The “Desert Echo’ was a handwritten newspaper published by the workers employed on the Trans Australia Rail Line. It wasn’t possible for them to receive updates on contemporary news, so they made their own. This small document is an amazing snapshot of the everyday lives of the men who worked on this lonely and isolated […]
Victor Watts – grave tales
“A Most Unusual Story” This is a strange story about one of the men who are listed on the Eastern Goldfields Miners Memorial Memorial which is located at the WA Museum Kalgoorlie Boulder in Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie. His name is Victor Watts. Several years ago I had a phone call from a homeowner to say […]
Was Jack The Ripper on the Goldfields???
Deeming a Goldfields Murderer? ……. Or was he really ‘Jack the Ripper’? This black hearted Englishman caused mass hysteria in the streets of Perth and Melbourne, and began with his arrest by two West Australian police troopers at Southern Cross for the brutal pickaxe murder of his newlywed bride. It brought Perth to a standstill […]
Violence, Murder, and Dispossession – The Human Cost of the Australian Gold Rush
Contributor of the week – Violence, Murder, and Dispossession – The Human Cost of the Australian Gold Rush – By Outback Family History reader Jenni Hodge Rushing for gold makes a few individual fortunes, and breaks the hearts and lives of many more. While it is undoubtedly true that, on a larger level, the Australian […]
The Tea and Sugar Train
This is a fascinating short film on the ‘Tea And Sugar Train’ made by the Commonwealth Film Unit 1954. Once a week the Tea and Sugar Train leaves Port Augusta and heads west along the Nullarbor with all the supplies needed by the track maintenance workers and their families that live along the route. Everything […]