Cecil Albert Francis Herbert ‘Frank’ HUGHES was born on 11th Nov 1861 in Wrexham, North Wales, and educated at Ruabon Grammar School, he was the eldest son of Thomas Edward HUGHES and Mary THOMAS. Frank showed early on that he was of a roving and adventurous disposition. To satisfy his strong desire to go to […]
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
The Yalgoo Murder
Daily News – Perth – 7 March 1936, page 1 Sensational Disclosures at Inquest Likely Sensational disclosures are expected at an inquest, resumed here today, into the death of Hector Alexander McDonnell (36), who died at Yalgoo on January 14. McDonnell’s body was exhumed from the Yalgoo Cemetery on February 1, following police inquiries, and […]
Fanny Cracker -Queen of the Outback
Hospital administrator by day, Drag Queen at night, Fanny Cracker, the darling of Kalgoorlie. How did this outrageous character win the heart of an isolated mining town in Western Australia? An affirmation of how laughter breaks down barriers. In 2017, it had been 14 years since Christopher Jordan-Wright wore a wig, slapped on some makeup […]
The Barrowmen of the Outback
Some of the barrows were orthodox but varying in size and appearance . Many were queer looking contraptions because their designers and builders could find no other name for them. There were one-man, two-man and four-man barrows. The one-man barrow was pushed by its owner in the morning and pulled slowly at the end of […]
Robbery Under Arms – by John Marshall
Robbery Under Arms on the Coolgardie Road In the early days of the Goldfields the escort used to leave Coolgardie every week with parcels of gold varying from £5000 to £50,000 in value. It was a common remark to hear passed by the diggers, who usually gathered to watch the gold being taken out of […]