The Giantess – Coolgardie Miner 1898

The Giantess

The Giantess – This lady travelled the country and made a lot of money, and was much admired. It seems the female form was viewed quite differently 116 yrs ago!

From the Coolgardie Miner, Aug 1898

In Bayley Street last night, for the first time in the Goldfields, there was seen ‘Mademoiselle Rewald’ who has come to us with the reputation of being ‘The Heaviest Woman on Earth’. She weighs 42 stone 11 lbs and measures over 90 inches around the waist, which qualification would discourage the average canoodler. As per her handbills, the lady is ‘a most exquisitely proportioned person’ and ‘her symmetry is beautiful’.

She is intelligent and attractive and is a charming conversationalist. One thing is sure that no sightseer can see more for his money than he can find in this show and it is also plain that although Western Australia claims to be the biggest state in the Union, Queensland (the lady’s birthplace) can easily claim to have produced something which is bigger, stronger and more attractive than anything in Groperian.

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History

My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.

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