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

Augustus Thorn – pioneer profile

AUGUSTUS LOFTUS ‘GUS’ THORN by Lyn Beard The death of Augustus Loftus ‘Gus’ THORN does not appear to have been registered and the burial did not show up on any of the usual resources for graves. The only record of his death in 1932 seems to be this small article in The Goldfields Observer of […]

The White Horse Blow –

The White Horse Blow by Alfred E Wallace ‘The Axeman” Lo, hear the hobbles jingle And the old Mokes bells a dingle And from the far-off Dolly Pot, the echo seems to ring O’er the ranger and the ridges Through the mulgas and the gidgeas. Where McGann was ‘Costeen Champion’, and Pearsey Floater King, Kirklands […]

All a Hero – a tale of the Margaret

The Sun 3 July 1910, page 15 ALL A HERO A TALE OF THE MARGARET JIM AND BILL AND THE BOOTS. by “CROSSCUT” The world is full of heroes whose gallant deeds are fated to pass unrecognised and unheard of. The dizzy heights of fame are not for them, no blatant trumpet blares the bitter […]

No ‘Gods Acre’ for Burbanks –

The town of Burbanks was gazetted in 1894, named after W. Burbank who with his mate Sheldon found the first gold there. Possibly due to its close proximity to Coolgardie, it was considered that no cemetery would be gazetted for the town. In consequence, most of those who died at Burbanks were buried in the […]

The Story of Honest Ed Turnbull

Sunday Times 10 June 1934, page 15 SOLITARY HORSEMAN WHO STARTED A GREAT GOLD RUSH Some Made Fortunes – Some Died on the Trail The following report of the discovery of Coolgardie was published in a English paper, “People.” It was written by its special correspondent at Ruckinge in Kent: “Our Special Correspondent” proceeds to […]