Mr L A Wells, a member of the ‘Elder Exploring Expedition of 1891’ discovered Lake Darlot on the 6th March 1892. The Lake was named after Leonard Hawthorn Darlot, pastoralist, one of the three sons of H R H Darlot, who purchased a station property call ‘Berringarra’ in the Murchison district in 1882. Darlot was also know as Lake Darlot, Woodarra and Ballangarry.
The following publication is the only one on this town availabe, as far as I know. It was published in 1994 for the Centenary of the town. Written by Lyn Hatch and published by Plutonic Resources Ltd. It is very hard to locate a copy of this book but the State library has two in their system.
Darlot – The Centenary Publication 1894 -1994 by Lyn Hatch
Ballangary Mine, State Battery in the background, L-R Jack Griffin, Charlie Fisher, Alf Metzke.
The government battery was opened in the town on Feb 19 1898 by Leslie Finch, the 12 yr old son of the manager J Finch. Its crushing capacity was 90 tons per week and it employed 9 men. Some of the mines were:- King of the Hills, The Amazon, The Ballangarry, The Pride of Darlot, The Lass O’Gowrie, The Homeward Bound, The St George, The British King and the The Filbandint.
Sickness was soon to visit Darlot with two people dying on July 27th 1895. A ‘sickness and accident’ fund was started to assist deserving cases. James Balzano was to tell the following story in his book ‘Kanownas Barrow Man”.
‘George BISHOP died on July 27th 1895 aged 36yrs of inflammation of the bowels. He was buried on Sunday 28th July 1895. Tom Hester and Jerry Donovon made the coffin out of meat and jam boxes, nailed on three mulga saplings as the main support to the bottom. As both men had a very meagre idea of how to make a coffin and after the had finished they discovered it was too large, big enough to take two bodies, so they pulled it apart and started again’.
Darlot Cemetery 2016 – Photo by Paul Tonkin
The funeral started from Swamper Gully at 3:15pm in the following order:- At the head marched an elderly digger holding aloft a long handled shovel resting on his shoulder. Behind came the hand card with the coffin drawn by six men: John Kirwan, better know as “Liverpool Jack” being the leader in the shafts with a rope across his chest and a man each side of the cart, another behind pushing. A the rear followed a large number of diggers, between 70-80 of them. Among which a man wheeled a bicycle. The funeral indeed made a brave show. The burial ground was reached at 3:35 and by 3:37 the remains had been lowered into its grave of cement formation. Although the deceased was a Protestant no minister of the correct denomination was available so a Roman Catholic digger read from the litany of the dead and a young man read a prayer. By 3:40 the ceremony concluded and the grave filled’.
‘Robert ELVER died at 11:pm on July 27 1895 aged 31yrs. The coffin was made of meat boxes. The funeral started at 5PM on 28th July. The burial ground was reached at 5:13pm and they lowered the coffin into the grave. The deceased friend read from ‘Corinthians’, the whole of chapter 15. He finished reading at 5:20 and they lowered his body into the grave surrounded by 13 diggers. At 5:35 it was all over.’
These two stories show that every care was given to someone who died out on the diggings. I think that each man hoped that the same would be done for them if the worst happened. It was some small comfort for their families back home who would never see them again. This burial ground was located at the head of Horseman’s Gully, there were a further six burials before the new cemetery site was gazetted. These eight burial in the cemetery were transferred to the new ground in 1995 by Forsyth Mining.
Woodarra Hotel, Lake Darlot.
By June 1895 there were between 900 and 1500 men on the field. After heavy rain, dry blowing was not possible and the creek was not running enough to allow for panning so the diggers built a huge bonfire and waited it out.
Jack Collins on the St George Mine c1930
Richard and Lillie Watson outside the Post Office Lake Darlot.
John Dillon and Family with Harold Williams – Photo The Metzke Family
DARLOT (for Dad) written by Ainslea Devine for his father.
Drifting through the desert mulga
Reaching into crystal skies
Soft as birdsong in ther dawning
Do you hear the spirits calling?
Come – Return once more
And make your camp
For here we hold your captive heart –
Here – In Fishers wide embrace.
And well we know this country,
You and I
Each jutting outcrop and campsite thicket
Her saltbush flats and ironstone ridges
Look there – a single fragile flower!
And there – The distant breakaways
On a blue horizon sweep
Darlot – Ancient land of blackman dreaming
Timeless and Peaceful
Bejewelled landscape
Yours to share-
by day – sun warmed nuggets of molten gold
by night – a diamond swag of stars.
The township of Woodarra was gazetted on Jan 14 1898. It is the aboriginal name given to the adjacent granite rocks from which the towns water supply came. Businesses in the town in 1899 were, three stores owned by W M Beale, Haley and the Metzke Brothers. W Pearce was the butcher ann J L Simon the baker. The Dew Dropp Inn was the first hotel followed by The Ballangarry and the Woodarra Hotels.
Further recommended reading:-
James Balzano, born in Italy in 1859, gained some education in South America and the US before joining the goldrush in New Zealand and then Victoria, later moving to Western Australia where he travelled 900km in one journey – his barrow fashioned with a few tools, a tomahawk and some leather thongs.
George Compton and Ron Manners, whose fathers had a great deal to do with Balzano, joined forces to produce a book on his barrow travels. He had little luck in his gold prospecting but left treasure in the form of his detailed diaries. Each night, by the light of the moon, the flicker of a candle stub or camp fire, he recorded his route, meals and daily experiences. He told the tales of the men he met, stories of the finds, the success and tragedies of the various places, the costs, terrain and the weather.
Moya Sharp
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Moya, many thanks for sharing Darlot’s history.
Did you know that it was at Darlot that David Carnegie and partners discovered rich gold, they worked the mine for a time then sold to investors. Carnegie received a substantial sum, enough to finance his 1896 expedition from Coolgardie to Halls Creek and his 1897 return to Darlot.
Moya, interesting story about Darlot. Just a couple of weeks ago I put a para in my newsletter about
the St. George mine. The six partners got 11056oz in 9 years. And then you have a photo of the St.
George. The British Flag mine was the only local hole in the ground that was owned by a registered
company, all the others were partnerships.
My grandfather,Carl Pedersen was a partner in the St. George mine and the Amazon. He made enough money to return to his home country /Norway) and set the rest of his family up for life with a farm,2 story house barns and livestock all of which are still in the possession of our Norwegian cousins today
Wow that is amazing!
My Grandfather, Carl Pedersen, and his Brother-in-Law Billy Hurst were part of the Darlot story. My mother and I lived with Jim Metzke in Belmont during WWII and between 1947 and 1951 I lived in Darlot, 5 miles from the Melrose homestead, while my Dad, Jim Metzke and 2 other partners worked a new mine called The Dragon (Prior connection to the St George). I have 2 copies of the Darlot book from when I visited the Plutonic mine in 1998. I also have Leonora Times Darlot Battery records for 1947 to 1951. And a 1905 Silver Rose Bowl of the Darlot-Lawlers Rifle Club, of which my grandfather was captain. Feel free to follow up through these blogs. I am resident in Sydney.