The following story is an extract with kind permission from ‘For a Better Life, Yugoslavs on the Goldfields of Western Australia 1890-1970 by Dr Criena Fitzgerald.

One of the most tragic love stories was that of Ante Mateljan and Petrica Mikovic (Micovich). Luka Markovich, a friend of Ante Mateljan, brought Petrica’s photograph back to Kalgoorlie to show Ante. Petrica asked if he knew of any prospective suitors and had given him her photograph to show to them on his return to Australia. Her son Tony recalled his father’s story of the event:

Passport Photograph of Petrica Micovic courtesy of Tony Mateljan

While Luka Markovich was over there (Yugoslavia) he was also friends with this Mikovich family and when he said goodbye to the family my mum gave him a little photo and said, “If you think of anybody worthy of me, show him this photo and tell him to write to me.” So thats what happened.” So, when he came back here, he didnt give Dad the photo straight away, but he asked him, “Would you be interested in writing to a Montenegrin girl back home of a good family, and respected family” and Dad said ‘Yes” and he wrote to her and then he ended up bringing her out in 1938.

She set sail for Kalgoorlie in 1938 to marry Ante Mateljan. Ante had a deposit on a house in Forrest Street in Boulder, and the couple married, with their son Tony being born that same year. Late that year, Ante was dismissed from his job in Kalgoorlie because of his membership in the Communist Party, and the young family was forced to relocate to Gwalia, where he resumed work as a machine miner.

Kalgoorlie Miner 31 October 1938, page 4 –

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In April 1940, Petrica was hit by a car as she alighted onto the road from a taxi in Tower Street, Leonora, and she was killed. Her son Tony, aged 9 months, who she was holding at the time of the accident, was seriously injured but survived after spending 50 days in the Kalgoorlie Hospital.

Kalgoorlie Miner 27 April 1940, page 4

Ante never got over her death and brought up his son on his own with the assistance of various women whom he paid to help him. In 1946, Ante was “turned down” with silicosis and had to leave mining, and with his son, Tony, decided to make the journey home to Yugoslavia on the SS Partizanka in 1948. Unable to leave his wife behind, Ante had her body disinterred and cremated, and her ashes interred in a box which he took with him back to Yugoslavia.

Ante Mateljan and his son Tony with Petrica’s ashes in 1947 – Photographs Courtesy of Tony Mateljan

Petrica’s ashes returned with the family to Australia in 1953 and, on Ante’s death in 1973, her ashes were interred with his body.The Funeral of Petrica Mateljan with the Yugoslav Club on the right (which is still there today, 3 Moran Street, Boulder). Petricia was buried in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery – Photograph Courtesy of Tony Mateljan.

This story is only one of the many from the recently published ‘For a Better Life, Yugoslavs on the Goldfields of Western Australia 1890-1970 by Dr Criena Fitzgerald.

Books can be purchased by phoning the author on 0417 980 553 in Perth.

The Funeral of Petrica Mateljan with the Yugoslav Club on the right (which is still there today, 3 Moran Street, Boulder) – Photograph Courtesy of Tony Mateljan.

Former residents of the abandoned townsite of Darlot,
130 km north of Leonora, returned to celebrate the
town’s centenary in December 1994.

John & Mary Dillon and Family with Harold Williams – Photo Dan and Lorna Metzke

Darlot gold mine manager, David Hatch, said that the earliest known Darlot Mining tenement was registered on December 3 1894. This is the date to mark the town’s centenary. Plutonic Resources, which runs the Darlot mine, flew descendants from Perth and supplied a bus from Kalgoorlie-Boulder to the site. There were also some interstate travellers.

Lillie and Richard Watson were the last Darlot residents. Three of their children are now living in Perth and Kalgoorlie Boulder. The photo was taken outside the Post Office – Photo Mrs Jean Sayer.

Lake Darlot was discovered by Lawrence Allen Wells on 6 March 1892 as part of the Elders Expedition and was named after Leonard Hawthorn Darlot, a pastoralist whose family purchased Berringarra Station property in the Murchison District in 1882.  Gold was first discovered in the area late in 1894, which started the Darlot Rush.

Lawrence Allen ‘Larry’ Wells – Photo Wikiwand

Mr Hatch’s wife, Lyn Hatch, compiled a detailed booklet of the town’s history. Mrs Hatch says the booklet will save much of the town’s history from being lost. So much has been lost alread,y and the booklet was eventually published as a book. (see below)

Darlot by Lyn Hatch

Darlot has a rich history, which includes a claim to being the first place where James Balzano built his first wooden barrow. In 1896, Mr Balzano spent 44 days prospecting in Lake Darlot. During his stay, he recorded in his diary many typhoid deaths with coffins made of meat and jam crates. After having no luck ther,e he moved on to Pendinni,e about 170kms away.

In 1995, Darlot had a population of about 110, who all worked at the gold mine, a far cry from the 2000 residents in 1895. Although Darlot was discovered in 1892 by L A Wells and named after Leonard Hawthorn Darlot, a Murchison Pastoralist’s son, it did not receive recognition until 1894 when gold was found by three prospectors, Jim Cable, Pickering and Jennet.

Darlot School Children – L-R – Back row: Eileen Mackey (now Moore), Marge Warren, Mollie Dillon, Jack Warren. Front row: Biddy Thorley, Sheila Mackey, May Warren, Tim Thorley and Olive Warren in front of the Watson’s House c 1914.

