My good friend and fellow historian, Phil Bianchi, recently wrote a book on the well-known bushman, tracker, drover and pastoralist Tommy Ningebong. Tommy was a highly regarded Aboriginal man from the Wiluna district. Phil tells me that every person he interviewed about Tommy for the book spoke of how Tommy was a such a genuine […]
So All’s Well that Ends Well –
06/04/2024 By 1 Comment
Western Mail Perth 30 January 1941, page 9 – The Dollypot Over the Plates – A Lucky Shot. by Big Jim Allanson. All sorts and conditions of men were to be found on the Murchison goldfield in 1893. A number of prospectors were camped at a rocky pool on the west side of the Cuddingwarra […]
Joanni Fidele Scattini – grave tales
06/04/2024 By 5 Comments
Joanni (Joseph) Fidele SCATTINI was born on the 17th Dec 1879 in Strathfieldsaye, Victoria to Giovanni Antonio Fidele SCATTINI (Born in Brione, Verzasca, Switzerland) and Mary Elizabeth GOOD (born Sheep Wash, Victoria). He married Martha Wilson in Kalgoorlie WA on the 5th Aug 1908. Martha was from Adelaide Lead VIC and was the daughter of […]
A Tale of Two Franks –
30/03/2024 By Leave a Comment
Earlier this year I was in correspondence with Julie McKenna and she told me of her wonderful family story which appeared in the Warrnambool Standard newspaper on 13th February 2024. I would like to acknowledge and thank Jenny McLaren, of The Warrnambool Standard, for her kind permission to reproduce the story, and to Julie for […]
The Queen of White Feather –
23/03/2024 By Leave a Comment
The Queen of White Feather A true story of the introduction of the first barmaid in Kanowna in 1896 by John Drayton. Smith’s Weekly Sydney – 2 September 1922, page 24 TOM DOYLE, licensee of the Kanowna Hotel (White Feather) in 1896, introduced the first barmaid to the fields. There were, women in the camp, […]
