Following on from the first part of this tale from last week: The Story of the Murchison Part 1

Extract from a paper prepared by F Bateson and read to the WA Historical Society on 25 October 1946.

Early in 1895, I (Frederick W Bateson) was offered a position at the Star of the East GM, about 18 miles east-north-east of Nannine, in the WA Murchison. I was at the time working for De Hamel and Speed, solicitors of Perth. I was 16 years of age when Leslie Robert Menzie and John Ernest McDonald came to Perth after floating The Star of the East Mine. The mine was now in full swing, having a 10-head battery ready to start with a further 10 head on the way.

My brother, who was at the time working on the Billabong Station in Northampton (Geraldton district), and I were invited to go up to work on the battery. As he was closer to the mine than I was, he wrote to me and told me to bring all sorts of things with me. I loaded myself up with such things as watermelon, cucumber, lettuce, radish and tomato seeds, and to these items I also added vine cuttings. I was told that a team was to leave Mingenew (383 kms north of Perth) on the 20th January with a donkey engine and other items, and was going directly to the mine. The journey should have taken about four weeks to reach ‘The Star’, but it was late March before I finally arrived.

I left Fremantle on January 12th on the SS Franklin, arriving in Geraldton at midnight the following night. We berthed while I was asleep, and in the morning, I found that all of the other passengers but myself had already disembarked. I was not unduly concerned, and after having breakfast, I went in search of Joe Dyer, a miner who was returning to the mine after a holiday in the Eastern States. We had to wait for the Donkey engine, which was arriving on another boat and which didn’t arrive until early February. Upon the arrival of the engine, Dyer and I thought all would be well. Two days later, we set out by train for Mingenew. Upon arrival, we found that it was a very poor place, just a pub, a store and a few other buildings. There was also no accommodation to be had, so Dyer and I had to pitch a tent near the town spring. We had thought that we should only be there a day or two at the most. However, it was not to be, and it was on the 9th day that the team arrived. It was the property of a Mrs Burgess, and the teamster was a red-haired Irish immigrant. He was late in getting in his horses the next morning, and by the time he had loaded up all of the equipment from the rail goods shed, it was too late to set out that day, as the first leg was 23 miles, and uphill at that.

Leslie Robert MENZIE – Image Greenham & Evans

We started out the following morning at 9am with a hot easterly wind already blowing. It made the dust fly in great clouds and caused great discomfort for both man and beast. Soon after noon, the horses showed signs of distress, so we camped for a couple of hours, but there was little shade to be found. The wind had dropped, and the sand flies became annoying, so we moved on. At dusk, the horses were dead-beat and needed water, but we were four miles from our stop. We unyoked them, and the teamster took them on to water, while I made camp and prepared a meal. The next day, we moved on to the well at Gullewa owned by Mick Morrissey. As the horses were very jaded, and our next leg was 20 miles, we rested them for the remainder of the day.

On the next few days, the going was better, with very little sand to traverse. Once again, Dyer and I thought our trials were over, but as we passed the junction of the Mullewa Road, it came on to rain and continued to do so for the rest of the day and through the night. This turned the track into a quagmire, and the going became heavy. However, now that the water problem was solved, we were able to stop where we wished and rest the poor horses. By this time, the chaff and oats were nearly exhausted, and there was no grass to be found. The rain continued for a week, and we found we could go no further. It was lucky that we were on the Mullewa, Cue, Day Dawn Road, which took most of the carting in the area. Our teamster, realising his team would not get through, stopped every returning team to ask if they would take over the delivery contract from him.

Most declined as they had contracts of their own to fulfil.

After some days, a German from Queensland, called Schrader, came along. He was not under contract and drove a hard bargain when he agreed to take over the load. However, it was not possible to transfer the donkey engine to his wagon, so his wagon was left at Migenew, and Mrs Burgess’s wagon was used, and he would return it on his way back. Schrader’s outfit consisted of a wagon, eight horses and a dray with five smaller horses. The latter was driven by a Queensland Aboriginal youth. I was to hear later that three of these horses died on the return journey; he was the worst man I have ever seen with horses.

Dyer and I now thought yet again that our troubles were at an end, when a few days later, after just finishing our noonday meal, a string of camels came along with four Afghans in charge. They did not pull off the track until they were within 100 yards of our teams. Soon our teams were in a mix-up, and we were trying to hold and quieten them, but not before many parts of the harness and one of the poles of the main wagon were broken. It took an hour to search for a suitable sapling to repair the wagon and then till nightfall to fit and finish it, as well as repairs to the harness. This was then followed by a week of fairly good progress with only delays of strayed horses due to broken hobbles. We arrived at Nannine at noon on the 23rd March, having camped at the State well the night before. It was a little over 18 miles now to ‘The Star’.

A Worshiper of Bacchus,

Schrader got blind drunk while Dyer and I were having dinner and making some purchases, as we had been short of supplies for over a week. There was no feed for the horses at Nannine; the nearest was at the three-mile well, where the track branches off to Meekatharra. We recovered Schrader late in the afternoon and got him on the wagon and made for the three-mile well; he slept all the way. Dyer and I looked forward to ending our journey the next day. Just as we were making camp for the night, some friends of Dyer’s came along in a sulky on their way to Nannine. The next morning, all the horses were gone, and Schrader had a very bad headache.

That day was one I am never likely to forget. I was doing some washing at the well when I heard the sound of breaking glass. After I returned to the wagon, I found that Schrader had been rummaging in the load and had found a case of whiskey and had rammed an iron bar into the case, breaking some of the bottles, and he held it over a bucket. This whiskey was supposed to be delivered to Frank Alderman, who ran the pub and store at “The Star’. Dyer’s friends returned, and he left with them, leaving me to bring on all his belongings. The next morning, two of the light horses were missing, so I told the boy to catch up when he found them. Schrader was still in a bad way, and I had to sit with him on the wagon seat to keep him from falling off. We managed to make camp that night, and the boy arrived with the missing horses, which we tied to the wagon so we would have no problems in the morning. I went to sleep with the happy thought I would be at ‘The Star’ the next day by dinner time, and this time my wish was granted. I was to start work the next day.

