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THE LEGEND OF C.Y. O’CONNOR … and his golden pipeline

17/08/2024 By Moya Sharp 2 Comments

THE LEGEND OF C.Y. O’CONNOR … and his golden pipeline by John Terrell The following was a well-deserved Blue Ribbon winner by John Terrell at the Kununurra Agricultural Society’s annual show in July 2024 in the category of – Poetry and Prose – Yarn (max 900 words) theme ‘Water’. Water was the central issue in […]

Filed Under: People, Places & Towns Tagged With: Australian History, Coolgardie, Goldfields History, water, Western Australia

James Shaw – First Mayor of Coolgardie

03/08/2024 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

James Shaw was born in 1846 in Belfast Ireland, his father was Hugh Shaw, an engineer and his mother was Margaret, they married in Victoria. In 1864, at age 18yrs, James Shaw sailed to Auckland New Zealand where he started a contracting business which was most successful. He also won a service medal for fighting […]

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

With Murderous Intent –

03/08/2024 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

In the early Goldfields days, life was harsh and death came often to families. Not just to the old and very young, but often those in the prime of life would be taken suddenly. The main causes of death were diseases such as typhoid and accidents both at work and in the home. The child […]

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

Black Dennis – a respected man

20/07/2024 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

The following story is published with the kind permission of Dennis Aartsen and is an excerpt from his four-volume set of books, Hotels of the Barrier Ranges. Black Dennis On the 28th of August 1911, a passerby stopped by a modest shack just north of Coolgardie on the Bonnie Vale Road. He found the occupant […]

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

Coolgardie Leidertafel & the Durston family

20/07/2024 By Moya Sharp Leave a Comment

The following family story and photographs were kindly supplied and reproduced with permission of the late Mrs Bernice Peters of Wembley, WA with thanks. Robert Groves Durston is the father of Bernice Peters. He was born in 1863 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England and sailed for New Zealand as a two year old with his parents, […]

Filed Under: People, Places & Towns, Towns and Places Tagged With: Australian History, Coolgardie, Goldfields History, Western Australia

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