GULLEWA GOLDFIELDS
The W.A. Record 27th February 1897
The Gullewa Goldfield is situated N.E. from Mingenew, 80 miles, and east of Wurarga on the Mullewa-Cue line, which is the nearest railway station, about 18 miles, and is only one day’s journey by rail from the Port of Geraldton. This new field is still in its infancy, as it was only about 18 months ago that our pioneer prospectors, Messrs. O’Neill, Hickey, Ben Day and Bob Thompson discovered the precious metal here. The discovery of gold, I believe, makes a wonderful alteration. Such, it appears, has been the case at Gullewa, as is accounted for in the growing township which has sprung up in such a short space of time.
Gullewa Street Map – Image SLWA
Gullewa is a town site in the Yalgoo goldfield, about 160 km east of Geraldton. Gold was discovered here in 1894 by an Irishman, Jim Byrne and his partner Grey. Within days, they were followed by the Criddle Brother, who staked a nearby claim. The area was mined until the mines closed in 1937. In 1896, Gullewa was an important mining centre, and the Gullewa Progress Committee requested that the government declare a town site. The town site was gazetted in 1898, but like many goldfields towns, it is now abandoned. It derives its name from the nearby Gullewa Spring, first recorded by John Forrest in 1873. The name is Aboriginal, of unknown meaning, but Sister Albertus Bain, in her book ‘Ancient Landmarks’, says a suggested translation is ‘Where the wattle grows plentiful”.
G.P. Ross pumping out water in King Solomon’s Mine, Gullewa, G.P. Ross, 1930 – Image SLWA
In mid-1896, a thriving settlement grew rapidly, and unlike most other mining towns, the housing and business sections were situated away from the mining area. A Progress committee and a Board of Health were established, and a pan system was instigated from the start by a sanitary inspector, making the town clean and free from Typhoid. When the Government surveyor, George Weeks, arrived in 1897 to survey the town, there were 171 housing blocks which sold for £20 each, with a corner block selling for £30. Some larger areas were set aside for government use. The town’s seventeen streets were named after the original leaseholders. A discrepancy was made with Burns Street, which should have been Byrnes Street.
A police camp was established in 1896, and the first officer in charge was PC L Simpson, who stated the town had a population of 120 people. There was a store run by Schuman and Kruger, which had a gallon licence, a butcher by the name of Morrisey and P Schuman, the baker. There was also a wayside inn called the Gullewa Hotel run by Thomas Jones. This was soon followed by a second hotel run by Richard Webb, which was called The Monarch. It was constructed of corrugated iron walls and roof, lined with matchboard and hessian ceilings. It was claimed to have a large bar and a good-sized billiard room. In 1897, a Post and Telegraph office was opened with W.F. White as the postmaster. The same year, a school was also opened by John Brown, with 20 children on the original roll. The school was held in the public hall until a school building was erected later in the year.
The first reserve to be gazetted was that of the cemetery, reserve 3911, about 1 kilometre from the mines. Only a few months later, Thomas Jones of the Gullewa Hotel died and was buried there. He left his wife, Mary Anne, as Licensee of the Hotel. He was not the first internee but the third. In Oct 1896, Francis Coveny of the Lady Francis GM died of natural causes and was buried on the Gullewa-Yalgoo Road; this then became the cemetery ground.
Photo – Shire of Yalgoo
Gullewa Cemetery – Reserve 3911
Coordinates: -28.5507826, 116.3726805
Wrap me up with my stockwhip and blanket
And bury me deep down below,
Where the dingos and crows won’t molest me,
In the shade where the Coolabahs grow.
Oh, had I the flight of the Bronzewing,
Far over the plains I would fly,
Straight to the home of my childhood,
And there I would lay down and die
There are eight known burials in the cemetery in total. Only two have headstones, so they can be exactly located.
BILLY – an Aboriginal police assistant, died 18 Sep 1896, Buried in the Gullewa Cemetery.
BOCK Charles Frederick – d 27 Mar 1906, 23yrs, Occ: Boundary Rider at Barnong Station, Cause of death unknown, Father: John William Bock, Mother: Anna Elizabeth Pauline Schultz, Born: Frome, South Australia on 13 Oct 1882, Child: Ernest Alfred born Vic 1902, Reg 3/1906 Yalgoo, Buried in the Gullewa Cemetery.
Bock Family Goat team: Charles Frederick centre, Ernest far left. Baillieston VIC – Photo Ancestry.com
COVENY Francis – died 24 Oct 1896, 55yrs, Cause: Found dead in his bed at the Lady Francis GM, Coroner’s verdict was natural causes, Reg 1996/1896, Buried in the Gullewa Cemetery. (1st burial)
GRIFFITHS William – died 2 Nov 1896, 38yrs, Occ: Miner/Battery Hand, Cause: found dead from natural causes, Reg 1695/1896, Buried in the Gullewa Cemetery.
JONES Thomas Edward – died 4 Dec 1897, 40yrs, Natural Causes, Occ: Licensee of the Gullewa Hotel, Father: John Jones, Mother: Maria McDonald, Born: Champion Bay, Geraldton WA in 1857, Married to Mary Augusta ‘Gussie’ McCOO in Gullewa WA in 1888, Mary took over the license of the hotel after his death, Children: John Rodric Francis b 1888, Thomas Francis b 1891, Arthur Joseph b 1893, Henry Augustine b 1894, Victor James b 1897, Reg 2718/1897, Buried in the Gullewa Cemetery.
Jones – Geraldton Advertiser 8 December 1897, page 3
MORTON John Duthie – d 20 Sep 1904, 23yrs, Father: James Morton, Mother Elizabeth Duthie, Killed accidentally on the Gullewa GM, Fell 40ft down the shaft and died of a fractured skull, Father: John MORTON, Mother: Elizabeth DUTHIE, Born: Moonta SA, Reg 3002/1904, Buried in the Gullewa Cemetery.
Mine Death – www.wavmm.com
MORTON Kalgoorlie Western Argus 18 October 1904, page 16
Grave of John Morton DUTHIE – Photo Find a Grave
SUERDIECK Hedwig Maria Dorothea – d 14 August 1897, 62yrs, died at the Gullewa Hotel from natural causes, Married, Born: Breman, Germany. Father: William William DORMUZER, Mother: Meta. In SA for several years, and in WA for 12 months. Reg 2714/1897, Buried in the Gullewa Cemetery.
Suerdieck W.A. Record 11 September 1897, page 11
WHITE Alexander Robertson ‘Nevill’ – d 29 Oct 1919, 35yrs, Died suddenly at Barnong Station after playing cards. Father: Alexander Robertson WHITE, Mother: Ruth WARREN, Married with children, details unknown. Reg: Yalgoo 3/1919, Buried in the Gullewa Cemetery.
Grave of Alex R Nevill WHITE – Gullewa – Photos taken by Kevin Coate
Gullewa Cemetery Sign – Photo by Wes Hughes
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