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

Accident at the State Battery

23/03/2017 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Allan Murray AYLES, age 35yrs, an assayer, was killed on 23rd March 1916 at the Wiluna State Battery. He became caught in the belting of a Berdan Pan and was crushed by the machinery. He was from Wellington New Zealand. he was the son of Allan AYLES and Mother Mary E nee Phillips. His wife, […]

A Faithful Wife, True and Kind !

22/03/2017 By Moya Sharp 3 Comments

I was recently sent this photograph of H Cramer and Co, Saddle, Collar and Harness Maker. I was asked to find out a bit more about the business. I started to search and this sad tale unfolded. In Kalgoorlie in 1901, a young couple married, Margaret Theresa ANGUS and Henry Timothy CRAMER. They moved to […]

Paynesville – ghost town

19/03/2017 By Moya Sharp 3 Comments

Paynesville is located 77 km east of Mount Magnet. Gold was discovered in this area in early 1898 by Tom Payne and Waldeck, and by April 1898 the place had been inspected by a surveyor and a plan of subdivision prepared. It was at first referred to as ‘Paynton’, and ‘East Mount Magnet’, and some […]

Coffin from Beer Cases

13/03/2017 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

This story was originally posted on 26 Nov 2015 on the web site ‘Time Gents Australian Pub History and Culture” @ https://timegents.com/written by MICK ROBERTS It is now re posted with his kind permission. This really is a ‘Ripping Yarn’! Prospector Found Poisoned in Old Shaft Doctor Holds Post Mortem in Tent — Shock for Two Travellers. […]

CASSERLY- The Death of a Hero

11/03/2017 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

On the 6th October 1938, at the Edwards Find Gold Mine near Southern Cross, an elderly miner called Frank Pagoda was overcome by dynamite fumes. His mate, Paul Casserly, made several attempts to rescue him, sustaining a fracture of the skull in his attempts, which eventually claimed his life on the 12th October 1938. He […]