The Gaston’s – a family saga

The Gaston Family By Marjory Burton nee York I was sent some interesting information and photographs on the Gaston family from Marjorie Burton nee York. Her great-grandfather was George Gaston. The Gastons originally came from South Australia and before that from Sussex, England. They were Charles Gaston and his wife Rebecca nee Burfield. Their son […]

A Massacre at Laverton –

Western Mail 29 October 1910, page 30 A NATIVE MASSACRE AT LAVERTON A pathetic interest is attached to the following portraits of baby Sunday, aged three months and a half-cast girl Kitty, aged 10 years, in connection with a recent Laverton massacre. The raiders, who were gathered from the surrounding districts of Kalgoorlie, Kookynie. and […]

The Probable Fate of James Thomas Whyte

Another page from the ‘Book of the Bush’ Truth Perth -13 November 1915, page 4 TALE OF THE WILDS THE PROSPECTOR THAT NEVER RETURNED. Probable Fate of James Thomas Whyte The result of a par in our last week’s mining budget has been the cause of considerable inquiry as to the fate of a prospector […]

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 […]

Lightning Can Strike Twice –

The coincidence of the following two events was uncovered by Derek Prosser, an OFH reader and contributor. He noted that on the OFH website, I had James Heffernan buried in the Black Flag Cemetery (30 km north of Kalgoorlie). However, this seems to be incorrect from what is said in the newspaper reports of the […]