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

A Day In The Mines – Verse by Tony Bozich

20/03/2016 By Moya Sharp 2 Comments

The young geologist passed my way as I readied the drive to drill, fresh faced and polite he said g’day and smiled all full of good will. “You’re new,” I said, and he nodded assent, “Just having a look around,” and before I replied off quick he went, he’d rarely been underground. At the […]

Clara Saunders – First wedding in Coolgardie

10/03/2016 By Moya Sharp 2 Comments

In Celebration of International Woman’s Day 8th March 2016 On 4th July 1894 Clara SAUNDERS & Arthur WILLIAMS were married by the Rev. Thomas TRESTRAIL at John DE BAUN’S Great Western Hotel in Bayley Street Coolgardie. (now the site of the Coolgardie Motel on the corner of Bayley & Hunt Streets) Clara was seventeen & […]

Brother Pay The Ultimate Price – The Hallahan Brothers

07/03/2016 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Walter Rewi Hallahan was one of four Kalgoorlie brothers who served with the Australian army in World War I. Two of them, Alf and Wendell, were killed in France in 1916. Walter was killed in September, 1918, one month before the armistist was declared, while serving with the 11th Battalion.The only brother to return home was […]

Five little graves – Baldock Family Tragedy

06/03/2016 By Moya Sharp 6 Comments

It is of the most humbling experiences to read through the Boulder Cemetery death register. The stark reality of life on the Goldfields in the later years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th is reflected in the names, death details and monumental inscriptions of those who lived and died here. […]

Joseph J Tovey – A man of many talents !!!

21/02/2016 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

Back in 2012 I was contacted by Lois Tovey, the wife of Errol John Tovey. She had been browsing on the Outback Family History web site and came across the following photograph on the Meekatharra page. She told me that she had been sent the link to the Meekatharra Photo page by a distant relative […]