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

Typhoid Fever: A Raging Epidemic

12/10/2015 By Moya Sharp 2 Comments

During the 1890s typhoid fever in the Goldfields reached epidemic proportions. An infectious food and water-borne disease, typhoid was linked to poor sanitation, often combined with overcrowding. ‘Instant’ crowded tent towns, unsanitary conditions, and a limited fouled water supply combined with basic health amenities, provided ideal conditions for the spread of the disease. Its […]

The Kalgoorlie Dog and Poultry Society

06/10/2015 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

In the late 1890’s and early 1900 there were many social clubs in the Goldfields of Western Australia. Sporting and church groups were popular but there were many others with something to suit everyone. One of the more unusual groups was the ‘Dog and Poultry Society’. This may seem an odd combination with dogs and […]

Carrie of the Miner – A lady first!!

03/10/2015 By Moya Sharp 2 Comments

Carrie of the Miner Columnist, Carrie of the Miner’ may not have been as widely known as Carrie Bradshaw of a certain TV show but in the Goldfields she is by far more important and arguably more impressive. Carrie’s real name was Amy Augusta Buscombe who was born in Victoria in 1862 and she was […]

Liquid Gold – The Elliott Brothers Breweries

25/09/2015 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Tom and Bill Elliott came to Western Australia in 1893 and moved immediately to the Goldfields where they began a business as cartage contractors. After two years, in 1895, Tom built a cordial factory near the Kalgoorlie rail line and also the Federal Brewery in Kalgoorlie for F W Whitfield. In 1898 he was to […]

Bardoc Photographs:- Footballers and School Children

20/09/2015 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

As I have said in earlier posts, photographs of Bardoc are few and far between. These latest photographs have again been kindly shared by the family of Robyn McLean. Two are of the football teams of 1904 and 1905 and one of the school children. It is also wonderful to have some of the people […]