The people of the Goldfields

The Goldfields of Western Australia was and still is made up of many people, from poets to politicians, from saints and sinners and everything in between. I hope to tell you the stories of some of these people either famous or infamous or just the ordinary folks. Sometime the most ordinary people do the most extraordinry things

Where is Gum Creek ?

While researching details on the burial of a mining death for the Western Australian Virtual Miners Memorial, I came across the cemetery of Gum Creek. This was a new name for me so I looked into it further, I was also able to add another name to my collection of hotel names. The Book ‘West […]

Bill ‘Bunny’ Choules – grave tales

William Osmand ‘Bunny’ CHOULES was born on the 8 December 1848 in East Grafton, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire England. He came to Australia alone aged only 17 years on the ship the ‘Salamanca’ in October 1865, arriving in Port Adelaide South Australia in Jan 1866. He stated his occupation as a Labourer. Also travelling on the […]

Bread Upon the Waters –

Western Mail Perth 1 August 1940, page 9 Bread Upon the Waters. In the early days of the Golden Mile, Davy Jones was working on a mine and according to custom he bought a block of land in preparation for the time when he and Mifanwy could marry. A little house was built, and as […]

Into the Great Solitude by Arthur Upfield

For anyone who has been following my blog for a while, they will know that I am a huge fan of the books of Arthur Upfield. He wrote many wonderful fictional books which are based on the Australian Outback. Some stories, like the one that follows, are about his own experiences. His stories are all […]

The Busiest Place in Town –

The following excerpt is from the book by Mrs Arthur H Garnsey called ‘Scarlet Pillows: An Australian Nurse’s Tales of Long Ago’ and is about her memories of being a nurse in Coolgardie in the early days. The tale of the house that Jack built has his counterpart in Coolgardie in the tale of all […]