First Female Police Officer – Helen Dugdale

There are many ‘Firsts’ that have occurred in the Goldfields and one of them is that we had the first female police officer, Helen Blanche Dugdale who was appointed from Kalgoorlie. The Police Historical Society have recognised the contribution of Helen Dugdale and in 2006 the Goldfields Family History Society had a plaque placed on […]

Call the Midwife –

First Register of Midwives on the Goldfields of Western Australia In the early days of Goldfield’s, pregnancy and birth were a dangerous time for both mother and baby. Most often women would rely on the help of other women in the area, if indeed there were any. Others may have had to have the assistance […]

Charles Augustus Saw -pioneer profile

Daily News Perth 18 November 1929, page 6 Prospector – Banker – Sharebroker A Western Australian by birth, Mr. Charles Augustus Saw, president of the Stock Exchange, Perth, was born hi this city in the days when it was still little more than a village. Following his education at the High School, in Perth, Mr. […]

The Trail of the Bootless Toe – part 1

Truth – Perth – 19 January 1930, page 6 So he bore to the North!  The indent of his big toe that protruded through his worn boot faintly marking the dry dust as he went. All sinewy and almost  as straight as a sapling that nature has bent, just a fraction, where the shoulder stem […]

Dunnsville’s Postmistress – they were first

Western Mail – Perth – 25 January 1908, page 27 EARLY GOLDFIELDS DAYS. Mrs Arthur Dusantoy was the first woman in Dunnsville, and kept the first Post Office at that place, a rude structure, but typical of the buildings of the early goldfields days of Western Australia. Mrs. Dusantoy’s experiences may be best told in […]