First Gold – from an impoverished colony to a wealthy state

The first commercial find of gold in Western Australia was made on 14 July 1885 at Hall's Creek in the Kimberley District, and the Kimberley Goldfield was proclaimed in the following year, on 19 May 1886. This discovery, and the dramatic rush that … [Continue reading]

Jim Carey – explorer, prospector and drover

Western Mail Perth 24 February 1912, page 5 JAMES CAREY AND NEPHEW by J.T. Of the band of hardy adventurous explorers who accompanied the late Alexander Forrest on his memorable expedition from the De Grey River to Port Darwin, 32 years ago, only … [Continue reading]

John Minden Caulfeild – grave tales

On the evening of Monday 20th October 1896, three men of Kanowna, Open Call stockbroker Thomas Moore Fletcher, 22-year-old photographer John Minden Caulfeild, and Richard Baugh, cycled out to Lake Gwynn and set up a camp on the western shore of the … [Continue reading]

Black Dennis – a respected man

The following story is published with the kind permission of Dennis Aartsen and is an excerpt from his four-volume set of books, Hotels of the Barrier Ranges. Black Dennis On the 28th of August 1911, a passerby stopped by a modest shack just north … [Continue reading]

Coolgardie Leidertafel & the Durston family

The following family story and photographs were kindly supplied and reproduced with permission of the late Mrs Bernice Peters of Wembley, WA with thanks. Robert Groves Durston is the father of Bernice Peters. He was born in 1863 in Bristol, … [Continue reading]