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The Schoolmistress Who Vanished—The Strange Double Life of Margaret Bale

09/05/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

The Disappearance of Margaret Bale In December 1909, Margaret Bale, a 25-year-old schoolteacher who had spent three years teaching at the Sisters of the Church school at Lamington Heights, Kalgoorlie (now a private House at 26 Ward Street, Lamington), left the goldfields intending to return to England. She travelled to Perth and stayed with friends […]

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

Red Flannel Joe of Peak Hill

09/05/2026 By Moya Sharp 2 Comments

Western Mail – Perth – 28 February 1935, page 9 He is known as ‘Red Flannel Joe’ throughout the district. He is old and somewhat pompous and lives in a tin hut in what was once the main street of this little north-west town of Peak Hill. It’s almost deserted now, and Joe’s structure is […]

Filed Under: People, Places & Towns Tagged With: Australian History, Goldfields History, Peak Hill, Western Australia

The Last Ferment: Bill the Topman’s Final Descent

02/05/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

The Sun Kalgoorlie 8 March 1903, page 10 Bill the Topman of Stringer’s Brewery By Pharisee. Bill Stiggins had been at Stringer’s brewery from the start, in fact, had helped to put the building up. “Saur the first load er muck took outer the cellar and sampled the first beer, “he said when the origin […]

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

The Grave in the Spinifex – The Lonely Grave of Bob True

02/05/2026 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

If you were travelling in the Outback North of Laverton in Western Australia and you came across this imposing grave and headstone, you may think that this must be someone of importance to have such an impressive memorial in such a remote place. How hard must it have been to have the memorial made and […]

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

The Nun Who Was Buried Thrice: The Strange Journey of Mother Gabriel

02/05/2026 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

While researching the people who are buried in the Cue Cemetery, John Pritchard, one of my valued volunteers, uncovered the story of Victoria Margaretta Gill, who was first buried in the Cue Cemetery in 1905. She was then transferred to and reburied at the Dongara Cemetery and thence to the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth. I […]

Filed Under: Church, People, Places & Towns Tagged With: Australian History, Dongera, Goldfields History, Western Australia

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