Duketon – ghost town

DUKETON
27° 38′ 30” South , 122° 16′ 49” East

Duketon is named after brothers Jack and Charles Duke who with P. Hayes and J McDonald discovered gold here in 1897. A small town developed from around 1900, but only lasted a few years, as by the outbreak of WW1, much of the mining had ceased. The goldfield can be reached by turning onto the Erilstoun Road at the Lancefield mine, just north of Laverton. The road heads due north for 100 kilometres through the Erilstoun Goldfield.

Duketon Location map – Bonzel

Duketon is an abandoned town in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, located 110 kilometres north of Laverton. The town boomed during the early 1900s as a result of gold being discovered in the area. One of the larger mines in the area The Golden Spinifex built a five-head stamp mill in 1902-1903. A petition for the government to construct a state battery was presented to the minister for mines by the local MLA and signed by 58 leaseholders, prospectors and miners from Duketon. The battery was built in 1904 and operated near the town. By 1905 the town had a hotel, bakery and a bank along with a variety of other stores.

Dry blowing at Duketon WA 1898 – Photo SLWA

1905 Snapshot from the WA Post Office Directory – Of the 128 people listed as well as the names below were 1 cordial maker, 2 accountants. Only one woman is named, however there would have been other women but the Post office Directories only show the head of the house.

Golden Spinifex Hotel – 1905 Alfred J. TAYLOR licensee.
Baker – William HORSBACH
Bank of Australasia – George C. R. FARQUHARSON is listed as the manager
Western Australia Bank – Walter M. HEARN is listed as the manager
Butcher –  Cox & Co
Newsagent – John J. GALLAGHER
Restaurant 1 – Miss Matilda ESCREET is listed as operating a restaurant at the Mulga Queen
Restaurant 2 – Robert GOLDEN is listed as operating what is presumably a second restaurant
Storekeeper 1 – Walter RITCHIE as a storekeeper.
Storekeeper 2 – John FOX of Fox & Field is listed with the store being managed by James CUNNINGHAM.

Duketon Cemetery

Duketon cemetery Sign – Photo Jill Heather.

SCHWAN ‘Rody’ Rhody – d 13 Sept 1904, Occ: Miner, 33 yrs, Cause: Killed by Lightning, Order for burial without enquiry, Father: Johannes ‘John’ Anthony SCHWAN (Labourer), Mother: Mary FLAHERTY, Partner: Sarah Elizabeth HOFFMAN, Children: Elizabeth Rhoda SCHWAN-HOFFMAN born 1891, Clarence Rhody SCHWAN-HOFFMAN, born Moonta SA in 1871, 23 yrs in SA, 10yrs in WA, RC, Reg 1525/1904, Buried Duketon Cemetery.

SCHWAN Brother William Albert and Rhody – Photo Ancestry.com

ROBINSON Martha – d 18 May 1905 at Duketon, Married Woman, 37yrs, Cause:- Supposed natural Causes, Father:- Edwin DAVIES (Carter), born Brunswick VIC, Married twice:- 1st to William WATTS in Hay NSW in 1885,  2nd to James ROBINSON in Melbourne VIC in 1896, One child, Edwin, 16yrs from first marriage, Reg 1494/1905, Buried Duketon Cemetery.

DUKE John – d 28 Apr 1917, at Mulga Queen, Duketon, Occ: Prospector, 55yrs, Cause: Heart Disease, Father: Thomas Atkinson DUKE, Mother: Catherine DIXON, Born Goulburn Valley VIC, In WA 20yrs, Single, Reg Mt Margaret 11/1917, Buried Duketon Cemetery.

Duketon Post Office Directory  1905-6 = 128 people

ANDERSON Jas C. 1905
BAKER Henry – miner Salt Bush Reward Lease 1905 – 1906
BANK OF AUSTRALASIA – Geo. R. FARQUHARSON Manager 1905
BARNES William – miner 1905 – 1906
BARNETT Jeremiah – miner 1905 – 1906
BENNETT David – miner 1905 – 1906
BLAKE Bernard V. – miner 1905 – 1906
BONOMI Peter – cordial manufacturer 1905
BOOTH Leslie – miner 1905
BROOKE Lyden C. – miner 1905 – 1906
BROOKE Stephen – miner 1905 – 1906
BROWEN Alexander – miner 1905 – 1906
BROWN & PETERS – storekeepers 1905- 1906
BROWN Ernest D. – engine driver 1905
BROWN Frank – Brown & Peters storekeeper 1905 – 1906
CALLANAN Charles J. – restaurant 1905 – 1906
CAMERON Colin C. – miner 1905 – 1906
CAMERON Frank – miner 1905 – 1906
CAMPBELL Charles – miner 1905
CAMPBELL Jno 1905
CAMPBELL Jno. Allister 1905 – 1906
CHICK George – miner 1905 – 1906
COCKS Charles 1905 – 1906
COLLINS Joseph – miner 1906
COUSINS Samuel – carpenter 1905 – 1906
COX & Co – butcher 1905 – 1906
COX James – Cox & Co butcher 1905
CUNNINGHAM James – manager Fox & Field 1905 – 1906

The Western Australian Bank Duketon – Kalgoorlie Western Argus 13 December 1904, page 22.