Cable’s nephew, Doug, tells of his uncle finding a five-ounce piece of gold on the ground and remarking, “I must have found Aladdin’s Lamp” and told of prospectors picking up 200 ounces in a few days. Since then, about 500,000 ounces have come from the area, worth more than $250 million in today’s values. Mining recommenced in the area with an open-cut mine in 1988; the pit was to be closed in 1995.

Ballangarry Hotel – Photo SLWA

A former resident with fond memories of Darlot was Mrs Eileen Malone, nee Mackey, who now lives in Waterman’s Bay near Perth, WA. She and her friend Millie Dillon spent time playing and driving in a horse-drawn trap. Her parents, Denis and Annie Mackey, went to Darlot in the early part of the century to manage the store. The family then took over the Ballangarry Hotel from Charlie Beale, and then the family later moved to Wilsons Patch, between Leonora and Darlo,t where she lived before being sent away to school in Perth.

References:
Kalgoorlie Miner 24 Nov 1994 – Cate Rocchi
WA Post Office Directories
Kanownas Barrowman James Balzano by George Compton and Ron Manners
Darlot by Lyn Hatch.

Sunday Times  – Perth – 20 July 1930, page 9

Early in November 1892, two gold hunters, Augustus Jules ‘Gus’ LUCK and his mate Jack BURNS, out on a prospecting expedition from Coolgardie, found themselves cursing their luck when their camels became bogged west of Mt Robinson. It was only after the animals had been relieved of their pack that they could free themselves from the mud.

Gus Luck – Image TROVE

The incident caused Luck and his mate to turn south-east and then work their way back to the “Old Camp”. Had they gone the opposite way, as was their original intention, history might have contained their names as the discovers of the famous Golden Mile, for the bogging incident occurred within half a day’s walk of the spot where Paddy Hannan, seven months later, made his discovery, which caused Australia’s greatest gold boom, and was the forerunner of the location of the fabulous Golden Mlle.

Mr. A.J. (Gus) Luck, who has been farming on the miners’ settlement near Southern Cross for the past two years, is now temporarily located in Perth.

A Link with Exploration Work of forty years ago.

In 1889, he was a member of an expedition which landed at Eucla from Adelaide, to explore a section of that little-known country for a railway company.” In “flying-gangs”, the party of fourteen ventured inland as far as food supplies would allow them and relied on rock holes for water. One of these trips nearly ended in disaster. Luck and his mate struggled back over eighty miles of waterless land to get assistance for the remainder of the party, some of whom were found in a pitiable plight through the ravages of thirst.

Gus Luck – Photo Ancestry.com.au

In 1894, Luck became associated, as a guide, with Hon. D. Carnegie, a son of the Earl of Southesk, a Scottish nobleman. Carnegie had come to Western Australia to seek his fortune, and he headed several expeditions to the northern fields. On the trip on which he and Luck were associated, a route was taken from Coolgardie across Hampton Plains territory, up to Queen Victoria Springs, and to the country beyond. A hill about 200 miles northeast of Mt Margaret was named Mt Luck after the man who acted as guide to the party.

Daily News 22 May 1951, page 5

Above: Using a memento of his early days, Gus Luck, who will be 84 tomorrow, takes a bearing with a prismatic compass given to him in 1894 by D.W. Carnegie, whom he accompanied on an expedition.

Threading their way back, the party found gold at Niagara and reached Siberia Soak with the tucker box empty and only tobacco, matches, and baking powder among their stores. Provisions borrowed from a survey party helped them on the last stage of their return journey. What was originally intended to be a five or six-week expedition had lasted five months, and their safe return set a lot of uneasy minds at rest in the ‘Old Camp’.

In appreciation, Carnegie presented Luck with a compass inscribed “From D. W. Carnegie, July 1894,” and this today is one of Mr Luck’s most treasured possessions. A glance at it takes his mind back to stirring events of the early ’90s.

Carnegie, it might be added, later met his death in Nigeria from a poisoned arrow. In his capacity as Resident Magistrate, he visited a native camp to relieve them of their firearms and had just carried the weapons back to a waiting boat when the chief of the tribe came on the scene. He waved his arms menacingly at the Britishers, and Carnegie, fearless as ever, returned to the camp, but an arrow struck him down. He succumbed shortly after his friends had laid him gently in the boat.

Thus was severed a link with ‘Early Coolgardie’ days.

Luck played his part in the pioneering work which assisted in the opening of the Goldfields, but goes his way, unostentatiously, despite the trying and hazardous times he has passed through, Luck wears well. !!

Further Recommended Reading: The Outback Trail by A.J. Luck – Available from Hesperian Press and the EG Historical Soc

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The Outback Trail by A. J. Luck

Gus Luck was one of Western Australia’s most experienced bushmen when he met David Carnegie, who later wrote the classic Spinifex and Sand. He taught Carnegie his bushmanship, and in The Outback Trail, he writes of his life and experiences in the bush, camels, natives, prospecting, people, and more, in a fascinating story of the 1880s to 1930s.

August Jules Luck is believed to have been born on 23 May 1867 in Alsace, France, to parents Jaques LUCK and Eve, nee HUNSICKER. After his expedition with Carnegie, he returned to Victoria, where he married Emma BEES in Footscray on 3 November 1894 at the age of 27 years. The couple’s first children, two daughters, were born in WA, Marie Louisa ‘Dolly’ born in 1897, and Margaret Florence ‘Maggie’ born in 1900. Both girls died in 1900. Margaret is buried in the Mt Ida Cemetery, and Marie is buried in the Menzies Cemetery. Their other children, all born in Boulder, WA. Eva May was born in 1900, Augustus Jules was born in 1902, Florence Eugine was born in 1904, Marjorie Ellen was born in 1908, Emma Valance was born in 1910, George Edward was born in 1911, and Veronica Gladys was born in 1917. Whilst in Boulder, Gus worked as a loco driver in the Perserverance Gold Mine.

