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The Diggers Song – by Barcroft Boake

05/04/2025 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Barcroft Henry Thomas Boake (26 March 1866 – 2 May 1892) was an Australian Stockman and poet who wrote primarily within the ‘bush poetry’ tradition. He was active for only a few years before his suicide at the young age of 26. He belived that ‘bush life’ was the only life worth living. Boake was […]

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Filed Under: People, Poets Corner Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Western Australia

The Spirit of the Fields –

29/03/2025 By Moya Sharp 6 Comments

The Spirit of the Fields by Suter Abis On a stifling summer afternoon in 1910, a mournful procession crept down Hack Street in Sandstone, a small outpost clinging to the edge of the Western Australian scrub. It was a pitiful sight: a spring cart so dilapidated its wheels—lashed together with chaff bags and fencing wire—threatened […]

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

Harold Cocking – a plucky pioneer

29/03/2025 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

Southern Cross Times – Christmas Eve – 24 December 1904, page 25 Harold Cocking A Plucky Pioneer Mr Harold Arundle Sidney Cocking was born at Latchley near Plymouth, Devon, England, and is a typical son of an English yeoman. It is slightly over 13 years since he landed in the West, and was extremely surprised to find that […]

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Filed Under: People, Places Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Kanowna, Southern Cross, Western Australia

Death of a Desperate Man –

29/03/2025 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Munarra Gully is located 52 kilometres from Meekatharra, close to Tuckanarra. On the old Munarra Station (now Byro Station), three graves rest within a fenced, ungazetted burial ground. Among them lies Michael Koningas, Suig AH, a labourer who passed away from natural causes on May 9, 1904, along with one unidentified individual. Michael KONINGAS Cause […]

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Filed Under: Grave Tales, Hotels, People, Places, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Goldfields History, Meekatharra, Munarra Gully, TUCKANARRA, Western Australia

Water, Water Nowhere – and not a drop to drink

29/03/2025 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Water was the great leveller. Everyone needed it, young or old, rich or poor. Many a venture has failed through lack of water, and many a life has ended through lack of, or too much of it. In the early gold rush days, it was often safer to drink whiskey than water that could be […]

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Filed Under: Places, Ripping Yarns & Tragic Tales Tagged With: Australian History, Coolgardie, water, Western Australia

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