My brother planted the seeds I took up beyond the settling pits, but it was not a success, as the only water available was waste from the pits. However, we did get a few radishes about as thick as a pencil. I gave the vine cuttings to Jack and Jim Bond, who ran a store and bakery in Nannine. They had set up a market garden a mile beyond the 3-mile. At ‘The Star’, there were few actual buildings. A pub/store/boarding house kept by Frank Alderman. Also, a two-roomed shack was used as an office and sleeping quarters by Menzie and McDonald. This building was made of mud brick and roofed with galvanised iron. The rest of the camp consisted of brush sheds and tents. The bakery was one of the latter and was run by a man named Joe Sparrow, commonly called ‘Salvation Joe’ as he had been a Salvationist before going to the fields. Joe’s chief characteristic seemed to be his dirt; needless to say, my brother and I never sampled his bread. Occasionally, he went on a spree and on one of these occasions, he sat on the side of the bread trough where he had set the bread to rise, and had fallen backwards into the dough, where he was found some time later fast asleep.

The Men from Broken Hill

One of the camps was known as the ‘Broken Hill’, it comprised two 10 ft x 12 ft tents facing each other about 12 feet apart, connected by a brush roof. The occupants of this camp were all ex Broken Hill miners, Joe Dyer being one, Mark Mingay and John B Holman. They had all left Broken Hill after the big strike in 1890, and like many others, did not want any more ‘dust on the lungs’. Jack Holman was the finest tool sharpener I have ever seen, both for speed and sharpening. When I left ‘The Star’ in December, they were all still there. Menzie and McDonald left the mine in October and went to Perth, floated a new syndicate and went prospecting in North Coolgardie. They were successful in floating ‘The Lady Shenton’, ‘The Florence’ and the district known as Menzies.

The Lady Shenton Mine Menzies 1898 – Image SLWA

William Dick took over as manager of ‘The Star’ from Menzie; he was later to become the general manager of the ‘Golden Horseshoe’ in Boulder. Many passed through ‘The Star’ on their way to Lake Way – now Wiluna. The most astounding of these was a group of young Englishmen of good family and means, and they were led by Car-Boyd, who brought them out with him from England to take up prospecting. They were a circus indeed, two spring carts with three horses each and paid drivers- one to look after the horses and the other as cook and flunky. The carts look as if they were headed to open an emporium in the centre of Australia. Wire stretchers, kapok mattresses, marquees, stools, canvas wash basins and baths. The men themselves were in keeping. Each had two revolvers, a sheath knife and a watch on their belts. A small rifle slung over the shoulder and each with riding britches, top boots and spurs. Each was mounted on a fine horse and had a white helmet. Car-Boyd, seeing how raw they were, took them out to Quinns to start them dryblowing to break them in – but instead he broke them up; they only lasted a fortnight.

Captain William Dick – Image TROVE

About the men I knew:

Leslie Robert Menzie was born in Baltimore, USA, and was brought up in the woods of Canada. He went out to the Thames Goldfields in New Zealand as a lad, and later went to sea as a wind-jammer, being adept with tools – particularly the adze – he became the ship’s carpenter. He came to WA in 1891 and was employed as a Timberman on the McIntosh GM at Parkers Range. A rich patch of stone was discovered south of the Parkers Range Hotel, and was known as the ‘Golden Gate’. Menzie bought some of the shares and sold out shortly afterwards for £400. He then came to Perth and teamed up with John Ernest McDonald. After his involvement in the ‘Star of the East’, the ‘Lady Shenton’ and the ‘Florence mines’, he made over £40,000. He then moved to South Australia and established a mine called ‘Menzie’s Barossa’. He married in WA in 1895, shortly after discovering the ‘Lady Shenton’, to Miss Louisa Jerger of Nesbit and Jerger Jewellers in Perth. He built a substantial house in Mounts Bay, Perth, which stands today and is called ‘Menzies’ and is situated at the foot of Jacobs Ladder. This house he sold before moving to SA and settling in Gawler. The Barossa mine failed, and Menzie lost nearly everything. He then went to California and bought an apple orchard. On the discovery of Bullfinch, he returned to WA and prospected around this area without success. He returned to his apple orchard in California, where he died a few years later.

John Ernest McDonald came to WA in 1891 and was a master at the Perth Grammar School until he met L R Menzie. He was appointed as paymaster and accountant at the ‘Star of the East’ and was with Menzie on the discovery of the ‘Lady Shenton’ and ‘Florence’ mines. The Florence was named after my sister, who later became his wife. On severing his connection with Menzie, he invested in property in Perth. He built the McDonald Building on the corner of Barrack and Murray Sts. He had an interest in a mining venture in Donnybrook, WA, where he was residing, and he accidentally drowned there in the Preston River in 1900.

John Barkell Holman, MLA for Forrest, was a minister in the first Labour Government. On Jack Holman’s death in 1925 – he had been a sick man for a long time- his daughter, Miss May Holman, was elected to the Forrest seat in the Legislative Assembly. When she was killed in a motor accident just prior to the 1936 election, her brother won the seat.

John Barkell Holman – Image TROVE

I returned to Perth just before Christmas 1894, and in Jan 1895 I went to Kalgoorlie – but that will be another story!

On the way to ‘The Star’ in February, Dyer and I saw a magnificent “Aurora Australis“; it lasted about 20 minutes. On my way back, after the completion of the Canning Stock Route in Feb 1910, just 16 years later, I saw another. This one did not last quite so long, but its colours were much more vivid. Strange to say, Dyer was then keeping an eating house halfway between Nannine and Wiluna. On our way home on the 16th March, we called there for lunch, and the first thing I heard from him was, ‘Was the last aurora or the first the best?”

