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You are here: Home / Archives for Coolgardie

The Hash House Riot of Ford Street

06/06/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

The Sun Kalgoorlie 27 April 1902, page 1 DINNER AT DALTONS by Pharisee. In the boom days of Coolgardie an enterprising individual named Dalton ran a hash and doss house in Ford Street. The building was made of bush timber covered in with hessian, and was divided into three compartments -a dining room, a kitchen, […]

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

The Skeleton with the Initials C.D.H.: The Mystery of Christian Heitmann

30/05/2026 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

In 1988, I was contacted by a lady called Elsie Heitmann. She was trying to find out what happened to one of her relatives who went missing in Western Australia from South Australia. All she had to go on was the following photo, which was supposedly taken in Coolgardie by photographer Roy Millar. The man […]

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

From Grief to Despair: The Doyle Family Tragedy

23/05/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

On the 23rd of September 1903, in Gwalia Street, Leonora, Western Australia, an event would take place that would start a string of family tragedies. The event was the death of a little girl, Eileen Margaret Doyle. She died of Tonsillitis and Bronchitis and was only 2 ½yrs old. She had only been ill for […]

Filed Under: Grave Tales, People, Places & Towns Tagged With: Australian History, Cemeteries, Coolgardie, Goldfields History, Suicide, Western Australia

Robbery Under Arms on the Coolgardie Road-

09/05/2026 By Moya Sharp 1 Comment

 Robbery Under Arms on the Coolgardie Road In the early days of the Goldfields, the escort used to leave Coolgardie every week with parcels of gold varying from £5000 to £50,000 in value. It was a common remark to hear passed by the diggers, who usually gathered to watch the gold being taken out of […]

Filed Under: People Tagged With: Australian History, Bushranger, Coolgardie, Goldfields History, police history, Western Australia

THE FATE OF DICK BRANDON: A Goldfields Story of Mystery and Madness

25/04/2026 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

Sun Kalgoorlie Sunday 16 March 1902 Brandon’s fate A TALE OF DARLOT by Pharisee. The eager, excited crowd that thronged the long dry stage to the Darlot diggings in the first blush of the new discovery included Dick Brandon and his mate, Jimmy Spiggot. That dreary and waterless track skirting the edge of desolate Lake […]

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

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