Former residents of the abandoned townsite of Darlot, 130kms north of Leonora, returned to celebrate the towns centenary in December of 1994. Darlot gold mine manager, David Hatch, said that the earliest known Darlot Mining tenement was registered on December 3 1894. This is the date to mark the towns centenary. Plutonic Resources, which runs […]
Captain Kettle and the Toorak Hotel –
26/11/2023 By Leave a Comment
The Toorak Hotel, built in 1899. On June 25, 1903, a fire destroyed the whole of the front of the hotel. Situated on the 90 Mile Road, in the early days this was the road out of Coolgardie on the North side. The hotel closed sometime in 1910. Licensee’s Harold B McCormick – 1900 E […]
The Worlds Second Oldest Profession –
25/11/2023 By 3 Comments
Gold stealing was rife on the Kalgoorlie goldfields almost from the day the first prospector arrived. Gold miners would smuggle out what gold they could while working and the thieving was commonly regarded as a miner’s ‘privilege’. As long as men have sought this precious metal there has been gold stealing. In the early days […]
W H J Carr-Boyd: Explorer – Prospector – Raconteur
18/11/2023 By 1 Comment
Although undoubtedly a fine bushman and an able prospector, William Carr-Boyd was better remembered as one of the great campfire entertainers of his generation. A man of engaging personality and unfailing optimism, he had a fine voice, a wide repertoire of songs and an amazing fund of anecdotes. He was one of the most enigmatic […]
Milly Soak – an oasis in the desert
18/11/2023 By Leave a Comment
Thanks to John Pritchard for the original idea for this story: Milly/Millie Soak is 16 kilometers north of Cue and was a popular picnic spot in Cue’s early history. It also became the source of the town’s water for a number of years following the pollution of the town’s water supply due to poor sanitary […]
