Have you ever come across the name of a town that is so unusual you want to find out where the name came from? Western Australia has many places with odd names, but I think the following is one of the most unusual I have come across. Many years ago I heard of this town near Laverton, called Childe Harold. When I asked where the name had come from, I was told it may be the name of a ship. This was in the pre-internet days so I couldn’t just Google it. They thought it possible that the person who named the town may have come on that vessel.
The Childe Harold – Photo SLWA
After a search, I found that there was indeed a ship called the Childe Harold. It sailed from England and arrived in Geelong Victoria in 1853. I also found there was a Race Horse, a trotter, by the same name which was imported from America.
The earliest reference, and the one which all the others are named after, I would think, is a well-known, four-part verse by Lord Byron called ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” It seems that the word Childe, refers to a young man who wishes to become a knight.
Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage book cover -Wikipedia.org
It seems that the town of Childe Harold was never gazetted, however, it appears to have had a cricket pitch and a racetrack. (what more do you need?). All that they then needed was a hotel. In 1901 Mr. Pettigtrew of the Child Harold Gold Mine applied for a liquor license with the intention of building a hotel, but it was refused by the Warden. In 1902 the population was about 150 people.
The Childe Harold Goldfields were first discovered by George Flowers in 1895. He then sold it to the Venture Corporation of the USA in 1896. An unfavorable report from the company geologists forced the firm to drop the leases. They were then taken up by Bob and Wally Clark, brothers, of Mt Morgans, who held them for a year before offering them to a Mr. Taylor who at the time was the owner of the Anaconda GM at Murrin Murrin. The mine was taken under option by J W Archibald, owner of the Guests GM, Mt Morgans, for a period of 12 months. When this option lapsed, Mr. Bob Pettigrew, on behalf of the Australian Prospecting Syndicate took up the lease and commenced the first serious working of the mine. The mine was closed down in 1902-3 and during its lifetime it produced 9361 ounces of fine gold.
Coolgardie Miner 30 August 1900 – TROVE
Some early residents – Childe Harold, Western Australian Electoral Roll for 1904
AIKEN Donald – miner
BISHER H. labourer
BOARBOOM Henry – cook
BRENNAN Mary –domestic duties
BYRNE James – horse driver
BYRNES John Louis –miner
CALEY William –labourer
CREAHAN William – miner
DAVIS Samuel – miner
DAWSON Donald – miner
DEMSEY Richard –miner
DOWNES Martin labourer
EGAN James –labourer
FAWCETT Charles – miner
GARDNER Thomas – blacksmith
GIBSON William – engineer
GREENUCLE J. – engineer
HARDY Alexander – miner
HARMAN John – woodcutter
INGRAM George – blacksmith’s labourer
KIRKMAN Amelia Rosetta – midwife
KENNEDY Martin W. – miner
MALONEY John James -miner
McDONALD Donald – accountant
O’TOOL James – miner
PARRY Thomaas – miner
PUGH Thomas -miner
REID Ethel May –married
REID Roderick R. – surveyor
RINALDI Bernardo – horse driver
ROBERTS Griffith – miner
ROBINSON James – miner
ROGERS Henry – labourer
ROWAN John -bricklayer
SULLIVAN John – contractor
SWANSTON Davis –servant
SCHRUBB Frederick – miner
SMITH Clarence – labourer
STRACHAN William –miner
THOMPSON Thomas – engine driver
WILSON H.W.P.W. – miner
WOOD Ernest M. – accountant
The Childe Harold Gold Mine in1903 – At this time it employed over 100 men and covered 72 acres, three blocks of 24 acres – Photo SLWA
The Childe Harold GM Open Cut 1903 – Photo SLWA
The Staff of the Childe Harold GM 1903 – Photo SLWA
On the Outback Family History website: Childe Harold on the Mt Weld Station, 22kms south of Laverton, Western Australia.
Transport in the backcountry – A donkey team carting plant for the Childe Harold Mines.
Moya Sharp
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