There is a wonderful and interesting link to the Krakouer family with the finding of what is now Coolgardie. Twenty-eight years before either Bailey or Ford had sighted gold at what was later to become Coolgardie, Theodore Isidore Krakouer, a Russian Jew, had been sent out as a convict number 232 from Portsmouth, England. He […]
The Billy Can – a swagmans friend
08/02/2025 By Leave a Comment
The Quart-Pot and Billy-Can No utensil is so generally used in the bush as the billy-can; none is more widely distributed, none better known in Australia. It is cheap, light, useful, and a burden to no man. It goes with every traveller, it figures in comedy and tragedy and has been the repository of the […]
The McCann Hoax – burned in effigy
08/02/2025 By 1 Comment
Daily News 1 July 1895, page 5 COOLGARDIE NEWS: THE ALLEGED FIND AT LAKE COWAN. RETURN OF MR McCANN AS DELEGATE. FRUITLESS SEARCH FOR THE FIND. EXCITED MEETING IN BAYLEY-STREET – CHARGE AGAINST THE PRESS – THE COURIER OFFICE STONED.MR McCANN SMUGGLED AWAY – NOW UNDER POLICE PROTECTION – FURTHER TROUBLE EXPECTED COOLGARDIE, July 1 […]
John Bedford – a fortune seeker
01/02/2025 By Leave a Comment
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 […]
Marjorie Lancaster – a wonderful life
25/01/2025 By Leave a Comment
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 […]