The following interesting story is an excerpt from a family history written by Julie Aitken, and reproduced with her kind permission.

Among Barney’s wide circle of acquaintances, colleagues and friends was the owner of a hotel in Wiluna.  In 1934, Barney Anderson accepted a position as Manager of the Commercial Hotel, Wiluna.

 Born January 1893 on the corner of William Street and Hay Street, Barney was a first-generation West Australian, the son of an English woman and a Swedish seaman.  His working life began at the age of 13 as an office-boy in the Head Office of Millar’s Timber & Trading Company, in Perth.  After four years, he was transferred to Wellington Mills as a timekeeper. He married Kathleen (Cassie) Rooney in 1915 and in 1920 took up a position as Manager of Millars T & T Co in Goomalling.  Heavily involved in horse-racing from a very early age, Barney’s next foray was as Manager of the very fashionable Imperial Hotel, at York, before returning to Perth in 1927 and re-joining Millars T & T Company.  There he took up a dual role of Manager of two separate branches for the company – one at Midland, the other at Maylands.   It was during these years that Barney sought the services of a companion-housekeeper for his wife, who was becoming increasingly ill with epilepsy. In July 1931, a 20-year-old Eva Evenis took on that position. 

 The following excerpt is taken from a book entitled “It Wasn’t Her Fault” which spans the twelve decades of the lives of these three people, and is as related by Eva Evenis:

 Wiluna is a predominantly mining and pastoral area situated some 947 kilometres north-east of Perth in the Murchison Goldfields on the edge of the desert.  It is the gateway to the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway.

ABOVE: The Wiluna Gold Mine and town, taken in the 1930s.

 Mr A. Syd Reidy-Croft had bought the former Golden Age Hotel in Wiluna in the early 1930s.  In 1931, following the Great Wiluna Beer Strike, when it was one of three in town and was a small tumbledown place with only two bedrooms available, the hotel nearly lost its licence.  The following year, major extensions and refurbishment of the premises was undertaken and the establishment was renamed the Commercial Hotel.  Reidy-Croft was managing the business when discussions began between himself and Barney and it was decided that Barney would take over as Manager in April 1934.

As Eva often mentioned: “This was a wonderful business opportunity for Barney.”

ABOVE: Commercial Hotel, Wiluna, 1932 http://www.wiluna.wa.gov.au/Assets/Documents/Wiluna_Walk_Trail.pdf

By this time, Wiluna was at the peak of the 1930s gold rush.  Business at the Commercial Hotel was booming.  Having already experienced hotel management at the Imperial Hotel in York, Barney and Cassie were looking forward to moving back into the hotel business and returning to live in the country.

So, Cassie, Barney and Eva packed their belongings and headed for Wiluna by train.  There were no flights in those days.  Even the Flying Doctor had not yet come into full operation.^[1]  There was a daily train service between Wiluna and Perth but on this occasion, the train journey took 7 days (instead of the usual two days) as there was extensive flooding and the train was unable to get through.  On the way, they stopped at Buntine to see Cassie’s brother, Bill.  Instead of spending the night on the train as did the other passengers, they enjoyed a very comfortable night at the home of Bill and his wife, Mary.

Apparently, the train service was exceptionally slow between Perth and Wiluna – it usually went via Mullewa or Geraldton.  Many folklore tales^[2] exist about the slow train journey and how, on one occasion, it was actually beaten to the end of the line by a camel train!

Yet another story told of the time the train was clattering slowly along, stopping and starting, when a frustrated woman passenger asked the conductor when the train would reach Wiluna. “I must get there as quickly as possible”, said the woman, “because I’m pregnant”.

 The shocked conductor said: “Considering your condition, it’s a wonder you boarded the train”.   Thinking quickly, the frustrated woman passenger replied: “When I boarded the train I wasn’t in this condition!”

Shortly after the little group arrived in Wiluna, Syd Short sent an engagement ring up to Eva.  It was a pretty little ring, with a larger diamond in the centre and a smaller diamond on each side.  If he couldn’t persuade Eva not to go to Wiluna, at least by becoming engaged, Syd believed that Eva would eventually return to him.

Meanwhile, Barney set to work in earnest.

In the 1930s, Wiluna was a large, flourishing town.  With a population of around 9000 people, there were as many as 12 taxis permanently stationed there which, together with three buses, made many trips each day between the mine and the town.  The small booklet, “A History of Wiluna” (published sometime after 1981 but of which the author has not been named) states that a bitumen road was constructed from the town to the mine and each side of the road was almost continuously inhabited.

The author goes on to state:

“Fresh milk was available in the town from the four or five dairies situated within four miles of the shopping centre.“There were wide bitumen streets, restless traffic, bright lights, attractive shop fronts and many other evidences of a town apace with city progress.”

 A map of the Township of Wiluna as it was in 1938

The Commercial was one of four hotels in the town, the others being the Weeluna, the Club (which is the only hotel remaining in Wiluna today), and the Lake Way.  The Lake Way Hotel had not long been built when the gold started to peter out.  It did not enjoy a long life span in this gold mining town, which faced a dramatic downturn in fortunes after World War II and the drop in gold prices.  The Commercial Hotel was on Thompson Street, near the corner of Lennon Street, behind the Police Station and the Post Office.  The Weeloona Hotel was in the main thoroughfare, Wotton Street.

Constable Arthur Gallagher was one of three policemen at the Wiluna Police Station at the time.  He went on to become a well-known Inspector of Police in Perth.  He and Barney remained in contact for many decades after they had both left Wiluna. The Police Station was in Wotton Street, near the Post Office and the Club Hotel was further north along Wotton Street, on the corner of Wall Street.   By 1938, a sergeant and nine constables were stationed in the town, with one constable residing at the mine.