Gus and Emma Luck – Kalgoorlie Cemetery – Photo Find a Grave

Emma LUCK nee BEES – Photo Ancestry.com.au

After leaving the Goldfields, Gus first took up farming at Southern Cross, and then he later built a house at 37 Great Eastern Hwy in Victoria Park near Perth. He died at the Salvation Army Aged Care Home in Kelmscott on 13 Aug 1958, aged 92 years and is buried in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery with his wife Emma, who died 20 Jun 1925, aged 50 years.

LAWLERS
Latitude 28° 05′ S Longitude 120° 31′ E

The townsite of Lawlers is located in the eastern goldfields, about 992 km from Perth. It is also about 32 km from Leinster. Gold was discovered here in 1894 by Patrick J Lawler (“Paddy Lawler”), a prospector who was rewarded for his discovery in 1899. In 1896 the Government decided to survey a townsite at Lawlers, the land being surveyed in April and the townsite was gazetted later that year.

The West Australian East Murchison goldfields of the 1890s was a dry and inhospitable place. Far from any kind of civilisation, unbelievably hot in the summer and dry as dust all year round. The trackless wilderness around what was to become Lawlers and Agnew first felt the tread of hob-nailed boots in the year of 1892. Ned Heffernan, Julius Anderson and Charles Hall set off in an easterly direction from Cue in November 1892. With summer already making itself felt, it must have been a trip of great danger and trial, yet these hardy independent souls travelled two hundred and forty miles each way on their exploratory trip through a hostile and unknown wilderness. It was only on their return leg that they found traces of gold in the area soon to be known as Lawlers.

Main Street, Lawlers 1903 – Photo SLWA

Charles Hall, one of the original Heffernan party, with William Rutter and others, also made a trip to the east of Cue. William Rutter (40 yrs) died on this trip, and his grave is a short distance east of Cosmo Newbery. In 1894, Patrick Lawler got together another party of prospectors, Gibson, Moses, Nevin and Donnelly, all prospectors of note. Arriving at Lame Horse Creek, they found a good deal of alluvial gold which was easily gathered. Cleaning up all the alluvial, they then pegged the source and named it ‘Donegal Reef’. Gibson soon after pegged the Great Eastern a couple of miles to the northeast of the Donegal.

Lawlers Hospital 1922 – Photo SLWA

With a new field in unknown country, a rush was soon underway, but it was no easy trip. It was over 300 kilometres from Cue to Lawlers through the driest of country. One waterless section was about one hundred kilometres long. It took fortitude and courage, not to mention the lure of great riches, to even contemplate a trip as hazardous as that three hundred kilometres out into the largely unknown East Murchison, and once there was little water, with the only supply nearly fifteen kilometres back along the track at Scotties Soak.

A feat of endurance for even these hard prospectors.

Hospital Committee and staff, with dog, Lawlers, Sept. 1899, The lady on the left i Annie Mansbridge (nee Jones) – Photo SLWA

There soon followed a great influx of prospectors and miners to the region, which saw new finds such as ‘The Darlot’ and many other smaller shows. It was on the 28th of June 1895 that the East Murchison Goldfield was declared and a Mining Warden appointed. Mr. A.C. Clifton was the first Warden in Lawlers, arriving after an arduous journey by camel from Coolgardie. Water was so scarce on the track that the camels had to go three days without water.

Lawlers Roads Board Picnic 1906 – Photo SLWA

In the spring of 1895, Tom Cue, David Ogilvie, and J Hunter set out from Cue for Lawlers. By now, the track had several wells, mostly about a day’s travel apart, and the track was well worn. Cue drove his trap loaded with supplies and tools while his partners rode. In contrast to conditions of only a year before, it was an easy and relatively safe trip. By October that year, Cue and his party had filed a claim about ten kilometres north of Lawlers, which they called ‘The Woronga’ (ML58). The area quickly became known as Cue’s Patch and produced a good deal of alluvial gold.  Almost immediately, others took up claims around Cue’s party. The combined area of reef mine claims became known as the Ogilvie Group.

With the in rush of miners, Lawlers and Cue’s Patch soon had links with the outside world. A bicycle courier service between Coolgardie and Lawlers could cover well over a hundred kilometres a day, following sand and ironstone-covered tracks that wound through a wilderness where only the hardy survived. The tough-as-boot-leather riders of their steel steeds were soon followed by a camel service from Cue, then a coach run from Mt. Magnet.

In 1897, the telegraph brought the world to Lawlers and Lawlers to the world.

Official staff of the East Murchison United Gold Mine, Lawlers 1899 – 2nd from the left in the back row is Charles Christopher ZENNER – I wonder why they have tennis rackets? – Photo SLWA

Over the next few years, Lawlers and Cues Patch went ahead in leaps and bounds. New mines opened up, and some proved to be big producers, but these mines were scattered over a wide area, and each would have had to install its own stamp battery had it not been for the ingenious tram line system.

The London and Western Australian Exploration Company became active in Lawlers in 1895 and bought up several of the better mines. Among them, Lawlers Donegal, the True Blue and Gibson’s Great Eastern. They quickly amassed a total of 117 acres of very productive mining leases that became known collectively as the East Murchison United Limited (E.M.U.) under the management of London-based Bewick Moreing and Co. In 1896, E.M.U. brought in the first crushing plant, a ten-head stamp battery and winding gear, installing it at the Great Eastern. To feed the ten-head battery E.M.U. built the first section of the tramway in 1901 to haul ore from their Donegal lease. The engine was only small, weighing in at around six tons and could haul several carriages at speeds up to ten miles an hour.

