The Prospector who dug his own grave-

Sunday Times –  22 September 1940, page 10 The Prospector Who Dug His Own Grave The story of Franz Horneg (AKA Franz ERDMAN), a German and Anthon Johansen, called ‘The Swede’ (but was Norwegian), is a true story, yet if it had occurred to a fiction writer, the author would have probably rejected it as […]

Dead Man Rocks – the Murder of Phil Mack

Western Mail 16 December 1937, page 11 The Murder of Phil Mack DEAR “Non-Com.”-I am indebted to an old-timer and friend of South Guildford, Mr. W. E. Routledge, for sending me “The Western Mail”, and I always read with interest the Dolly Pot. One sees some glaring inaccuracies of early day events, but this can […]

Suicide, Cyanide and Scones –

Murchison Advocate 27 February 1904, page 3 Suicide and Attempted Murder. A SENSATIONAL AFFAIR At Boulder this morning, Alexander Solomon, aged 40yrs, a notorious character and well known to the police, was arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of a young fellow named Thomas Frank Rassmussen who was the proprietor of a Gold treatment […]

Gold and Ghosts –

The murder-suicide tragedy of Nurse Elizabeth Gold and Kenneth Snodgrass, is a tale quite widely known about but I have not before told the story on the Outback Family History Blog. In Coolgardie in the 1890’s, Elizabeth Gold, Kenneth Snodgrass, and Charles Gold were living in Coolgardie. As with many tragedies, the interest lies within […]

Dastardly and Diabolical Deed at Day Dawn

Evening Mail – Fremantle 23 March 1908, page 1 No one will deny that Harry Goninon Smith, who at 8 o’clock this morning paid, on the scaffold at the Fremantle Prison, the last penalty for the supreme crime in the criminal calendar, was the murderer of the man, William John Clinton at Day Dawn. No […]