The Prologue: Thomas Farren was born in 1857 in Seascale in the west of England where the Sellafield nuclear power station is today. Mary Elizabeth ‘Polly’ Farren nee Saunders, was born in Birmingham in 1863. They were married in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1879, at which time Mary could not read or write. They lived […]
The Tragic Death of Mollie Smith – grave tales
03/02/2024 By 1 Comment
On the 3rd July 1924, a young teacher aged 18 years, Mary ‘Mollie’ Smith, was tragically burned to death in front of her class of young children. It must have been horrific for the children present. She is buried in the Boulder Cemetery. MARY ‘MOLLIE’ FINDLATER SMITH Mollie Findlater SMITH was born in 1905 in […]
Frank Ernest RANDELL & CO.
27/01/2024 By Leave a Comment
Weekly Times (Melbourne VIC) – 10 September 1898, page 48 Frank Ernest Randell & Co. Messrs F E. Randell and Co. are well known on the West Australian goldfields as carrying and forwarding agents. Their head office is at Fremantle, having lately been transferred to that rising port, from the goldfields, and there are branches […]
The Mysterious Mr Bradley – a family story
04/03/2023 By 1 Comment
The comment ‘not another Lionel’ is a long-standing joke, between a good friend of mine and fellow historian, Graeme Sisson, who was the Archivist of the Police Historical Soc of WA at the time. It came to refer to any research inquiry that we were working on that was more than a little complicated and […]
A Tonsorial Dynasty – the Mickle boys
28/01/2023 By 4 Comments
The Mickle family has established a dynasty of Hairdressers (Tonsorial Artists) and tobacconists in Western Australia. Starting in the Murchison and Northern Goldfields of WA, the four brothers and a nephew had premises in Menzies, Mt Magnet, Kookynie, Laverton and Wiluna, and Meekatharra. They would also open a business in Narrogin in later years. The […]
