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

Chamber of Mines – Coolgardie buildings

01/08/2018 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

The Chamber of Mines Building in Coolgardie would have to have been one of the best buildings in the town I think. As you will see from these photos, the work that went into the design was amazing. The attached small building to the left was the accomodation of the registrar. It was demolished in […]

John Boileau – pioneer profile

29/07/2018 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

Weekly Times 10 September 1898, page 49 Mr John (Jack) Hunter Brandrum Boileau is a licentiate of the Dublin Pharmaceutical College, having served his time under his father, the senior partner in the well-known Dublin firm of Boileau and Boyd. He acted as assistant to his father for some time, but being desirous of essaying […]

Broad Arrow snapshot – all the little children

28/07/2018 By Moya Sharp 3 Comments

I have just completed entering the biographies on the people who are buried in the Broad Arrow Cemetery. Every cemetery provides a social and family history snapshot of the town where its located. Accident and disease show no favorites. I hope that this small section of deaths will provide a good example to compare to […]

The Knifing of Northwood:

27/07/2018 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Sunday Times 17 August 1919 A RETURNED SOLDIER’S TRAGIC FATE : WILD SCENES IN KALGOORLIE AND BOULDER Bret Harte’s “Roaring Camp” isn’t in it with Kalgoorlie these days. A succession of shooting episodes has been followed up with a stabbing affray, which is likely to have far reaching effects as far as the […]

Broad Arrow Snapshot – death from despair

25/07/2018 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

This is the first snapshot of biographies from the Broad Arrow Cemetery. It covers the years 1897 to 1917. However the years of 1905-1906 are missing Suicide was quite a common thing in the early days on the goldfields, men, and a few women, who find themselves in a state of complete despair. There are […]