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

The Henderson boys and the Black Jack Mine-

20/12/2017 By Moya Sharp 2 Comments

I was recently sent these amazing photos by Terry and Dawn Leitch of her families mine, The Black Jack’ GM at Yunndaga (Woolgar). It was leased first by Patrick George Henderson (Terry’s great grandfather) and later by his sons Cyril and Eric Henderson. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this area the following […]

The Lakeside Tragedy – grave tales

18/12/2017 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1950), Saturday 6 May 1922, page 5 As far as can be ascertained, no one actually witnessed the accident which resulted in George Lyall Luscombe, aged 19yrs, losing his life by being run over by a wood train on the Lakeside line, near the 52-mile siding, at 5.30 a.m. […]

The Worst Accident in the history of Australian Gold Mining and The Nicholas Family

15/12/2017 By Moya Sharp 2 Comments

William Nicholas, was the manager of the Main Load GM in Burbanks. He had a long flowing white bear and was know for his eccentric behaviour. This earned him the nickname of ‘The Professor’. He married Alice FOWLER and they had two daughters, Alice May and Zoe Victoria and two sons Clive Lanyon and William. […]

George Gillespie – grave tales

15/12/2017 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1950), Saturday 28 January 1911, page 4 Funeral.— The remains of the late Mr. George Gillespie, late mill shift boss on the Chaffers gold mine, were interred in the Presbyterian portion of the Kalgoorlie Cemetery on Thursday afternoon, the burial service being conducted by the Rev. J. A. Agnew. […]

Mining Deaths – Lawlers Snapshot

10/12/2017 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

In mining areas it was very common to have deaths occur from accidents and miners lung conditions, and Lawlers is no exception. In the Lawlers Cemetery there are 19 mining related deaths out of a total of 164 burials. It is sad that none of them have a headstone. Their details are all recorded on […]