The Matron and the Major – Nurse Annie Jones

In early 1896 Annie Jones from Bendigo Victoria was nursing in the Government hospital at Cue, Western Australia.  While she was recovering from a mild form of typhoid fever, word came by camel train that Mr. Magnus Maxton Calder, a member of the … [Continue reading]

First Female Police Officer – Helen Dugdale

There are many 'Firsts' that have occurred in the Goldfields and one of them is that we had the first female police officer, Helen Blanche Dugdale who was appointed from Kalgoorlie. The Police Historical Society have recognised the contribution of … [Continue reading]

Bridget Delia OATES – grave tales

The following photograph is of the headstone and grave of Bridget Delia Oates, who was the beloved wife of Richard Knight Oates, born in County Clare Ireland on 28 Jan 1873. She died at Kalgoorlie on the 17th Sep 1909 aged 37 years. This photograph … [Continue reading]

Merchants -v- Miners ‘when there’s a gold rush, sell shovels!’

"When there is a gold rush, 'Sell Shovel's' was a term coined in the California Gold Rushes but it can be said to be true of the Gold Rushes in Australia. Many merchants selling everything from mining equipment to ribbons made more money than most … [Continue reading]

Goolam Badoola of Bulgarbardoo –

Goolam Badoola of Bulgarbardoo was the only 'Afghan' camel teamster in Western Australia, to transfer from the declining transport industry and successfully developed a new industry for himself — a sheep station to which he gave the name … [Continue reading]