Kunanalling School Honour Roll 1914 to 1918

The township of Kunanalling is situated on the 90-mile road about 20 miles north-west of Coolgardie. It was originally known as the 25-mile, then later gazetted as Kunanalling.  The once thriving town is now deserted, and the only remains are those of the Premier Hotel.  The following names are those of the pupils who attended the Kunanalling State school and who fought in the Great War:

Honour roll Kunanalling

Kunanalling School Honour Roll     1914 to 1918 – * Denotes Killed in Action.

BOUNSELL William Pte *
BRYANT Benjamin Lieut
BRYANT John Pte
CHADWICK Irwin Pte
COLE Herbert Pte
COWARD Roy Pte *
COX William Pte
DAVIES John Pte
ELLIOTT Murray Pte
JACKSON Joseph Pte
KEMP Robert Cpl
LODGE John Pte|
McGINNISS Frank Pte
MARKEY Thomas Pte
MESSER Charles Pte
O’CONNOR James William Pte
O’CONNOR Thomas *
OUTRIDGE Harrie R Pte
PALMER Douglas Seaman
ROGERS Major Pte
ROWE Howard Pte
SUITOR James Sapper
THOMAS Gordon Pte
THOMAS Matthew Pte*

This roll was the work of Joseph Langdon Heap, who was school schoolmaster at Kunanalling during 1919. The roll was displayed on the wall of the classroom from 1918 to the end of 1927, when the school closed.  The roll now hangs in the RSL Building in Bayley Street, Coolgardie.

I would like to draw your attention to two names in particular, firstly, William BOUNSELL. Rob Bounsell grew up in Kunanalling and was related to William. he is the author of the book ‘Kunanalling, The Story of a Western Australian Goldfields Town’ published in 1988, followed by ‘Kunanalling and Beyond’ published in 2003. Copies of the first edition are very hard to come by, but the second is still in publication. Rob is descended from both the Bounsell and the Kemp families, both pioneers in the town.   His books are a wealth of knowledge on the district drawn from his first-hand memories, and I would recommend anyone interested in the history of our vast region to add it to their reading list.

I am sure that the name of ‘Kemp’ on the roll will also be familiar to football fans as Robert Kemp in the great-grandson of Dean Kemp, well know player with the Eagles.

Kunanalling and Beyond by S R Bounsell

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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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