A big shed opposite the post office was used as a picture theater and in later years, became a meeting place for local indigenous groups. There was a large grocery store on the next corner up from the Commercial Hotel. The store was huge for that era – as big as any large grocery store in Perth after the War.   It was owned by Mr Laurie Gerick, a friend who shared Barney’s love of running.

Barney mentioned that he “used to run with Laurie Gerick….” years before.

Barney spoke of Laurie in conjunction with their days of running and preparing for competition in the Stawell Gift.  Among his possessions were a photograph showing him and other runners training together to compete in the Stawell Gift, in Victoria, however, does not include Laurie Gerick.  It is believed the friends may have traveled to the eastern states, probably by train, to compete in the famous footrace.   No mention of Barney, Laurie or any of these runners is held in the records of the Stawell Gift^[3].  However, whether they actually competed in one of the many heats is not known.  In 1915 alone, there were twelve first round heats on the Saturday and a further four second round heats or semi-finals on the Monday.  By 1924, the number of entrants had grown considerably, requiring twenty-three first round heats and five semi-finals.

 Jack Horsfall owned and ran the garage down on Wells Street, Wiluna, in those days of the Gold Rush and once again, this friendship extended well past the Wiluna days.

 Years later, Jack and his wife were operating a service station in Stirling Highway, Claremont, at the time Barney’s daughter was attending Claremont Teachers’ College in 1964-65 and the Wiluna friendship between Barney and Mr and Mrs Horsfall was soon extended to the next generation.    Another friend that Eva made in Wiluna was Edna Jeffery, who was nursing at Wiluna at the time the Andersons were residing at the Commercial Hotel.  On 12 December 1937, Edna’s son, Michael, was born.   Sir Michael Jeffery was later to become the 30th Governor of Western Australia (1993-2000) and the 24th Governor-General of Australia (2003-2008).   Eva and Edna rekindled their friendship many years later when both were living in Rockingham and sharing similar interests of working for the community.

The railway line ran out to the mine, where there was a large arsenic plant belonging to A. Victor Leggo & Co^[4].   The plant began operation on 17 April 1931.

It was reported in the Western Mail, that Arsenic production at Wiluna ended with the cessation of active mining.

Western Mail on Thursday 17 March 1932, on page 45

This is noted in the following article shown here from The West Australian:

The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 – 1954), Thursday 17 June 1948, page 18

Eva remembered that the tonnage of arsenic from the mine was far greater than the output of gold.  There was more arsenic than gold in the ore.  In fact, the arsenic plant was bigger than the gold mining at Wiluna.  On certain windy days, when there was a southerly wind blowing from the mines, a large arsenic cloud would descend over the town.

“It was impossible to put a bowl of water out for the dogs because the arsenic dust would settle on the water,” said Eva.

At the height of the gold rush, gold production was at four penny-weight to a ton of ore.  The mine is situated 15 miles east of the present town, on the Gun Barrel Highway.

The reconstruction of the Commercial Hotel was still in progress when the opening of the new main bar was announced on 19 September 1932.  It was 60 feet by 40 feet, featuring a huge island bar totaling 122 feet of counter space – claimed to be the largest in the state at the time.

LEFT: The island bar at the Commercial    Hotel, Wiluna, in 1934

There was one barmaid, a Miss Hilda Brackenridge, and six barmen ‘going for their lives’ from opening at nine o’clock in the morning until closing at 11 pm.   A distressed Eva recalled that by 9.30 am it was not uncommon to see little Aboriginal children rolling around on the floor, drunk.  Another two barmaids ran the saloon bar.

The beer came up from Perth in big wooden barrels.  Bottled beer arrived in large wooden crates of five dozen bottles – 12 to a layer; 5 layers to a case.   The beer was kept in a very large cool room and served in pots from a keg on the counter.    The keg had a wooden bung in it, from which the beer was poured.  There were nearly always two kegs on the counter, but on pay days there were four – one in each corner of the bar.

Although there were no facilities at the counter to keep the beer cool, a keg would seldom last long enough for the beer to get warm!

RIGHT: Barney & Eva with one of the barmen and a barmaid from the Commercial Hotel, Wiluna, in the mid-1930’s

On a normal day, the bar takings would reach around two to three thousand pounds – a considerable sum in those days.  One evening, Barney was quite drunk and Bill, the head barman, took charge of the takings.  He slept with all the money tucked safely inside his shirt!

Eva always said that on pay nights, the bar takings were incredibly high.  She mentioned that on more than one occasion, the takings totaled between £13,000 and £15,000 ($26,000-30,000).  That seems an extraordinary sum … but with up to 9 bar staff, four kegs on the bar at a time (which never lasted long enough to get warm) and with a population of 9000 mostly hot, dry, thirsty, single men, drinking from 9 am until 11 pm … ?

There were 10 to 12 garages in the hotel yard.  Two of them were used to store the wine, which was brought up to Wiluna in large casks.  Eva helped to bottle the wine from the 5-gallon wine casks into bottles and put labels on the bottles.  The Hotel staff consisted of 2 housemaids with 3 maids in the kitchen, 2 laundresses, 2 yardmen who served in the bar on busy days, 4 permanent barmen and 2 barmaids in the saloon bar plus Miss Hilda Brackenridge, the barmaid in the Main Bar.

In addition to their normal duties, the housemaids did the waiting in the dining room.  The dining room normally seated 40 guests and often more, if the commercial travelers were in town.  Frequent diners would include the ‘bank boys’, the manager of Millars’ Timber & Trading Co., the dentist and other professional and business people who, being mostly single men, would usually have their meals at the hotel.  Often Eva would need to get up from the table to help in the dining room.  In those days, she could carry 6 cups of tea or four or five plates of food at once.