Fremery family home at Lawlers – 1896 – Photo WA Museum

The family depicted in the above photograph are the great-grandparents of Glenda Slan. She kindly gave me the following information: This photograph is of my great-grandparents, Louis FREMERY and Mary, nee GILLANDERS. The baby is my grandmother Annie Lawlers FREMERY (she was the first white child born in Lawlers, hence her middle name). The little girl with her doll and dog is Edith Mary, born in Perth, WA, in 1894. The Fremery Family Story.

Lawlers Bakery and A E Baxter’s general store, 1900 – Photo from Sally Bell and Caitlin Eaton – Andrew Edward Baxter (1866-1938) is the gentleman with the moustache standing in front of the right wheel.

The above photograph was sent in by Jane Cale – She says;

My grandfather was Andrew Edward Baxter (1866-1938), and this is his stor,e which was his first venture before it became a Bakery and General Store.  He first traded as A.E. Baxter Baker & Confectioner. In 1904, Andrew left Victoria on a ship to travel to Western Australia, where he disembarked at Albany. Having heard of the discovery of gold in the Eastern Goldfields of WA, he decided to try his luck. He journeyed to Lawlers and eventually started up a bakery business. He later expanded this business to include a general store. Camel teams were used to transport supplies from Leonora (the nearest railhead) to the store.

Whilst living at Lawlers, Andrew maintained his interest in horses and helped to form the Lawlers Race Club.  He also participated, by riding his own horse, with some success, winning several races.  Interestingly, he used the same horse to pull his baker’s cart. In 1906, Andrew married Susan Lucy SULLIVAN, and three children were born of this marriage. Susan returned to Victoria for the birth of her first child, Clare, in 1907. But she remained at Lawlers for the birth of Frank in 1908 and Jean in 1909. Frank (Francis Andrew) Baxter was my dad. During the depression, he worked on the Sons of Gwalia mine. He later worked as a sales rep for Caltex Oil with a territory that included the Goldfields.

The Lawlers townsite was named after Patrick Lawler, who found the first gold in the nearby Lame Horse Creek, but Agnew was another matter. Tom Cue, whom the town of Cue was named after, could hardly have another town named after him, despite the Woronga mine being locally known as Cue’s Patch for some years. It wasn’t until the postal department insisted on a name that the name Agnew was settled on. Mr. J.A. Agnew was an employee of Bewick Moreing. He was born in New Zealand in 1874, and in 1901 he was the manager of Sons Of Gwalia Mine at Leonora and then the Manager of the Golden Age Mine, Wiluna in 1904, W.A., Manager of Bewick Moreing from 1907-12 and Vice President of the Chamber of Mines, Kalgoorlie.

Today, there is little evidence of this booming mining town of yesteryear. Lawler’s has only the old police station still standing. Agnew has a few houses and the Agnew Hotel, but little else. It is hard to see where a once-thriving town and all its occupants once lived and worked. The Lawlers cemeterr is a must for anyone interested in the history of the town, and an excellent list of those interred, the reason for their death, and other details, stands just inside the gate. Each grave is numbered to make it easy to find each of those listed on the board. This makes for fascinating reading, and at least an hour can be spent here.

one of the loneliest of God’s Acres.

Lawlers and Agnew ghost towns are fascinating places to explore. You can trace the old tram lines across the country, visit the cemetery and the bottle dump, view the old stamp batteries and other artifacts across the road from the Agnew Hotel and drive to the top of Agnew Bluff just out of Agnew for a breathtaking view of this incredible country. Have you been there?

Recommended Reading – Agnew, by Alex Palmer: Available from Hesperian Press or The Eastern Goldfields Historical Soc

Kalgoorlie Miner 10th Jul 1996

When 69-year-old Perth man Dr William Peasley led his party of men and camels down the streets of Coolgardie, he was fulfilling a promise he made more than a decade ago to the nephew of explorer David Carnegie.

Dr William Peasley (on right) and team member Christopher Steele fasten supplies to one of the nine camels which will make the trek with them from Coolgardie to Halls Creek and back.

In 1995, Dr Peasley visited the Carnegie home, Kinnaird Castle in Scotland and promised Carnegie’s now deceased nephew that he would retrace the explorer’s journey from Coolgardie to Halls Creek and back, exactly a century after the original trek. On July 9th 1896, a 25-year-old David Carnegie set off on a journey through some of the harshest country on the continent with the aim of finding gold or water supplies for a possible stock route. Thousands of kilometres and more than a year later, he returned having found little of either but was able to supply vital information about the region, which has been largely unexplored by white men.

Dr Peasley – whose team of five men and nine camels is the same as the explorers, with the exception of a dog which accompanied Carnegie – said “Carnegie’s expedition was equal in importance to that of Burke and Wills, but the young explorer received neither payment nor recognition.

His interest in Carnegie prompted him to write a book about the explorer’s life, In the Hands of Providence, published last year (1995). Yesterday, Dr Peasley described his feelings as chaotic as team members rushed around packing, strapping and roping supplies that will be needed for the eight to ten-week journey. His team includes a teacher, a bus driver, a historian and most importantly, an experienced camel handler, David Stewart. Mr Stewart, who is also a fisherman, is the only member of the team with extensive camel riding and handling experience. He said.

