to be the ‘Prospectors Bible”. It is Vol 1 and Vol 2 […]

Russian Jack – The other J F K

Dollypot, Greenhide and Spindrift:  a journal of bush history Russian Jack and Synchronicity  –    by Diane Oldman I rather thought I had made up the word ‘synchronicity’ and when I attempted to look it up in several dictionaries I couldn’t find it.  So I decided it was a new noun – my noun.  Then […]

Lawlers Update – book review

This book is a rare publication and  is very hard to find. It was written by Lyn Hatch to celebrate the centenary of the town of Lawlers. The book was published by Plutonic mining who also published a book on Darlot. LAWLERS Latitude 28° 05′ S Longitude 120° 31′ E The townsite of Lawlers is […]

The Murder of May Wain – grave tales

A Tragedy Recalled !!! The Six Mile Murder   –   by Clara Patton Crimes against women of any kind were very rare on the Goldfields of Western Australia. The prospecting community respected and valued women and welcomed their presence. It was therefor, a terrible shock to the community  when it was made known that […]

Darlot – ghost town

Mr L A Wells, a member of the ‘Elder Exploring Expedition of 1891’ discovered Lake Darlot on the 6th March 1892. The Lake was named after Leonard Hawthorn Darlot, pastoralist, one of the three sons of H R H Darlot, who purchased a station property call ‘Berringarra’ in the Murchison district in 1882. Darlot was […]