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The True Pioneers of Menzies: A Tale of Discovery and Dispute

12/07/2025 By Moya Sharp 4 Comments

Kalgoorlie Miner September 1935, page 4 THE MENZIES DISTRICT – THE EARLY YEARS Now that the good folk of Menzies are on the eve of celebrating the anniversary of the foundation of their town, it seems appropriate to delve into the past and examine the occasion to be celebrated. As is the case with the […]

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Filed Under: People, Places, They were 1st Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Menzies, Western Australia

The Trail of the Bootless Toe – part 1

12/07/2025 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Truth – Perth – 19 January 1930, page 6 So he bore to the North!  The indent of his big toe that protruded through his worn boot faintly marked the dry dust as he went. All sinewy and almost as straight as a sapling that nature has bent, just a fraction, where the shoulder stem […]

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Filed Under: People, Places, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Mt Eva

From Woolgar to Yunndaga: A Forgotten Chapter of the Gold Rush

12/07/2025 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

YUNNDAGA Latitude 29° 45′ S Longitude 121° 03′ E Yunndaga is an abandoned town on the Western Australian goldfields located 7 km south of Menzies. Gold was discovered in the area in the mid-1890s, and in 1898, a business and residence subdivision was laid out at what was then referred to as Woolgar. Business and […]

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Filed Under: People, Places Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Hotels, Western Australia, Woolgar, WW1, Yunndaga

The Woodchopper’s Tune: A Childhood Friendship – by N E Gledhill

12/07/2025 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

A tale by N.E. Gledhill This ‘Ripping Yarn’ from the pen of N E Gledhill is kindly shared by his Great Nephew, Allen Gledhill, with thanks:  As soon as I had explored the empty, hollow-sounding rooms of our new house in Boulder, I saw with delight that a huge drain passed right by the side […]

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Filed Under: People, Places, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Goldfields History, Western Australia

The Lake Eva Oil Hoax: A Tale of Deception on the WA Goldfields

05/07/2025 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

In the early days of the WA Goldfields, there were, as there are now, conmen who wanted to make a dollar without working. This is one such story. In May of 1923, Robert ROTHKEHL and Ernest THOMPSON claimed that they had struck oil at Lake Eva, 55km south-east of Southern Cross, in Prospecting Area 1135. […]

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Filed Under: People, Places, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Southern Cross, Western Australia

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