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

Bread Upon the Waters –

14/12/2024 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

Western Mail Perth 1 August 1940, page 9 Bread Upon the Waters. In the early days of the Golden Mile, Davy Jones was working on a mine and according to custom he bought a block of land in preparation for the time when he and Mifanwy could marry. A little house was built, and as […]

Into the Great Solitude by Arthur Upfield

07/12/2024 By Moya Sharp 4 Comments

For anyone who has been following my blog for a while, they will know that I am a huge fan of the books of Arthur Upfield. He wrote many wonderful fictional books which are based on the Australian Outback. Some stories, like the one that follows, are about his own experiences. His stories are all […]

The Busiest Place in Town –

07/12/2024 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

The following excerpt is from the book by Mrs Arthur H Garnsey called ‘Scarlet Pillows: An Australian Nurse’s Tales of Long Ago’ and is about her memories of being a nurse in Coolgardie in the early days. The tale of the house that Jack built has his counterpart in Coolgardie in the tale of all […]

Augustus Thorn – pioneer profile

07/12/2024 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

AUGUSTUS LOFTUS ‘GUS’ THORN by Lyn Beard The death of Augustus Loftus ‘Gus’ THORN does not appear to have been registered and the burial did not show up on any of the usual resources for graves. The only record of his death in 1932 seems to be this small article in The Goldfields Observer of […]

The White Horse Blow –

07/12/2024 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

The White Horse Blow by Alfred E Wallace ‘The Axeman” Lo, hear the hobbles jingle And the old Mokes bells a dingle And from the far-off Dolly Pot, the echo seems to ring O’er the ranger and the ridges Through the mulgas and the gidgeas. Where McGann was ‘Costeen Champion’, and Pearsey Floater King, Kirklands […]