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

Victoria Margaretta Gill -thrice buried

While researching the people who are buried in the Cue Cemetery, John Pritchard, one of our valued volunteers, has uncovered the story of Victoria Margaretta Gill who was first buried in the Cue Cemetery in 1905. She was then transferred to and reburied at the Dongara Cemetery and thence to the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth. […]

Where is Jonesville? – ghost towns

Northern Grazier and Miner – Leonora 4 June 1932, page 2 Jonesville This is a small mining centre is situated about 60 miles north of Sandstone, and 80 miles south of Wiluna. The Gidgee GM is now situated there. The field was discovered by Jones and Shannon in 1926 and was originally called Jones Find. […]

Florence Menon’s life of crime!

Sly Grog Shanties, which were unlicensed hotels, often selling poor quality alcohol, sprang up where ever people settled and the police were hard-pressed to keep a check on the offenders. The record from the Mt Morgans Courier details just such a case that would have annoyed the local constabulary.  I wondered if this term of […]

For a Better Life – pre publication

Yet again, the wonderful author and historian, Dr. Criena Fitzgerald is about to publish another new book. I have read some excerpts and have seen some of the wonderful photos that will be used and I can highly recommend it. FOR A BETTER LIFE YUGOSLAVS IN THE GOLDFIELDS 1890–1970 As so many of us are […]

The Amazing Escapades of Margaret Bale – the finale

Previously: On the 22nd December 1909, a young woman called Margaret Bale disappeared in Perth WA. She was booked to travel from Kalgoorlie to England on the 6th January 1910. She was eventually ‘discovered’ living as a man under the name of Martin Able. She ‘sold’ her story, ‘When I Was A Man’ to a […]