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A Fate Worse than Death – Lost in the Bush

10/10/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Mirror Perth – 27 December 1907, page 16 AUSTRALIAN BUSH YARN by Rodney Creek, an old Bushman Lost in the Bush It is doubtful if, for bodily and mental anguish, anything can much exceed the hardships of one who is lost in the bush, more especially so when those sufferings are accentuated by the lack […]

Filed Under: People, Places & Towns, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales

Before the Fence: The Rabbits are Coming

03/10/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

This article appeared just one year before the ‘Rabbit Proof Fence” was started. The fence wouldn’t be finished until 1907. This may be the first recorded sighting of rabbits on the Eastern Goldfields.   Kalgoorlie Western Argus 23 October 1900 The Rabbits are Coming! Widgiemooltha Oct 15 1900 –  Two local prospectors named J. Reed […]

Filed Under: People, Places & Towns, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Laverton, rabbits, Western Australia, Widgiemooltha

Murder Before the Cinderella Ball

26/09/2026 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

The murder-suicide tragedy of Nurse Elizabeth Gold and Kenneth Snodgrass is a tale quite widely known, but I have not before told the story on the Outback Family History Blog. In Coolgardie in the 1890’s, Elizabeth Gold, Charles Gold and Kenneth Snodgrass and his family were living in Coolgardie, WA. As with many tragedies, the […]

Filed Under: People, Places & Towns, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales, Soldiers Story Tagged With: Australian History, Cemeteries, Goldfields History, murder, Western Australia

Rafferty’s Rules and Rough Justice at Niagara

19/09/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Smith’s Weekly, 26 November 1927, by John Drayton How “Justice” was Served Out on the Goldfields. Niagara was one of the little towns worth a column in the W.A. Post Office Directory of 1899 following Bob Menzie’s strike in September 1894. The town’s life was short, but while it was alive, it ‘LIVED’. Menzie’s find […]

Filed Under: People, Places & Towns, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Niagara, Western Australia

The House of Death: Kalgoorlie’s Strange Suicide Pact

05/09/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Truth – Perth – 18 February 1928, page 9 “Cock-Eyed Bob” Sheds Light upon House of Death Compact. The fair, slimly built Detective Parker took his last survey of the faded and dusty rooms. His work was complete. The mystery of the Kalgoorlie Death Pact was a mystery no more. The admissions of the man […]

Filed Under: People, Places & Towns, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Kalgoorlie boulder, Suicide, Western Australia

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