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 Big Nugget of Nannine

Murchison Times and Day Dawn Gazette, 1 November 1902, page 4 The Big Nugget of Nannine. By R.G.B Christmas Eve at Nannine — a scene of mirth and joy. The streets are thronged with people passing to and fro, some merely strolling around to view the prettily decorated shop windows, whilst others accompanied their better […]

The Passing of Jones by Bungarra

Geraldton Express and Murchison and Yalgo Goldfields Chronicler – 23 December 1898, page 6 THE PASSING OF JONES by Bungarra Jones was a friend of mine!!   In all fairness, I must state, however, that the connection was not of my own seeking. Like poverty, subpoenas, and subscription lists, it was thrust upon me. The first […]

F E Randell & Co – pioneer profile

Weekly Times 10 September 1898, page 48 F. E. RANDELL & CO. Messrs F. E. Randell and Co. are well known on the West Australian goldfields as carrying and forwarding agents. Their head office is at Fremantle, having lately been transferred to that rising port, from the goldfields, and there are branches at Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie, […]

My dearest Lottie – letters home

Several years ago I received a letter from Ian Hopley regarding some old correspondence he found amongst his late mother’s papers. They were written by his Great Grandfather William Webster, first from Victoria and then from Malcolm in the Murchison of Western Australia. The letters mention his daughter Delia, nicknamed Deanie, who was Ian’s Grandmother. […]

The Murder of the Duke of Sutherland:

John Sutherland, better known as the ‘Duke of Sutherland’, died on the 26th of February 1895 in his own camp at Nannine, in the Meekatharra district. His age was not known. He was a miner who was shot dead by an old friend, Henry Augustus Muller, who then killed himself. Both men were old identities […]