The Ledger Foundry
This latest book is a wonderful blend of family history and the manufacture of the wonderful, bright red pillar boxes we have all seen.
Cast Iron Pillar Boxes – Image Sue Hobson
I am sure you will remember the campaign by the people of Kalgoorlie/Boulder to save the box on the corner of Hannan and Lane Sts outside of the Kalgoorlie Hotel (Judds) which was successful. 
The book is beautifully done, and the pictures are just amazing. All the boxes in Kalgoorlie, which were made by the author’s family, are featured along with others from around the state. Sue tells us about the Ledger family, whose first arrival in Western Australia was Joseph Sowden Ledger, who was a convict who was sentenced to 10 years’ servitude for assault. Joseph left a wife in England, but she refused to follow him to Australia, so he remarried to Mary Ann Hart, the daughter of a policeman, in 1869. Joseph first set up business in his mother’s maiden name, Sowden, to escape his convict background, and news of his prosperity got back to his family. By 1880, his nephew Joseph joined him. In all, 15 other members of his family were to come to Western Australia.
The family business of the Ledger Foundry was born and continued to prosper. The business produced all sorts of items such as wrought iron, grave surrounds, bath, etc. The most recognisable item is, of course, red pillar boxes.
Moya Sharp
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