The dining room at the Commercial Hotel, Wiluna, 1934

(This photograph was printed by the Lake Way Pharmacy, Wiluna)

Mrs Walkerden was the cook at the Commercial.  Her son was a jockey, who rode horses for Barney.  The laundress was Rene Howe, who later bought the laundry across the road from the Hotel and built up a thriving business of her own.  There were 40 rooms at the Commercial Hotel.  The housemaid was a Mrs Shepherd.  If the house was very busy, the parlour maid or the laundress would go upstairs to help out.  The other girls, the pantry-maid and the housemaids, were part of the floating population and were constantly changing.  Eva tended to all the linen requirements.

Eva had never been among ‘hotel’ people before and with her family experience regarding the effects of alcohol, was understandably wary in her new environment.  There were many business men and commercial travelers who frequented the hotel.  Barney felt that it was his duty to ‘watch out’ for Eva and protect her from any difficult situations that might arise in such a place.

In the Commercial Hotel at that time, everyone worked for wages, paid by the owner, Mr Reidy-Croft.  As manager, Barney was paid £12 ($24) per week with everything supplied.  This was considered quite a large sum in that era.  Cassie received £3 ($6) per week as housekeeper.  From Barney’s wage, Eva was given 30/- ($3) a week (double that which she received in Maylands) as companion to Mrs Anderson.

The housemaids and waitresses received £2/10/- ($5) and the cook drew £5 ($10) per week.

Due to her debilitating illness, Cassie was unable to do much of the work and her duties fell to Eva.  In those halcyon days, social class was highly defined.  A lady’s companion was socially ‘above’ the housemaids.  In reality, Eva did Mrs Anderson’s job, that of hotel manageress, arranging the linen, food and other housekeeping chores, in fact everything Mrs Anderson would normally have taken care of.

At that time, Cassie was taking fits or seizures every day.  At best, she could go for one week without ‘a turn’; but at one stage, she had 40 fits in 20 hours.  She was not conscious for the entire 20 hours.  After a seizure, she slept soundly for several hours.  Upon waking, she would then lapse into another seizure, followed in turn by another long sleep.

In November 1935, Barney was called by the State Licensing Bench, which was hearing applications for two provisional licences.  Thomas O’Shaughnessy, from the Club Hotel, Barney Anderson from the Commercial Hotel and Bernard J Casserley from the Weeloona Hotel, were objectors, who detailed the present accommodation at the respective hotels.  The Weeloona Hotel had nine permanent boarders, with the rest of the accommodation reserved for the travelling public.

The Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 950), Tuesday 5 Novemebr 1935, page 3, reported:  Mr Anderson said that contemplated extensions to the Commercial Hotel anticipated the requirements of the future.  His bar might be termed crowded at peak hours.  He had sent two men from Diorite to the Weeloona Hotel, as he did not have rooms at the moment.  The alterations to be made would meet any rush of business.

“Bedrooms and bars, at a cost of £3,000 ($6,000) were now being added to the Hotel.”

Barney enjoyed playing two-up and the school would always expect him on pay nights because he would take a ‘lot’ of money from the takings after the hotel closed at 11 pm and go down to join the two-up school.  He seemed to have a knack for two-up but his winning streaks were not popular at the school!

The ladies were not allowed to go downstairs on pay days.  Barney believed it was far safer for them to stay in their rooms upstairs.  With this in mind, in 1935, Barney taught Eva to drive so that she could take Mrs Anderson out of town for a drive on pay days.  Eva used to drive all around Wiluna, but when she approached Mr Gallagher for a licence, for some unknown reason, he advised: “Don’t get one up here.  Wait until you go to Perth and get a licence down there.”

Train Derailment at Wiluna, 30 March 1936

In this harsh, hot country town, as in many outback towns in Australia in those early days, people survived by their wits.  The climate and the conditions brought out the best – and the worst – of people.  It was sheer hard slog, but those who stuck it out, did so by their own ingenuity and determination to ‘make a go of it’, take advantage of the opportunities or generally manage as best they could. Each outback town had its fair share of interesting characters … and the gold mining town of Wiluna was no exception.

One old bachelor, named Paddy, lived two miles out of town at a camp in the riverbed.  He had two dogs, one of which was called Mick.  He chained both of these dogs to a tree in the riverbed on a very short chain.  When Paddy came in to town, he brought Mick, picked up a bottle of wine and strapped it around the dog’s neck.  Mick was expected to carry the bottle two miles out of town to Paddy’s camp.

One night, Laurie Gerick dreamt that Paddy’s two dogs were trapped on their chain and were drowning.  His dream was so vivid that he was motivated to get out of bed and go to Paddy’s camp.  His fears were not unfounded as the river had come down in a flash flood and, sure enough, there were the dogs with just their heads above the water, held down by their chains and struggling to survive.

Paddy was obviously not aware of the rain or the flash flooding – or maybe he just wasn’t in the camp.

After very heavy rain, the river was subject to sudden, heavy flooding.  The tree to which Mick was usually chained was in the middle of the river bed.  There was nowhere else to safely chain the dog.  During one such flood, Paddy decided to take Mick in to the hotel and told Barney the story, hoping Barney would buy the dog from him.  Barney’s love of and affinity with horses, also extended to dogs.  He gave Paddy a bottle of wine for the dog, thinking that as soon as Paddy was gone, the dog would follow him; but it never did.  Maybe this was because as soon as Barney took possession of the dog, he took it by the chain, led it upstairs and brought it a full leg of lamb from the kitchen.

“Old Mick” remained with Barney for the rest of the dog’s life.  Mick and a little black Pomeranian, called Toby, went everywhere with Barney, Cassie and Eva.

Barney with “Mick” at the water tank at Wiluna

Like his previous owner, Mick was also quite a character.   On a regular basis, he would wander into the tobacconist shop next to the hotel and put his paws up on the counter until Mr Gilmour, the tobacconist, gave him a peanut brittle.  Once a week, Barney would go down to Mr Gilmour’s store to pay the dog’s peanut brittle account!

Barney and Mick in the yard at the Hotel

Barney is seen in the doorway of what is believed to be the repertory Club at Wiluna.

