William Osmand ‘Bunny’ CHOULES was born on 8th December 1848 in East Grafton, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, England. He came to Australia alone, aged only 17 years, on the ship the ‘Salamanca’ in October 1865, arriving in Port Adelaide, South Australia, in Jan 1866. He stated his occupation as a Labourer. Also travelling on the same […]
The people of the Goldfields
The Goldfields of Western Australia was and still is made up of many people, from poets to politicians, from saints and sinners and everything in between. I hope to tell you the stories of some of these people either famous or infamous or just the ordinary folks. Sometime the most ordinary people do the most extraordinry things
Duty Nobly Done: The Wartime Service of Matron Florence MacKenzie
Murchison Times and Day Dawn Gazette 24 January 1919, page 2 Death of Matron Mackenzie The news of the death of Matron Florence MacKenzie, at the Cue Hospital on Sunday night last, came as a shock to the residents of Cue and Day Dawn. Miss MacKenzie, who had only recently been appointed as matron at […]
Bill Bright – He Didn’t Tell Them Everything
From my good friend Roger Garwood: Bill Bright featured in Off Like Flies, the book published by Roger Garwood and Trish Ainslie thirty years ago. Both Outback Family History and the WA State Library have featured some of the stories and pictures. This is the ‘back story’ to the picture of Bill Bright shaving, written […]
Eddie Oates – Kalgoorlie’s Knight of the Pencil
By Darren McAullay – If Rudyard Kipling ever needed inspiration to create a character, he could have looked no further than the Kalgoorlie Goldfields during what was known as the ‘Golden Era’. Yes, the goldfields had a flavour and a savour all of its own, which could hardly be found anywhere else in Australia. It […]
A Cool Ale in a Hot Goldfield – The Coote & Maley Story
Western Mail 25 December 1901, page 62 The name of Coote and Maley is known throughout the East Murchison goldfield as brewers of the purest ale. Since this enterprising firm started operations in Lawlers, they have continued to prosper, and although the gradual increase of business has from time to time necessitated the extension of […]