“I spend six months of the year on ships of the sea and the other six months on ships of the desert”

Mr. Stewart said he was looking forward to getting out into the desert and getting the camels settled in. “I wonder what the camels would have to say about all of this. I wish they could talk,” he said. As the team prepared to leave, Dr. Peasley echoed the words of the explorer he admired.

‘I go out with the full intention of doing my best, content to leave the rest in the hands of providence’.

‘Australian Story’ team members, Producer Helen Graswill (left), camera operator Marcus Alborn, reporter Michelle White (right) and sound recordist Justine Bessell in Coolgardie.

When Dr William Peasley set out on his expedition from Coolgardie this week, retracing the steps of explorer David Carnegie, a full documentary film crew followed in his wake. Helen Grasswill, producer of the ABC television documentary ‘Australian Story’ and her team will travel with the expedition for up to four weeks, by four-wheel drive, not camel, to get an insight into what is motivating the team and its 69-year-old leader to take on such an arduous journey. Ms Grasswill said she was fascinated by Dr Peasley’s drive to undertake a 2-month trek from Coolgardie to Halls Creek and return on the back of the camel.

“I look at it as a magnificent obsession on the part of Dr Peasley.”

I’m more interested in why he is doing this, even more than tracking the historical aspect of the expedition. Reporter Michelle White said she was looking forward to the nights around the campfire. “We can sit around the fire and say, “Okay, Bill, go for it. Tell us what you think Carnegie may have been thinking at this stage 100 years ago! ”

In the Hands of Providence – The Desert Journeys of David Carnegie by William Peasley. Available from Hesperian Press or the Eastern Goldfields Historical Soc

NOTE: Dr William Peasley passed away in Bunbury in 2020, aged 92 years.

Dr William Peasley -Obituary – Photo WA Newspapers

Western Mail Perth -19 October 1907, page 16

AN EAST MURCHISON TRAGEDY
THE DEATH OF STEPHEN GRACE – MURDERED BY NATIVES

A telegram was received this afternoon from Constable Walker, who proceeded from Wiluna to bury the body of Stephen Grace, one of Kirkpatrick Bros party of prospectors who was speared through the chest by natives about 200 miles North of Wiluna. Constable Walker states that the body was unrecognisable owing to decomposition.

It now appears that William Phillips, another member of the party, was speared at the same, time as Grace. Phillips, however, remained with the party, and is not dead, as first reported. Grace appears to have left his mates and attempted to reach Wiluna, following the line of the rabbit-proof fence, where he was found by Mr Craig, an inspector of the fence, who reported the matter to the Wiluna police. Constable Walker states that Kirkpatrick forwarded a message of warning to other prospectors to look out for hostile natives in the neighbourhood of Lake Disappointment.

The Kirkpatrick’s and Phillips are now supposed to be in the neighbourhood of Ophthalmia Ranges, 300 miles north of Wiluna. The party consisted of the two brothers Kirkpatrick, W. Phillips, and Stephen Grace. They left Black Range about June last with Government camels to prospect in the neighbourhood of Lake Kabbean. It was anticipated that the party would be absent for six months.

The following statement has been received by Sub-inspector Mitchell from the Nannine police: “Inspector Craig reports that on October 2 he met Grace, in company with Robert George, a boundary rider, at the 500-mile peg. Grace stated that he was a member of Kirkpatrick Bros prospecting party. About the beginning of September they were about 70 miles east of the 638-mile peg.

In the afternoon four natives came to the camp and obtained some food. The natives then left, and at about 2 o’clock on the following morning they returned, accompanied by a number of others, who attacked the party with short stabbing spears. The party was awakened by their dogs and Grace and Phillips were wounded. Phillips, who was not seriously wounded, remained with the party, and Grace was conducted to the rabbit-proof fence and handed over to George. Grace asked to be taken to Nannine, and Mr. Craig started with him. On October 9 they camped at the 380-mile peg. Grace was tired and complained of pain in his side, and was constantly coughing. The only mark was a scar on the ribs. He refused to eat anything and said that his journey was ended. Mr. Craig then sent a message to Wiluna and said

Grace spoke at intervals until midnight he sat up and said, “Why, it is all gold!’ and died half an hour later.

Bernard Colreavy and Stephen Grace – Photo SLWA

Little more is known about Stephen Grace’s life but the eulogies of his contemporaries show him to be staunch of heart, a loyal mate and a man to be relied on in difficulties. A fund was set up to collect money for Stephen’s mother aged 88yrs and sister who were fully dependent on him. £330 was raised, £25 being sent to Mrs Grace in Daylesford Victoria on the 27th Feb 1908 with the balance paid to her at £6 per month. Grace was 50 yrs old.

Why is it ‘All Gold’ were the last words spoken by Stephen Grace, prospector, who was speared by Aboriginal natives in the Lake Nabberoo country and died 50 miles north of Lake Way.

All Gold

All Gold! The death mist gathered round his eyes,
Stilling at last the murd’rous spear wounds pain.
The long slow track, beneath the burning skies, he trod again.

Again, belike, he strained his eager gaze,
Where the grey rocks loomed on the sky-line bold,
And saw them, in the tinging sunsets rays.
All gold -all gold!
All gold! Ere breath had left the crippled clay,
Say, did the fluttering spirit burst its bars
To cleave a path across the Unknown Way,
Athwart the stars?

From where the spinifex and mulga meet
Did dying eyes, all prescient behold
Pearl-gated, jasper-walled, the Shining Street
Of gold – pure gold?

All gold! All gold! Nor ever tongue shall tell,
Nor ever mortal pen shall mark the place.
But chant no requiem, and toll no knell
For Stephen Grace.

