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 Atlas Chambers, Coolgardie

21/05/2015 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

The site of the Atlas building in Bayley Street is now occupied by the old Ben Prior’s garage site and is used by the Coolgardie Restoration Club, and was described as ‘One of the most striking additions to the architectural features in Coolgardie in the late 1890’s.’ Built of brick with cement dressings, the front […]

The 1942 Boulder Bombings – By Peter Skehan

20/05/2015 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

BOULDER BOMBINGS” “GHASTLY TRAGEDY” “TERRIBLE SCENES OF SLAUGHTER” “FOURTEEN MURDERED” These are among the headlines which greeted the public after what could be described as this State’s largest multiple murder. The surprising thing about these horrific murders is the fact that they have receded into history without our current generation being aware of this devastating […]

Rampollini’s Piggery – Burra Rocks

20/05/2015 By Moya Sharp 9 Comments

At the bottom of the wall of the Burra Rocks Dam, a large galvanised two-inch pipe protrudes. It is known that Benny Rampolini, an ex woodliner, had a piggery here in the 1970’s and he had about six pigs. The pipe was to provide water for the piggery. A stone wall had been constructed that […]

My Dearest Annie – The Missingham Letter ‘1’

19/05/2015 By Moya Sharp 4 Comments

David Missingham was born in 1855 in Kiama New South Wales. He was a mining Engineer and Mayor of Charters Towers in 1893. In 1897 he traveled to Western Australia, arriving before his family. He sent many letters back to his wife Annie and their eight children. One of his children, Hal Missingham, was to […]

The Goat Lady – Hilda Jarvis

18/05/2015 By Moya Sharp 5 Comments

Hilda Jarvis (Nee Jones) ‘The Goat Lady’. This is a photo of her taken in 1990 by Roger Garwood and features in his book ‘Off Like Flies’. I was lucky to meet both her and her son, George. Towards the end of her life, she had to move into town and lived at the ‘Little […]