The Smith’s – by Dryblower Murphy

The SMITH’s – By Edwin Greenslade Murphy eg ‘Dryblower Murphy” We had many problems set us when Coolgardie was a camp When a journey to the Goldfields was meant a coach fare or a tramp We has water troubles, tucker ditto, also that of gold, how to clothe ourselves in summer, how to dress to […]

Coolgardie Childrens Hospital – A First !!!

The Childrens Hospital Coolgardie – the first children’s hospital in Western Australia, functioned for a time in Coolgardie but was eventually abandoned and the patients were placed in a special ward in the Government hospital close by.  In 1904 the local authorities took over the building and used it as an infectious disease hospital. Note:  […]

The Prison Log and “Sky Blue Goannas”

In the early days of Coolgardie, there was no provision for holding prisoners pending their appearance in court so Corporal McCarthy chopped a four-foot log from a three-foot thick trunk of a blown down salmon gum to which they were chained by a strong steel staple at one end and handcuffs at the other. (A […]

Old Timer – By Tony Bozich

OLD TIMER Charlie Nalty, of  Coolgardie Westral Wheel Race fame, cant be forgot by the older generation, to Goldfields schools sometimes he came giving half holidays and warm oration. Charlie carried Glory of the Old Days, real turn of the century stuff, he seemed to personify that phase when life was not unhappy, but tough. […]

Vosper’s Dog and the Goat

(July 10, 1910)When the late rederick C.B. Vosper was editing the “Coolgardie Miner” for Billy Clare (the founder), in the middle nineties (1890’s), the long-haired litterateur owned a dog that was the terror of all within reach of its teeth. Day after day complaints poured in to the office in reference to children and other […]