What thought he bore the unknown hero’s part,
His be the name to honour and to hold:
Type of the loyal mate, the lion heart-
All gold – all gold.

By well-known Goldfields poet and newspaper editor, Andre Hayward. This verse was thought one of his finest, created at a time of the greatest cultural flowering of the early gold rush days of the 1890’s and destroyed by the insanity of WW1.

Stephen Aloysius Grace, along with Bernard Colreavy, formed the Amalgamated Leaseholders and Prospectors Association in 1904. He was born in Ararat Victoria in 1865 and had four brothers and a sister. In 1899 he travelled to Western Australia with two of his brothers, Michael and John. Before he came to WA, Grace had an auctioneering business in Warracknabeal. Victoria, in 1900 where he was well-known throughout the district. On arrival in Kookynie WA, he set up an auctioneer, stock, share and finance agency. His brother John ran the Victoria Hotel at Niagara and his brother Michael ran a coaching service at Menzies. Both of Michael Grace’s sons, Stephen and Michael, were to die in France in WW1.

NOTE:  The Geraldton Historical Society arranged to re-inter his body in the Wiluna Cemetery in 1976 and marked his grave with a plaque.

Publication:  All Gold, The Death of Stephen Grace by Peter Bridge, Ian Murray, Gail Dreezens and Moya Sharp. This book can be purchased from Hesperian Press: 

All Gold – The Death of Stephen Grace

The place where Stephen Grace died on the Rabbit Proof Fence – Photo Phil Bianchi

The Alluvialists – The Kalgoorlie Riot of 1898
Rod Moncrieff

The Alluvialists by Rod Moncrieff

The fight of the alluvial prospectors and miners against the Forrest government’s mining laws. Laws against alluvial mining on reef and lode leases. ‘Ten Foot Ned’ Wittenoom and the government’s intransigence against the alluvialists created riots that led to the gaoling of prospectors. Their slogan of

“Fair Play, Fair Laws and Justice to All”

rings true forever. This is now a little known but important part of WA mining history.  The rights of alluvialists were cut away again in the 1970s. Further attacks will take place as they have in other states. In the coming Greater Depression these rights will become essential for the survival of many.

I was recently sent a copy of this excellent book by Rod Moncrieff  to review. I would like to say that I have very much enjoyed reading about this important and exciting period of the history of the WA Goldfields and would highly recommend it. It is well researched and contains many excellent photographs.

The Imprisoned Diggers – William BRAY – Patrick HUGHES – Robert SMITH – Photo Hesperian Press

I would be a valuable addition to anyone’s library. It can be purchased online at Hesperian Press – $40 + postage www.hesperianpress.com

Or in person at the Eastern Goldfields Historical Soc – https://www.kalgoorliehistory.org.au/

On the evening of Monday 20th October 1896, three men of Kanowna, Open Call stockbroker Thomas Moore Fletcher, 22-year-old photographer John Minden Caulfeild, and Richard Baugh, cycled out to Lake Gwynn and set up a camp on the western shore of the lake about 5 miles from Kanowna. They had hired ‘The Gwynn’, a flat bottomed punt which was 17 ft in length and 4ft 6in wide. It was already lakeside and everything was in place for an early start to their duck shooting the following morning.

The Gwynn – a flat bottomed punt – Photo Robert Baugh

Early next morning, the punt already prepared with boughs and branches placed along its side to camouflage the shooters on board was readied at the edge of the lake. Baugh positioned himself on a narrow isthmus that projected out into the lake about 30yds away to act as a spotter, while Fletcher and Caulfeild waited in the boat, their guns lying in the stern. Baugh suddenly shouted, “Look out there are some ducks coming!”.

‘On hearing this Caulfeild stooped to pick up his shotgun, but in doing so the left barrel exploded when a twig from one of the camouflage branches came into contact with the trigger.’

The sound of the discharged shot and the shouting that followed caused Baugh to race back to the punt where he found his friend in a terrible state, bleeding profusely from a gaping wound in his lower abdomen. Fletcher was immediately dispatched to town to fetch Dr. Brown, while Baugh stayed with Caulfeild to dress the wound as best he could and to comfort his friend. Help arrived at 7:45am and Caulfeild was immediately loaded into a buggy and the trip back to town was commenced. Sadly his injury was so severe that he died before reaching town.

In the days which followed, an inquest was conducted by Constable Smith of the Kanowna police and his finding was as follows:  the deceased met his death from a gunshot wound accidentally caused by himself. There was no blame attributed to Baugh and Fletcher.

‘A sadness descended over the town as young Caulfeild had made an impression on the town with his ‘gentlemanly spirit’.

He had endeared himself to the people of the town by always being at the forefront of any initiative to further the advancement of the town. His interest in charity work, especially in relation to the local hospital, was but one of the organisations to which he devoted his time and effort. In addition, his active membership in other associations included the Literary and Debating society and the local cricket, tennis, bicycle, and gun clubs.

A crowd of 300 townspeople, the largest gathering to that point in the town’s short history, followed the heart to the local cemetery where a number of the town’s civic leaders bore Caulfeild’s coffin to its final resting place. Richard Baugh had a marble tombstone erected over his good friend’s grave in the ‘old cemetery’.

