Mt Palmer – a grave competition

Search for the Mt Palmer Cemetery and the grave  of John Ebenezer JONES By Mike Duggan Early 1972 – Mr Ken White approached Eric Carnicelli, a member of the Southern Cross Historical Society, to see if Mr White’s grandfather’s grave at Mt Palmer could be located. He offered to pay the Historical Society $150 if […]

A Coolgardie Delirium

Truth ‘Sydney’ 21 July 1935, page 22 Fabulous Gold Find Tossing for £100 a Time! Who found Coolgardie? Every schoolboy knows that Bayley and Ford found Coolgardie. That is history, but a historical fact is as often as not, based on inaccuracy. Strictly speaking, Bayley and Ford did not find Coolgardie for the men who […]

The Byrne Family – pioneers

I have been sent this wonderful story of the Byrne family in the Western Australia Goldfields. They were to have an amazing fourteen children all apart from three, survived to adulthood. The family history has been extensively researched and I have kindly been given permission to share this extract with you. What an amazing woman […]

The Worlds Second Oldest Profession –

Gold stealing was rife on the Kalgoorlie goldfields almost from the day the first prospector arrived. Gold miners would smuggle out what gold they could while working and the thieving was commonly regarded as a miner’s ‘privilege’. As long as men have sought this precious metal there has been gold stealing. In the early days […]

The Long Walk –

West Australian Perth – 3 September 1938, page 16 The  Long Walk from Fremantle to Coolgardie. The experiences of two women. Two Melbourne women, who walked from Fremantle to Coolgardie during the gold rush days, have come to Western Australia for the “Back to the Goldfields” celebrations (These events were held regularly in both Coolgardie […]