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THE FATE OF DICK BRANDON: A Goldfields Story of Mystery and Madness

25/04/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Sun Kalgoorlie Sunday 16 March 1902 Brandon’s fate A TALE OF DARLOT by Pharisee. The eager, excited crowd that thronged the long dry stage to the Darlot diggings in the first blush of the new discovery included Dick Brandon and his mate, Jimmy Spiggot. That dreary and waterless track skirting the edge of desolate Lake […]

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Filed Under: People, Places, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Australian History, Coolgardie, Darlot, Goldfields History, Western Australia

The Hotel Australia, Laverton: A Goldfields Survivor

25/04/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

The Hotel Australia in Laverton, Western Australia, still stands today. It has changed very little over the years, as you will see from the following photographs. The building has been reused for lots of different purposes over the years, but the façade has remained throughout its various uses. Originally, the Hotel Australia was built in […]

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Filed Under: Hotels, People, Places Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Hotels, Laverton, Western Australia

From Highland Rebel to Goldfields Pioneer: The Life and Sorrows of Neil Calder

25/04/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

I have recently been in correspondence with Lisa Clifford, who has very kindly allowed me to share the following story and photographs with you. She originally got in touch with me after seeing the grave of Alistar Douglas Calder in the Black Range (Nungarra) Cemetery on the Outback Family History website. Lisa tells me that […]

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Filed Under: People, Places Tagged With: Australian History, Birrigrin, Black Range, Cemeteries, Kalgoorlie boulder, Western Australia

Married in Name Only: Kalgoorlie Union That Never Began

25/04/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

 Daily News, 13 June 1928 — retold for Outback Family History A Kalgoorlie marriage so brief it never made it past the church steps Kalgoorlie has seen its fair share of whirlwind romances, but few were quite as brief — or as baffling — as the union of miner Francis Nelson ELLIS and his bride […]

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Filed Under: People, Places, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Australian History, Church, Goldfields History, Kalgoorlie boulder, Marriage, Western Australia

The Language of Mules: Learning the Bush from One-Spur Dick

18/04/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

The Herald Melbourne VIC  – 13 January 1934, page 24 My Life Outback as a Mule Driver’s Offsider On The Track With One-Spur Dick by Arthur W Upfield To One-Spur Dick, I owe a debt never to be repaid. Here on Tearle Station, Western New South Wales, set down in the middle of the night […]

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Filed Under: People, Places, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Australian History

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