The Prologue: Thomas Farren was born in 1857 in Seascale in the west of England where the Sellafield nuclear power station is today. Mary Elizabeth ‘Polly’ Farren nee Saunders, was born in Birmingham in 1863. They were married in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1879, at which time Mary could not read or write. They lived […]
Erlistoun – ghost town
30/12/2023 By Leave a Comment
Kalgoorlie Western Argus 13 December 1904, page 19 THE ERLISTOUN by V. Clausen Where is Erlistoun??? Latitude 27″ 59′ 03″ S Longitude 122″ 20′ 25″ East Mt Margaret Goldfields. Located 71.5 km north of Laverton at Borodale Creek once known as Mistake Creek. Erlistoun usually referred to as ‘The Erlistoun’ was never gazetted as a […]
Captain Kettle and the Toorak Hotel –
26/11/2023 By Leave a Comment
The Toorak Hotel, built in 1899. On June 25, 1903, a fire destroyed the whole of the front of the hotel. Situated on the 90 Mile Road, in the early days this was the road out of Coolgardie on the North side. The hotel closed sometime in 1910. Licensee’s Harold B McCormick – 1900 E […]
The Tattersalls Club Affair –
07/10/2023 By Leave a Comment
I was sent this story by Kevin Matthees, who is the great-grandson of Leonard Charles Jackson. Jackson was the proprietor of the Bright Spot Tea Rooms, in Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie in November of 1946. This was one of a chain of similar tearooms throughout WA. Do you think he was innocent? This was a case […]
Sailor Bill’s Elopement –
17/06/2023 By 1 Comment
The Sun Kalgoorlie 22 September 1907, page 6 THE ROARING NINETIES A BULLA BULLING ROMANCE SAILOR BILL’S ELOPEMENT (By Spinifex). Many of the boys of the old brigade have disappeared. They were a roving lot, and when the share boom collapsed in ’97, and the demand for “properties” had petered out, they booked for various […]
