Carrie of the Miner
Columnist, ‘Carrie of the Miner’ may not have been as widely known as Carrie Bradshaw of a certain TV show but in the Goldfields she is by far more important and arguably more impressive. Carrie’s real name was Amy Augusta Buscombe who was born in Daylesford Victoria in 1862 to James Kestell Buscombe and Elizabeth BARNETT, she was the first female journalist at the Kalgoorlie Miner Newspaper in Kalgoorlie WA.
Following the Victorian bank crashes of the late 1800s, Amy and her solicitor husband, Charles Alfred Argyle, traveled from Victoria to Perth WA where he continued to practice law. The couple had married in 1888 in Melbourne Victoria and had a daughter, Nancy Kestell Argyle who was born in Melbourne Victoria in 1899.
Amy on the stage!
Because Kalgoorlie was rife with Typhoid, it was not considered a safe place for children, and Nancy aged 9, was left in Melbourne with a wealthy aunt. Nancy went on to become the first physiotherapist in Kalgoorlie when she returned as an adult many years later. Amy, after a short stint in Perth, followed her sisters, Lillian and Alicia to Kalgoorlie. It is not known what happened with Charles at this time, but the marriage quickly deteriorated and he returned to Melbourne leaving Amy in the Goldfields with her sisters. He was to pass away in Victoria in 1918.
Amy started out in her new town first by doing hairdressing, and then, with the help of her sisters, open the Mia Mia café in 1898. (The Cafe was located diagonally opposite the Tower Hotel on the corner of Bourke and Maritana Sts Kalgoorlie where the Puma petrol station now stands.)
She loved theatrical productions and she and her sisters formed a theatrical company. They would stack their horse and cart with theatrical props and costumes and perform shows all about the Golden Mile for charities. Amy was instrumental in raising funds for the Red Cross and the war effort in 1914-1918. When Dame Nellie Melba visited the Goldfields there was a letter she left for Amy on Palace Hotel letterhead. It said “Dear Mrs. Argyle, How very kind of you to send me such lovely sweet peas. Thank you so much. I do appreciate them as I did not realise that such lovely flowers could grow in a desert, yours sincerely Nellie Melba.”
In 1907 Amy started writing ‘A Ladies Letter’ for the Kalgoorlie Miner and would continue to do so for about ten years. The column took the form of a letter to a fictional friend, Mary, and detailed all the social happenings around the town. Amy’s great-granddaughter Susan Clarke said that the sister who had come from a very privileged existence before the bank crashes still thought very highly of themselves in their new-found much more simple surroundings. She said that Amy had a habit of chatting to everyone no matter what their social status. She said ‘She was a naturally friendly person and was known to stop on the street to talk to all kinds of people, a thing that her once well-to-do family did not approve of.’
Amy in ‘The Old Woman Swept The Sky’
The family had largely left Kalgoorlie by 1926 mainly to pursue farming interests elsewhere. Amy, now a widow, eventually became the companion to a ‘dear man’ much younger than herself of whom the family was ‘very fond’. Amy’s Great Granddaughter Susan Clarke said that no one was ever brave enough to ask Amy what the nature of the relationship was with this younger man.
Amy never remarried and passed away in Swan near Perth WA on the 6th of September 1939 at 76 years of age. She was cremated at the Karrakatta Cemetery and her ashes were placed in the niche wall.
Amy’s sister, Alicia Mary Buscome was to marry Harry Duncan Pell in 1902 and Lilian Marion Buscombe was to marry James Kennedy Brougham in 1901 both in Kalgoorlie. Lillian was to have five children born in Kalgoorlie, John b 1901, Janice Kestell b 1902, Edna Waugh Kennedy b 1904, Shirley Kestell b 1905, and Robert Kennedy born 1908.
This article was kindly reproduced in part with permission from the WA Newspapers – Kalgoorlie Miner, The Biographical Dictionary of Western Australians, The Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, and Susan Clarke the Gt Granddaughter of Amy.
Moya Sharp
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