The newly erected memorial on the grave of John Caulfeild in the Old Kanowna Cemetery – Photo Robert Baugh

Over a period of several months, Baugh acted as executor of Caulfeild’s estate, and a great deal of correspondence was exchanged with Caulfield’s father in Berkshire, England, and Baugh in the ensuing months. Eventually, the estate matters were settled and when this time came, Caulfeild senior made an offer of £120 ($15,992) to the town of Kanowna to establish some sort of memorial to the memory of his son. He did not specify what form this should take but wanted to record the family’s gratitude for the respectful way their sons affairs had been handled and hoped whatever was decided would benefit the people of the town. At first, erecting and naming a pavilion at the Recreation Ground in Caulfeild’s honor was favored but after many meetings and much discussion, the decision was reached to build a memorial library, a decision that was warmly received by the deceased man’s family.

The Caulfeild Memorial Library – Photo Richard Baugh

It took some time for the planned memorial library to become a reality, owing to the fact that an expected £200 ($25,980) government grant to construct a separate building failed to materialise in the short term. After several delays, the money was paid and in March 1900, the Caulfeild Memorial Library was operating in a large room attached to the Municipal Chambers. Shelving held some 400 books including classic novels and anthologies of poetry and a separate reference section secured behind glass doors. Initially, the membership of the library was strong, but as the population declined, library use fell away accordingly.

All that remains of this memorial today – Photo Danelle Warnock

John Minton Caulfeild was the son of Francis William Caulfeild (1843-1934) and Anne Charlotte Eliza nee Bunbury (1844-1934). He was born on Aug 29th 1874 at Crowthorne, Berkshire, England, and was a twin to his sister Dorothy Caulfeild.

Francis William Caulfeild (1843-1934) and Anne Charlotte Eliza nee Bunbury (1844-1934). Photo Ancestry.com

Ref: Wealth for the Willing: The story of Kanowna by Robert Baugh

This book can be purchased directly from the author  willettonbob@hotmail.com mobile 0428 824 208 pr from the eastern Goldfields Historical Soc in Boulder.

Elphinstone Davenport Cleland, what a wonderful name, was born on the 5 Dec 1854 in Beaumont, Burnside City, South Australia to John Fullerton CLELAND and Elizabeth nee GLEN. On 16 Jan 1879, he married Susannah Blood DAVIS in Auburn South Australia. They were married at the home of the bride by the Rev W Davis, the bride’s father. Shortly after marrying he took over management of Yanyarrie station, between Orroroo and Hawker, which he left in 1880, and with brother (George) Fullerton Cleland leased land at Cleland’s Gully near Tooperang where they ran sheep. They gave up the lease to an Uncle (later Sir) Samuel Davenport in 1885. before he became involved in mining he was a journalist for The Argus and the The Sydney Morning Herald.

The couple were to have three children, Elizabeth Cleland born in 1879, Walter Elphinstone Cleland born 1881 and Samuel Davenport Cleland born 1885 (died of wounds received in WW1 in France in Fremantle WA in 1919), all born in South Australia. On Christmas day of 1898, Elizabeth died aged 52 years, she was six years older than her husband. It was then in 1899 that the family came to Western Australia, and the following year in 1900, Elphinstone married for the second time to Ann ‘Annie’ Emily MacKINNON, who was aged 30 years and from the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

Left to right: Elizabeth Cleland (daughter by first marriage), Anne Emily Cleland, (baby, Donald Mackinnon
Cleland, born 24 January 1901), Elphinstone Davenport Cleland (Manager, Bailey’s Mine, Coolgardie), approximately 1901.

Annie and Elphinstone were to also have three children, Donald McKinnon CLELAND born in June 1901 at Bayley’s Mine, Coolgardie (Later to become Brigadier Sir Donald MacKinnon Cleland, CBE), William McLeod CLELAND born Coolgardie 1903 and Lennox Lachlan CLELAND born Perth WA 1907. While in Coolgardie, Elphinstone was the manager of the Bayley’s Mine and they lived in a substantial house on the mining lease.

Left to right: Samuel Cleland (son by first marriage), Elphinstone Davenport Cleland (Manager, Bailey’s Mine, Coolgardie),
Anne Emily Cleland, Donald Mackinnon Cleland (on knee) , (there was only nine years between
Elizabeth and her step mother Ann), Elizabeth Cleland, approximately 1901.

The following photographs, all from the SLWA, show the interior of the Cleland home in Coolgardie. It is not often we get to see the inside of a home of the time, and as you will see the house is quite elaborate and decorated in a typically Victorian style.

Elphinstone and Annie Cleland at home in Coolgardie c 1900

The Cleland dining room in their home in Coolgardie c 1900

The Cleland Family at home in Coolgardie c 1900

The Cleland ladies reading at home in Coolgardie c 1900

Elphinstone Cleland taking tea at home in Coolgardie c 1900

By 1910 the family had moved to Brownhill near Kalgoorlie where Elphinstone was to become the Manager of the Great Boulder and the Perseverance Mines. He was also a dealer in gold. Of the six children, William (born 1903, was the only one to stay in the Goldfields where in 1933 he married Margaret MANFORD and became the owner of Glenorn Station near Leonora.

Sun 21 October 1928, page 3

A former well known Golden Mile mine manager, whose death took place on Monday week last at the age of 73. The late Mr. Cleland was born in South Australian and came West in the early days of the fields. In 1900 he was manager of the famous Bayley’s mine at Coolgardie, was later an Inspector in the Mines Department,land about 1911 he succeeded Mr. R. A. Varden as manager of the Boulder Perseverance mine, a position lie held until his retirement in 1925 He lived at Guildford until 1925 and then moved to Ventnor avenue, West Perth. As a member of the Chamber of Mines he rendered valuable help, and was also the author of a work on Western Australian mining practice which is still regarded as a standard text book. He also wrote the following book:

The White Kangaroo – A Tale of Colonial Life founded on fact  by E. Davenport Cleland

He is buried in the Anglican section of the Karrakatta Cemetery in the same grave as his son William McLeod Cleland. Ann Emily Cleland moved to London in 1939 where she died in 1944.

