Neil McLeod, with his partner, Syd Ward, had the licence at the primitive Exchange Hotel, a galvanised iron structure at the corner of Hannan and Maritana Sts, Kalgoorlie. Talk would turn to athletics and one of the customers who fancied he could run would be ‘chivied’ by Neil McLeod.
McLeod would say “I don’t think you can run at all, and to prove it I’ll back ‘Burly’ Bill Rowell to run you 75 yards off the same mark, id you beat Bill I’ll run you myself.”
The challenge accepted, the race would be arranged to take place on the following Sunday morning in the wide and dusty Hannan Street. Bill usually made it a one-act affair, showing a surprising turn of speed for such a big man. There would be quite a celebration at the Exchange after the event, as there were lots of spectators and a good deal of gold dust changed hands on the result.
Ted Rowell – Superstar
At this time I was dry blowing with Neil McLeod’s brother, Peter, in one of the gullies east of Maritana Hill, and we camped in a tent near the present Olympic Pool. We had Christmas dinner in 1894 at the Exchange. Bill did a lot of prospecting and I was with him at the ‘Wealth of Nations’ find, Bardic, Broad Arrow, White Feather (later Kanowna), IOU, Bulong and Kurnalpi. He, with another brother of Neil McCloud, Donald, and Jack Cook discovered and pegged the Camelia Mine, 24 miles north east of Kanowna which they worked for several years. They were offered a substantial sum for it but they refused as they thought it had a big future but they were dissapointed and eventually sold it for £5000 in 1900 – considerably less than the first offer.Yet another McLeod brother Charley, 10 yrs my senior, was also lucky pegging a claim on the Fitzroy cement lead Kanowna, and although it wasn’t one of the richest, a considerable amount of gold was taken from it. I worked this claim with him in 1897-8.
Just over 1000 bodies were buried in the Coolgardie Cemetery with a large percentage of males in the first four years. The majority of these died from the dreaded fever, and many succumbed before a hospital was erected. It was in White Feather (Kanowna) in early 1895 when I was one of those to be stricken before a hospital was built. I was well cared for by a local resident, Mrs Smith, in a small hessian camp in Isabella Street, close to Mick Donellans Criterion Hotel. I lost a couple of stone in weight, but was quickly back to normal.
Some of the other hoteliers in Kanowna were:- Mick Donnellan, Doyles brother in law, had the Criterion, Jim Johnson and Dinny McManus, The White Feather, Arthur Glover, The Australia, Bill Batho had a hotel and a little later Charlie Cutbush built the Occidental Hotel opposite Tom Doyle’s. The latter was later in a hotel not far from Cutbush called The Black Swan. All the hotels were in Isabella Street.
Bill and Ma Wyatt were also established in the Britannia Hotel leading down to the Recreation ground, while Mrs Wilson with her two daughters, kept a hotel in the same street opposite the Criterion.
Exchange Hotel Kanowna
In the early days of the Kanowna deep leads, one of the richest was worked right up to the cemetery fence, but had to stop an no pegging in the cemetery was allowed. Appeals were made to the warden but his reply was that the only claim to be obtained there was
“6ft by 3ft and 6ft deep” with no miners right needed to hold it!!!
After further prospecting the lead was picked up on the other side of the cemetery which proved the ground under the graves contained some very rich gold.
After renewed appeals by the miners the warden decided to declare the ground open for pegging. A ballot was proposed which would have suited the majority but the Warden did not agree. Finaly a notice was posted at the mining office that on a certain day the ground would be open for pegging. The time for the pegging was to be on a signal from the warden but no one was allowed inside the fence till then. Hundreds flocked around the fence in the early morning to get a favourable position, most carried picks and pegs. Never before or since have I seen so many people anxious to get into a cemetery. We had a grandstand view from the dump on my brothers claim within 50 yards of the fence.
Warden Troy drops the handkerchief
As 1 o’clock approached the crowd increased to thousands and it was difficult for the early comers to hold their place. At last Warden Troy was seen approaching and as the hour struck he rode out dramatically on his white horse. When he held up his hand there was complete silence, as his handkerchief dropped bedlam broke loose. The sight was something to remember.
When he held up his hand there was complete silence, as his handkerchief dropped bedlam broke loose.
Inside of a minute the ground was a mass of moving men rushing in every direction. In a few minutes 2000 claims had been pegged where 30 of regulation size would cover the whole area. Everyone went to the Registrars office to file their applications. I think all the names were put in a hat and drawn from, it was the only way to settle it. A new cemetery a mile along the road was opened and some of the bodies were re interred. Further Reading:-
Old Kanowna Cemetery
This is the first in a series of stories by Ted Rowell:-
Moya Sharp
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