John Carins know as Dryblower Jack John was born in Newcastle on Tyne, in Northumberland, England in 1890 and was educated at Rutherford College in that town. He was said to have come to Australia in 1913, he had a discharge certificate from the British services. As a young man, he worked in various trades […]
James Shaw – 1st Mayor of Coolgardie
03/06/2023 By 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 […]
The Strange Case of Baby Quinn
06/05/2023 By Leave a Comment
As we all will know, when an illegitimate child was born to a young woman in the early part of the 1900’s there was not the support available to her that there is today, and many young women were forced by circumstances to give up their baby. Also, the laws concerning the adoption of children […]
The Death of ‘Dutch’ Clark – grave tales
01/04/2023 By 1 Comment
Cecil Bryce (Brice) ‘Dutch’ Clark was born on 19 August 1898 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to William James Clark and Mary Jane nee Girling who were both from Berkshire in England. He was the youngest of seven children. At the age of 18yrs, in April of 1916, he joined the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Forces. He […]
A Policemans Lot – The story of Patrick Donovan
25/03/2023 By 2 Comments
I was recently sent a wonderful family story by Brian Kelly who has done an amazing job of researching the life and times of his ancestor Patrick Donovan. He has given me permission, with thanks, to reproduce an extract from the story of Patrick’s time in Western Australia. Patrick ‘Paddy’ Donovan (AKA O’Donovan) was born […]