There was a very popular and quite large repertory club in Wiluna, to which Barney belonged.  He was always there for rehearsals and meetings, although he did not take part in any productions as he had earlier in his life.  He is seen appearing in the doorway above left in the photo.

In 1935, Barney wanted to send Cassie on a sea trip to see if it would provide any benefit to her ailing health.  He asked Eva if she would accompany Mrs Anderson on a sea voyage to New Zealand.   Eva and Syd Short were to be married at Easter, 1935, so Syd was very much against Eva going abroad in the first months of that year.

Eva explained to her fiancé that she could not let Mrs Anderson travel alone.  She had already made up her mind that she would accompany Mrs Anderson to New Zealand and then stay with her for a couple of months after the trip until Cassie’s health settled down and the Anderson’s could get someone to take Eva’s place.  According to Eva, Syd ‘put on a show’ and the two of them began to ‘argue’ in letters.

In an effort to appease the situation and placate Syd, Eva travelled down by train to Perth to stay for a few days and try to sort it out with Syd – but the argument continued.  According to Eva, Syd appeared to be different.  He acted strangely and was frequently asking Eva the names of various people who worked in the hotel at Wiluna.  Eva returned to Wiluna a few days later with the situation still unresolved.

The next time Barney went to the post office to pick up the mail, he discovered what Eva described as ‘an incriminating letter’ written to himself from Syd Short.  According to Eva, Syd had enclosed malicious, ’pornographic’ letters about their relationship.   Syd claimed that these letters were written by Eva.

Back at the hotel, Barney showed Eva one of the letters and asked her if she had written it.  Eva indignantly replied, “No!   That’s not my handwriting.  I don’t write like that.  I can’t do those ‘r’s.”  As Barney went through the mail, he discovered other similar letters had been addressed to various people in the hotel, spreading malicious lies.

As luck would have it, the letters had been posted without stamps on them.  This meant Barney had to go back to the post office to pay postage for all the other letters.  Having done this, all the letters from Syd were now in Barney’s possession.  With that settled, Barney burnt the entire bundle of letters. As much as she hated to part with the pretty little engagement ring, Eva decided to pack it up and return it to Syd Short, thus breaking the engagement and putting an end to their relationship forever.

Pictured here are a few items of memorabilia that Barney kept over the years and which are connected to significant decisions he was later to make regarding his business.

An invitation to Barney from the Wiluna Road Board to attend a dinner held at the Club Hotel to welcome to Wiluna, Mr Claude De Bernales, Western Australian mining entrepreneur, and Sir William Campion, Governor of Western Australia, 1924 to 1931.

The front cover of the menu to that dinner.

The full menu and Toast List for the Dinner.

Fire at the Commercial Hotel

In 1936, fire broke out at the Commercial Hotel.

Fire was a risk in that hot, dry climate.  At one stage, it became almost a regular weekly occurrence.   One fire destroyed three large shops in the middle of the town.  They were the Men’s Mercer owned by Rowley Wedgewood, the Grocery shop owned by Laurie Gerick and the chemist owned by Norm Davies.

There was a race to get all the furniture out via the back stairways and down into the yard at the back of the Hotel in an effort to save as much of the furniture and belongings as possible.

In true country style, everyone pitched in to help and damage was minimised.

Death of a miner: It was reported in The West Australian newspaper on Wednesday 19 February 1936, page 21 that as a result of an explosion in the Moonlight Gold Mine at 11.30 o’clock that morning, the well-known miner and sportsman, Francis Thias Evenis, known as ‘Manassa’ had been killed and another man critically injured.   The men were working underground at the time and “… it is believed that Evenis bored into an unexploded charge…” which had been inadvertently left by the previous shift.”

The explosion caused multiple punctures about the waist and head of Mr Evenis, with large perforated wounds in the chest, forearm and lower jaw.  The article went on to say that:

“Evenis, who was married towards the end of last year, had an accident shortly afterwards and returned to work only a few weeks ago.” 

On Saturday, 22 February, the Geraldton Guardian and Express reported:

“Further particulars have been received regarding the tragic death of Frank Thias Evenis, aged 23 years, married, of Wiluna, who was killed in the Moonlight Mine at Wiluna on Tuesday morning last, and of the serious injuries sustained by Eric Robinson, aged 27 years, who was working with the deceased at the time. Statements obtained by Constable Alford, of Wiluna, disclose that at about 11 o’clock on Tuesday morning Evenis and Robinson were machine mining in the No. 2 level (No. 1 rise) of the east lode of the mine, and when engaged in boring out the drill struck a misfired hole and exploded the charge. Robinson was blown off the stage and sustained a depressed fracture of the skull, a compound fracture of the ribs and abdominal injuries, but was able to stagger some distance down the level, where he was met by two other mine workers (Herbert Gibson and Bob Lang), who rendered him temporary assistance.
Gibson and Lang were informed by Robinson before the latter collapsed that Evenis was up in the rise ‘upside down,’ and on hurrying to the scene of the explosion they saw the deceased’s body hanging by one leg from the stage. On being removed to the plat on a stretcher it was found that the body of the deceased was pitted with dirt, there was a large hole in the chest, and also one in the back, indicating that some object had passed clean through the body. The face was covered with blood. There were many injuries, including fractures of the right arm and upper jaw. On examination life was pronounced extinct by Dr H. D. Phipps, who later attributed the cause of deceased’s death to the perforating wound in the chest and to shock.”

At the inquest into the death, held at Wiluna on 6 March, John Butler, the underground manager of the mine, reported that:

“Men working underground are instructed to advise the shift boss of the number of holes fired and the number that go off.  If there is a miss it is entered in the log and the new shift is advised. The previous shift boss reported no miss holes.”

