Archives for November 2020

John Hosken – grave tales

Sunday Times – Perth – 12 January 1936, page 7 THE LATE JOHN HOSKEN Large Attendance at Funeral   The unusually large number who followed the remains of the late John Hosken from his place of residence in Millen-street. Boulder, to the Methodist portion of the Boulder Cemetery, was testimony of the esteem in which […]

Diver Hughes – The Hero of Coolgardie

Cecil Albert Francis Herbert ‘Frank’ HUGHES was born on 11th Nov 1861 in Wrexham, North Wales, and educated at Ruabon Grammar School, he was the eldest son of Thomas Edward HUGHES and Mary THOMAS. Frank showed early on that he was of a roving and adventurous disposition. To satisfy his strong desire to go to […]

The Yalgoo Murder

Daily News – Perth – 7 March 1936, page 1 Sensational Disclosures at Inquest Likely Sensational disclosures are expected at an inquest, resumed here today, into the death of Hector Alexander McDonnell (36), who died at Yalgoo on January 14. McDonnell’s body was exhumed from the Yalgoo Cemetery on February 1, following police inquiries, and […]

Fanny Cracker -Queen of the Outback

Hospital administrator by day, Drag Queen at night, Fanny Cracker, the darling of Kalgoorlie. How did this outrageous character win the heart of an isolated mining town in Western Australia?  An affirmation of how laughter breaks down barriers. In 2017, it had been 14 years since Christopher Jordan-Wright wore a wig, slapped on some makeup […]

The Barrowmen of the Outback

Some of the barrows were orthodox but varying in size and appearance . Many were queer looking contraptions because their designers and builders could find no other name for them. There were one-man, two-man and four-man barrows. The one-man barrow was pushed by its owner in the morning and pulled slowly at the end of […]