The south-eastern corner of Forrest and Lefroy Streets Coolgardie was the scene of a transaction in the early 1890’s that gave the site the name of ‘Medicine Corner’.
An old prospector and a young man fresh from Broken Hill camped on the site to which came an old man – he was
‘slab-chested, bow-legged, windmill-armed, with an eye like a frozen fish and a mouth like the back door of Destiny’,
howling in pain for medicine. They gave him some Holloway Pills and a bottle of hair oil (not sure how this would have helped him) and then he disappeared into the night.
Some months later, when the two prospectors were camped near Box Soak, they met up with the old man again, who offered to show them ‘plenty gold’ in return for the medicine so freely given to him some time before which had affected his cure. As a result, both prospectors were shown the rich alluvial field that later became known as Lake Darlot. The young man was named Lawrence Allen Wells.
Lawrence Allen ‘Larry’ Wells – Photo Wikiwand
When the two returned to Coolgardie, they found their old camping site had been sold and on it was a Swiss-type chalet tenanted by Dr. Swanson who came to Coolgardie from Sydney. I wonder how many ‘random acts of kindness’ have resulted in great finds?
Moya Sharp
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