DAVIS David 1905
DIXON William – miner 1906
DOUGLAS Joseph – storekeeper 1906
DUKE Charles – contractor 1905 – 1906
DUKE John – mine manager 1905 – 1906
DUFFY Daniel – miner 1905 – 1906
DUNCAN Robert 1905
DUNN Mathew 1905 – 1906
DUNSFORD Frank 1905
EIVERS John – Salt Bush Reward 1905 – 1906
EMERSON Daniel – miner 1905
FARQUHARSON George C.R. – local manager Bank of Australasia 1905 – 1906
FIELD William – Fox & Field storekeeper 1905 – 1906
FLOWERS George – miner 1905 – 1906
FOSSER Richard – miner Salt Bush Reward Lease 1905 – 1906
FOX John – Fox & Field storekeeper 1905 – 1906
GALLAGHER Jno J. – Newsagent 1905 – 1906
GALLAVIN Michael – Salt Bush Reward Lease 1905 – 1906
GOLDEN Chris. 1905 – 1906
GOLDEN Robert – restaurant 1905 – 1906
GORMAN Burleigh – miner 1905 – 1906
GRANGE Alfred – miner 1905 – 1906
GREEAWAY Ike 1905 – 1906
HALL Patrick J. – miner 1905 – 1906
HARTLEY J. – engine driver 1906
HEAPHY Richard – miner 1905 – 1906
HEARNE Walter M – local manager WA Bank 1905 – 1906
HEVEY Jno. – engine driver 1906
HOLDEN S. – accountant 1906
HOLLINGSWORTH William 1905
HORSBACH William – baker 1905 – 1906
HYSLOP George – miner 1905 – 1906
IRVINE Niel – engine driver 1906
JOHNS Samuel – engineer & mine manager 1906
JOHNSON Henry – miner 1905 – 1906
JONES Jno – miner 1905
KENAFICK Robert – miner 1905 – 1906
KENNEDY Jas B. – Government Battery 1905
KIRKPATRICK Tom 1905 – 1906

The Lauriston Gold Mine, Duketon – Kalgoorlie Western Argus 13 December 1904, page 22.

LAWLER Edward – miner 1905 – 1906
LAWRENCE Robert – miner 1905 – 1906
LITTLE Robert C. – manager Brown & Peters 1905 – 1906
LOGAN Edward – miner 1906
McDONALD Alexander – miner 1905 – 1906
McDONALD Jas. – miner 1905 – 1906
McGRATH Michael – miner 1905 – 1906
McGREGOR Alexander 1905 – 1906
McINERNEY Jno. – miner 1905 – 1906
McINNES P. 1906
McNIE Jas. – miner 1905 – 1906
McNIE Peter – Cox & Co butcher 1905 – 1906
NcNIE William – miner 1905 – 1906
McPHAIL Alexander – miner 1905 – 1906
MAPP Charles W. – miner 1905
MASON Charles – miner 1905 – 1906
MILLER Jno – miner 1905 – 1906
MONTGOMERY Joseph – miner 1905
OATES Charles – miner 1905
OATES Phillip – miner 1905
OATES Thomas – miner 1905
O’BRIEN Timothy – public battery 1906
O’CONNOR Jno J. – miner 1905 – 1906
PAUL Arthur A. – miner 1905 – 1906
PERRY Sidney – miner 1905
PETERS Thomas – Brown & Peters storekeeper 1905 – 1906
PICKERING Jno – miner 1905 – 1906
PRATT Walter – miner 1905 – 1906
PROVIS H.L. – assayer 1906
RANDALL Edward 1905 – 1906
RAYMOND Charles – Government Battery 1905 – 1906
RAYMOND Henry O. – miner 1905 – 1906
REICHELT Gustav – Cox & Co butchers 1905 – 1906
RENOWDEN J. O. – miner 1905
RITCHIE Walter – storekeeper 1905
ROBINSON Frederick – miner 1905 – 1906
ROOKE Charles B. – miner 1905 – 1906
RYAN Jas 1905 – 1906

The Duketon News Agency – Kalgoorlie Western Argus 13 December 1904, page 22.

SCHWAN Roady – miner 1905
SHEPHERDSON Denis – miner 1905 – 1906
SINCLAIR William – miner 1905 – 1906
STASSEN Charles 1905 – 1906
STASSEN Henry 1905 – 1906
STUART Miss Edith 1905 – 1906
TAYLOR Alfred J. – Golden Spinifex Hotel 1905 – 1906
TRUE Robert – miner 1905 – 1906
VONTHIEN Albert – public battery 1906
VONTHIEN William – public battery 1906
WAUGH Jno. – miner 1906
WAUGH Robert – miner 1905
WHITFORD Thomas F. – miner 1905 – 1906
WILLIS Jas. – miner 1905
WILSHIN Daniel – miner 1905
WILSON Percy – miner 1905 – 1906
WOOLFE Patrick 1905 – 1906
WOULFE Nicholas – miner 1906
YOUNG Douglas – accountant 1905
YOUNG George 1905 – 1906
YOUNG Jno – miner 1905
YOUNG Kenneth 1906
YOUNG Norman D. – Government Battery 1905 – 1906

The Duketon Hotel – Kalgoorlie Western Argus 13 December 1904, page 22.

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History

My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.

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