John Joseph READY – Kalgoorlie Cemetery RC Section Grave 7653
John Joseph Ready (A legendary figure)
by George Compton 1992
John Joseph Ready who was buried in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery in grave number 7653 on 5 September 1933, born Co Limerick Ireland. He was a very early, very active, and somewhat enigmatic pioneer of the Eastern Goldfields.
Although Jack Ready’s name occurs frequently in the historical accounts of many discoveries, his presence was usually auxiliary to the actual discoveries. Essentially Ready was a “specker” one who picked up pieces of gold exposed at the surface rather than a dryblower or reefer. Since he seldom, if ever, held title to tenements, his presence on any field rarely entered the official records. Lacking the framework of official record, his history is peculiarly difficult to substantiate; any understanding of his personality derives from second-hand accounts; what we do know of him is intriguing, but lacking verification and borders on the legendary.
Douglas Cable, has suggested that Ready came into the area via employment on the Fraser’s Range pastoral property, and not by travelling east from the Swan River settlement. This notion is supported to a degree by the inscription on an early map of the Kurnalpi field of a “Track to Fraser’s Range” rather more prominently than the track to Kanowna-Coolgardie.
Ready may have used the station as a supply-base from an undefined early date. On one loquacious occasion he commented that he’d been in the country for years before Bayley and Ford, before MacPherson even. Although MacPherson is known to have prospected the White Hope area, called MacPherson’s Gully, just south of the White Hope Mine in 1888, there is some evidence
that he was prospecting the west shore of Lake Lefroy from 1883 onward.
Depending on Ready’s actual knowledge of MacPherson, he may have claimed being present from before 1888, or prior to 1883 when he would have been 19 years of age. All the accounts of Ready’s activities imply that he was not only well equipped with horses and vehicles, but possessed “time to spare”… quite unusual among those others searching the district and what might be termed
an attitude of disinterested interest in the events occurring about him. I think it is reasonable to believe that at an early date Ready had been sufficiently successful at “specking” to have acquired such chattels as he needed and to have been freed of the demands of time. Perhaps under his own humble terms Jack Ready lived in an unlikely Utopia.
he had an attitude of disinterested interest
Chronologically, Jack Ready’s first appearance was at Koorkadine Soak a few days after the discovery of alluvial gold at Southern Cross. Subsequently Ready and Bill McIntosh pioneered the Parker’s Range District, but the story of events at Koorkadine Soak indicates that Ready had been present in the eastern country for some time previously. Although the substance of the story has been repeated by other people and in other circumstances, such repetition seems to
validate the substance; various people who were present at Koorkadine later believed reference had been made to gold at Kurnalpi five years before it was authentically discovered.
A crowd was gathered around a communal camp fire at Koorkadine and approached by a number of local aborigines which included a young woman recently stolen from the Eastern People by her man. None of the local aborigines could handle English, and needed to rely for communication on the young woman. (No one seems to have wondered how a woman from the Eastern People had acquired her capability!!) That was in 1888.Ready next appears in Bayley’s account of the discovery of Coolgardie where
he was regarded as something of a nuisance
who may have upset Ford and Bayley’s quiet assessment procedures. Some time later after Bayley had gone back to Southern Cross for stores, he was followed by Talbot, Fosser, and Baker (with one horse). The young trio eventually arrived at the Gnarlbine Soaks, where Ready was camped. He informed them that Bayley had turned off Hunt’s Track some fifteen miles back… camp here tonight and I’ll take you back tomorrow. This was 1892. In June of 1893, when Hannan, Flanagan and Shea… with one horse (Shea’s)… left Coolgardie and headed for the mythical Mt Yuille Rush, Ready had already sent a wagon load of water forward to aid the crowd of travellers, and had parked it in a gully in what was later the Kalgoorlie ridge.
Hannan’s party, and others camped nearby… Ready’s Dry Camp… and during the period
they camped there Hannan and his mates discovered the first gold of the Kalgoorlie Field, and Mt. Yuille’s alleged gold was forgotten.
The next reference to Ready is in McAuliffe’s account of the discovery of Kanowna. It appears that two separate parties had made discoveries… on the east side of Red Hill, and on the (later) North White Feather, quite adjacent. The two parties lunched together and decided to amalgamate their interests. While they were discussing which ground required to be pegged, Ready arrived in a dray containing a water tank. Again sundry “protective” conversation by the prospectors, and advice from Ready that water was hard to find thereabouts, but if they backtracked his dray ruts they’d find a good soak…good water, never known it to go dry… and if you’re after gold, try the next
gully around that ridge… the blackfellers showed it to me years ago.
Kalgoorlie Miner 5 September 1933, page 4
October 1893 Ready was discovered at Kurnalpi in November 1893 by a rush headed by Slater. When discovered Ready was harrowing rich alluvial ground with a contraption made of mulga branches tied together with trace chains, followed by a crowd of natives quite happy to pick up the golden gibbers and trade them with Ready for canned beef, flour, sugar, tea and baccy.
Some time later Ready commented that besides the 1300 ounces acquired on that trip, he’d done rather better the first time.
The overall impression of Jack Ready is that he was a competent traveller, well-provided with equipment, and possessed of a long-standing general familiarity with the country. His success with “specking” appears to have freed him from immediate… or even long-term… financial worries, and
freed him from the otherwise general fervor to acquire “ground”. His situation appears to have permitted him to take a relaxed view of the invasion of the Eastern Goldfields, and so he always appeared to have the time available to help when necessary.
With Ready we have a tantalising image of a quiet man who may have been one of West Australia’s earliest successful gold seekers. But lacking the hard evidence of official record, or even an established tradition of a verbal time and date schedule, he is shrouded in mystery. He seems to have stated he was on the Eastern Goldfields prior to 1888; he may have been there
prior to 1883. We don’t know what brought him to the country: whether he came deliberately seeking gold, or whether he merely stumbled across gold while engaged in other pursuits. Unless
new information about Ready validates or destroys the shadowy evidence of his early presence, John Joseph Ready must remain something of a legendary character.
George Compton 1992 (Ref: Kanowna’s Barrowman by Ron Manners)
John Joseph READY 2020 – Photo Danelle Warnock
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