Daily News – Perth – 27 October 1934, page 16 Jim Keen, who arrived in Kalgoorlie from the East this week with three camels, has prospected in several other countries besides Australia and has had some narrow shaves in the last 40 years. But he reckons the narrowest he has had was just recently, when […]
Blood on the Goldfields: The Katherine Cane Tragedy
In March 1909, a shocking murder at Meekatharra stunned the people of the Murchison district and became one of the most widely discussed crimes on the Western Australian goldfields. The victim was Katherine Jane Cane, also known in the district as Caroline Jane Scott, a well-respected young woman who had been living apart from Donald […]
The Schoolmistress Who Vanished—The Strange Double Life of Margaret Bale
The Disappearance of Margaret Bale In December 1909, Margaret Bale, a 25-year-old schoolteacher who had spent three years teaching at the Sisters of the Church school at Lamington Heights, Kalgoorlie (now a private House at 26 Ward Street, Lamington), left the goldfields intending to return to England. She travelled to Perth and stayed with friends […]
The Last Ferment: Bill the Topman’s Final Descent
The Sun Kalgoorlie 8 March 1903, page 10 Bill the Topman of Stringer’s Brewery By Pharisee. Bill Stiggins had been at Stringer’s brewery from the start, in fact, had helped to put the building up. “Saur the first load er muck took outer the cellar and sampled the first beer, “he said when the origin […]
The Grave in the Spinifex – The Lonely Grave of Bob True
If you were travelling in the Outback North of Laverton in Western Australia and you came across this imposing grave and headstone, you may think that this must be someone of importance to have such an impressive memorial in such a remote place. How hard must it have been to have the memorial made and […]