Western Mail Perth -19 October 1907, page 16

AN EAST MURCHISON TRAGEDY
THE DEATH OF STEPHEN GRACE – MURDERED BY NATIVES

A telegram was received this afternoon from Constable Walker, who proceeded from Wiluna to bury the body of Stephen Grace, one of Kirkpatrick Bros party of prospectors who was speared through the chest by natives about 200 miles North of Wiluna. Constable Walker states that the body was unrecognisable owing to decomposition.

It now appears that William Phillips, another member of the party, was speared at the same, time as Grace. Phillips, however, remained with the party, and is not dead, as first reported. Grace appears to have left his mates and attempted to reach Wiluna, following the line of the rabbit-proof fence, where he was found by Mr Craig, an inspector of the fence, who reported the matter to the Wiluna police. Constable Walker states that Kirkpatrick forwarded a message of warning to other prospectors to look out for hostile natives in the neighbourhood of Lake Disappointment.

The Kirkpatrick’s and Phillips are now supposed to be in the neighbourhood of Ophthalmia Ranges, 300 miles north of Wiluna. The party consisted of the two brothers Kirkpatrick, W. Phillips, and Stephen Grace. They left Black Range about June last with Government camels to prospect in the neighbourhood of Lake Kabbean. It was anticipated that the party would be absent for six months.

The following statement has been received by Sub-inspector Mitchell from the Nannine police: “Inspector Craig reports that on October 2 he met Grace, in company with Robert George, a boundary rider, at the 500-mile peg. Grace stated that he was a member of Kirkpatrick Bros prospecting party. About the beginning of September they were about 70 miles east of the 638-mile peg.

In the afternoon four natives came to the camp and obtained some food. The natives then left, and at about 2 o’clock on the following morning they returned, accompanied by a number of others, who attacked the party with short stabbing spears. The party was awakened by their dogs and Grace and Phillips were wounded. Phillips, who was not seriously wounded, remained with the party, and Grace was conducted to the rabbit-proof fence and handed over to George. Grace asked to be taken to Nannine, and Mr. Craig started with him. On October 9 they camped at the 380-mile peg. Grace was tired and complained of pain in his side, and was constantly coughing. The only mark was a scar on the ribs. He refused to eat anything and said that his journey was ended. Mr. Craig then sent a message to Wiluna and said

Grace spoke at intervals until midnight he sat up and said, “Why, it is all gold!’ and died half an hour later.

Bernard Colreavy and Stephen Grace – Photo SLWA

Little more is known about Stephen Grace’s life but the eulogies of his contemporaries show him to be staunch of heart, a loyal mate and a man to be relied on in difficulties. A fund was set up to collect money for Stephen’s mother aged 88yrs and sister who were fully dependent on him. £330 was raised, £25 being sent to Mrs Grace in Daylesford Victoria on the 27th Feb 1908 with the balance paid to her at £6 per month. Grace was 50 yrs old.

Why is it ‘All Gold’ were the last words spoken by Stephen Grace, prospector, who was speared by Aboriginal natives in the Lake Nabberoo country and died 50 miles north of Lake Way.

All Gold

All Gold! The death mist gathered round his eyes,
Stilling at last the murd’rous spear wounds pain.
The long slow track, beneath the burning skies, he trod again.

Again, belike, he strained his eager gaze,
Where the grey rocks loomed on the sky-line bold,
And saw them, in the tinging sunsets rays.
All gold -all gold!
All gold! Ere breath had left the crippled clay,
Say, did the fluttering spirit burst its bars
To cleave a path across the Unknown Way,
Athwart the stars?

From where the spinifex and mulga meet
Did dying eyes, all prescient behold
Pearl-gated, jasper-walled, the Shining Street
Of gold – pure gold?

All gold! All gold! Nor ever tongue shall tell,
Nor ever mortal pen shall mark the place.
But chant no requiem, and toll no knell
For Stephen Grace.

What thought he bore the unknown hero’s part,
His be the name to honour and to hold:
Type of the loyal mate, the lion heart-
All gold – all gold.

By well-known Goldfields poet and newspaper editor, Andre Hayward. This verse was thought one of his finest, created at a time of the greatest cultural flowering of the early gold rush days of the 1890’s and destroyed by the insanity of WW1.

Stephen Aloysius Grace, along with Bernard Colreavy, formed the Amalgamated Leaseholders and Prospectors Association in 1904. He was born in Ararat Victoria in 1865 and had four brothers and a sister. In 1899 he travelled to Western Australia with two of his brothers, Michael and John. Before he came to WA Grace had an auctioneering business in Warracknabeal. Victoria, in 1900 where he was well-known throughout the district. On arrival in Kookynie WA, he set up an auctioneer, stock, share and finance agency. His brother John ran the Victoria Hotel at Niagara and his brother Michael ran a coaching service at Menzies. Both of Michael Grace’s sons, Stephen and Michael, were to die in France in WW1.

NOTE:  The Geraldton Historical Society arranged to re-inter his body in the Wiluna Cemetery in 1976 and marked his grave with a plaque.

Publication:  All Gold, The Death of Stephen Grace by Peter Bridge, Ian Murray, Gail Dreezens and Moya Sharp. This book can be purchased from Hesperian Press: 

All Gold – The Death of Stephen Grace

The place where Stephen Grace died on the Rabbit Proof Fence – Photo Phil Bianchi