On Tuesday, 3 March 1936, the Western Argus, a Kalgoorlie newspaper, reported:

 “The funeral of the late Francis Thias Evenis, who was killed on the Moonlight mine last Tuesday, was the largest and most representative yet seen in Wiluna. The burial service was read by Rev. C. W. Collard (Methodist). The pall bearers were Messrs. J. Baker and W. Sampey (A.W.U.), J. Pettigrew (Wiluna Gold Mines), J. Hollier and W. O’Neill (Mines Rovers F.C.), and H. McKimm. Over 100 workers marched immediately behind the hearse and 60 cars completed the cortege. The second victim in the accident, Eric Robinson, is holding his own and has every prospect of recovery.”

Francis Thias Evenis was Eva’s first cousin. His father, George, was an older brother of Eva’s father.   Frank had married Lillian Delcy Newbon at Wiluna in late 1935^[5].

Headstone for Francis Thias in the C of E Section of Wiluna Cemetery

In January/February 1936, Cassie and Eva left from Wiluna on their cruise to New Zealand and Tasmania.  At Fremantle, they boarded the Moldavia for Sydney, before boarding another ship to sail to New Zealand.  Calling in at Tasmania on the return journey, the travelers re-boarded the Moldavia for the trip back to Fremantle. Eva spoke fondly of her trip to New Zealand for many years and particularly enjoyed their visit to the hot springs at Rotorua.

P & O Line’s RMS Moldavia

It was only discovered in 2014 that Cassie Anderson’s parents, both of Irish birth, were married in New Zealand.  Some of her family were still living there at the time of this trip but it is not known whether contact was made with any of Cassie’s extended family.

Mick and Barney (leaning on car at extreme right) enjoy a drink with mates outside the Commercial Hotel, Wiluna. (Note the beer bottles on the bonnets of two cars and the water bags on the front bumpers of two other vehicles.)

After two and a half years, it was time to move on.

With a small fortune, amassed during a ‘golden’ opportunity in the peak of the gold rush, the threesome left Wiluna in September 1936, driving via Kalgoorlie to enter the horses in the races on their way. As they set out, they stopped for the first night at the homestead of the Lake Way Station, where friends, Mr and Mrs White, had a guest house.  They had often dropped in to spend a night or a weekend with the Whites when living in Wiluna, so as they left for the last time, it was opportune to call in for a final visit.   The guest house was a couple of hours out of Wiluna.

In the car, Eva sat in the back with Mrs Sep Woolhouse, the wife of Barney’s horse trainer, and the two dogs.  Eva commented that through Leonora, the road was so rough that it

“… shook every bolt on the wheels loose and shook the windscreen out of the T-Model Ford”.

The Commercial Hotel in Wiluna was leased for 12 months following Barney’s departure but no further records have been found.  As the town declined, the Commercial Hotel finally closed some time in or after 1945.

[1] The Australian Inland Mission Aerial Medical Service (later renamed the Royal Flying Doctor Service) opened in Cloncurry, Queensland, 15 May 1928.

[2] Adam-Smith, P., “Folklore of the Australian Railwaymen”, Adelaide, 1969.

[3] Watt, Gary, “Stawell Gift Almanac, A History of the Stawell Gift”, 2008, Legacy Books

[4] Arthur Victor Leggo (1875-1942), metallurgist and merchant, who claimed, by the 1920s, to be the largest producer of arsenic in the Southern Hemisphere.  His company supplied chemicals for the leather, wool and rubber industries, and seed wheat pickles, sheep dip, rabbit poison, pest sprays and weed-killers to primary producers.

[5] WA Marriage Certificate Registration Number 58/1935, Murchison

Sunday Times 11 December 1932

ON THE GOLD TRAIL

‘Paddy’ – Whelan’s Claims
Not Borne Out by Lugg Party
A Warning That Was Justified

Excitement and hopes sprung from the faith of many Australians in the stories of the famous ‘ Lasseter’s Reef,’ but faded away with the failures of several expeditions through the Western Australian deserts. Now the hopes have been revived. Prospectors are setting out and company promoters are active as the result of the reported discovery of the mysterious reef, or one as good, by Patrick Whelan, of Kalgoorlie.

When ‘Paddy’ Whelan, four and a half months ago, set the local mining world agog with his account of an El Dorado at the Livesey Range (400 miles east of Laverton) in Central Australia, “The Sunday Times” urged that some confirmation of important points in his story was warranted before money was sunk into expeditions. Subsequent events have shown that that warning was justified.

Mining men in Perth are confident that Mr. Whelan has ‘struck it lucky.’ This sun-bronzed, weather-beaten man of about 50 years has made mining and prospecting his life’s study, and admits that he has had too many heartaches pursuing the elusive nugget to jump to hasty conclusions. Born in Pretoria, Transvaal (South Africa), ‘Paddy’ Whelan was mining with his father as a youngster. In 1893, they went to Western Australia together and tramped from Southern Cross to the new find, at Coolgardie. They went north to the boom at Siberia— so named because the pioneers considered the privations they endured there would have been more appropriate to Siberia. Except for a couple of years abroad with the 28th Battalion A.I.F., he has been in the gold country since, and his wife and two daughters are now living in Kalgoorlie. Mr. Whelan has always preferred to explore virgin country, with the result that few men, if any, know the interior of Western Australia better.

When he came to Perth last July, Whelan told a sensational story of his discovery of “staggering richness.” Receiving no small amount of encouragement, he added a little romance and adventure in the form of dangerous natives, spear wounds, a camel killed by native spears, an escape from death from thirst in the desert, etc. etc !!!

The Lugg party was one of quite a number encouraged to go into Central Australia by Whelan’s sensational reports. The above picture shows an Afghan and an Aboriginal preparing camel packs while Sam Hazlett (left) and R. Lugg look on.

Although no one in Perth at that time had seen any of the samples of rich stone referred to, it was later stated that they had been lodged in a bank at Kalgoorlie. A Perth-Adelaide syndicate was quickly formed to organise an expedition to accompany Whelan to the scene of his reported find at the Livesey Range, about 400 miles north-east of Laverton, and Government protection was secured on 36 leases which he claimed to have pegged there.

