When the Law of the Outback is Swift and Ready –

The Truth Perth – 30 March 1930, page 7 When the Law of the Outback is Swift and Ready Another Nor’west Tragedy It was practically suicide! He would never weather the dry, continuous sun storms. Day upon day the sun beat mercilessly down upon the waterless stretch, and night after night the moon shone with […]

Michael Tobin – a grave in the wilderness

  Michael TOBIN died on the 7th of April 1907 aged 33 years at Wadda Waddah Well or No 40 Well on the newly proposed stock route from the Kimberly called the Canning Stock Route. He was buried on a sandy ridge 250 metres from well No 40. His burial was confirmed by A G […]

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 followed, marked the beginning of our gold-mining industry, which was to transform […]

The Battle of Wingina Gorge

Daily News 21 October 1955, page 5 Jandamarra aka “Pigeon” led one of the first rebellions of the Australian Aboriginal people armed with firearms in Western Australia. Jandamarra or Sandawarra, known as Pidgeon had been one of the best and most trusted police trackers in the West Kimberley. When Jandamarra’s close friend, an English stockman […]

Prospector Who Dug His Own Grave:

Sunday Times –  22 September 1940, page 10 Prospector Who Dug His Own Grave The story of Franz Horneg (AKA Franz ERDMAN), a German and Anthon Johansen, called ‘The Swede’ (but was Norwegian), is a true story, yet if it had occurred to a fiction writer, the author would have probably rejected it as too […]