The warning issued by The Sunday Times was based on goldfields inquiries that did not corroborate certain points in Whelan’s story, on his statements to a representative of this journal, some of which were purely the work of an imaginative brain, and of a knowledge of some of his previous exploits.

Preparing For an Expedition

A party was sent out however, and with Whelan as a member got well on the journey to the Livesey Range, but they were forced back through lack water, since when further efforts to get on to the track have been unsuccessful owing, it is stated on behalf of the syndicate that Whelan was not well enough to travel.

In the meantime, another party (financed from Adelaide) led by Mr. R. B. Lugg, and with the well-known prospector and bushman, Sam Hazlett, as a member, set out for the reported find, using a motor truck and camels and travelling via the Warburton Range. Hazlett’s Well, at the Junction of Elder Creek and Hughes Creek, in the Warburton Range, was reached on November 5th, and then the truck moved on 30 miles as far as Lilian Creek, at the Townshend Range, whence the camel party made the final dash to the Livesey Range. This party comprised Messrs. Lugg, Hazlett and Hough, and native guides, with eight camels. The parched gap to be traversed, mostly sand hills, was 46 miles direct, but necessitated a journey of about 60 miles to the scene of the alleged find.

Twelve days later, this party returned to the camp at the Warburton Range (where the truck awaited them), weary, disappointed and disgusted. Where Whelan had reported big timber, they reported they found miles and miles of sandhills, and where he stated he had knapped rich specimens from the outcrop of a reef eight or nine miles long, they could not find a “colour”. Their report to their mates was that there was not a sign of the 36 24-acre leases Whelan stated he had pegged, and that sandhills surrounded the Livesey Range for many miles, the range itself (of comparatively small dimensions) being thoroughly prospected by them without the slightest indication of gold being found.

What the next step of the Whelan syndicate will be remains undecided, but in the meantime another party, with an aeroplane to assist it, is out giving the country a look over.

Three expeditions were made to find Whelan’s Claim with no success. The 716 shareholders were not to see a return for their investments.

The Telegraph (Qld) 3 June 1933, page 4

The Truth Perth 11 January 1931, page 11

TRAGIC END OF KANGAROO SHOOTERS

Image by GROK

Henry Dyer, 55, of New Zealand and Laurie Raunio/Raunis, 31, native of Orimattila, Finland, died on November 3, 1930, about 100 miles north-west of Wiluna from gunshot wounds, self-inflicted, while suffering the pangs of thirst. With this verdict last week, a Coroner dropped the curtain on the strangest and saddest suicide pact yet known in the West.

Western Mail Perth -19 October 1907, page 16

AN EAST MURCHISON TRAGEDY
THE DEATH OF STEPHEN GRACE – MURDERED BY NATIVES

A telegram was received this afternoon from Constable Walker, who proceeded from Wiluna to bury the body of Stephen Grace, one of Kirkpatrick Bros party of prospectors who was speared through the chest by natives about 200 miles North of Wiluna. Constable Walker states that the body was unrecognisable owing to decomposition.

It now appears that William Phillips, another member of the party, was speared at the same, time as Grace. Phillips, however, remained with the party, and is not dead, as first reported. Grace appears to have left his mates and attempted to reach Wiluna, following the line of the rabbit-proof fence, where he was found by Mr Craig, an inspector of the fence, who reported the matter to the Wiluna police. Constable Walker states that Kirkpatrick forwarded a message of warning to other prospectors to look out for hostile natives in the neighbourhood of Lake Disappointment.

The Kirkpatrick’s and Phillips are now supposed to be in the neighbourhood of Ophthalmia Ranges, 300 miles north of Wiluna. The party consisted of the two brothers Kirkpatrick, W. Phillips, and Stephen Grace. They left Black Range about June last with Government camels to prospect in the neighbourhood of Lake Kabbean. It was anticipated that the party would be absent for six months.

The following statement has been received by Sub-inspector Mitchell from the Nannine police: “Inspector Craig reports that on October 2 he met Grace, in company with Robert George, a boundary rider, at the 500-mile peg. Grace stated that he was a member of Kirkpatrick Bros prospecting party. About the beginning of September they were about 70 miles east of the 638-mile peg.

In the afternoon four natives came to the camp and obtained some food. The natives then left, and at about 2 o’clock on the following morning they returned, accompanied by a number of others, who attacked the party with short stabbing spears. The party was awakened by their dogs and Grace and Phillips were wounded. Phillips, who was not seriously wounded, remained with the party, and Grace was conducted to the rabbit-proof fence and handed over to George. Grace asked to be taken to Nannine, and Mr. Craig started with him. On October 9 they camped at the 380-mile peg. Grace was tired and complained of pain in his side, and was constantly coughing. The only mark was a scar on the ribs. He refused to eat anything and said that his journey was ended. Mr. Craig then sent a message to Wiluna and said

Grace spoke at intervals until midnight he sat up and said, “Why, it is all gold!’ and died half an hour later.

Bernard Colreavy and Stephen Grace – Photo SLWA

Little more is known about Stephen Grace’s life but the eulogies of his contemporaries show him to be staunch of heart, a loyal mate and a man to be relied on in difficulties. A fund was set up to collect money for Stephen’s mother aged 88yrs and sister who were fully dependent on him. £330 was raised, £25 being sent to Mrs Grace in Daylesford Victoria on the 27th Feb 1908 with the balance paid to her at £6 per month. Grace was 50 yrs old.

Why is it ‘All Gold’ were the last words spoken by Stephen Grace, prospector, who was speared by Aboriginal natives in the Lake Nabberoo country and died 50 miles north of Lake Way.

All Gold

All Gold! The death mist gathered round his eyes,
Stilling at last the murd’rous spear wounds pain.
The long slow track, beneath the burning skies, he trod again.

Again, belike, he strained his eager gaze,
Where the grey rocks loomed on the sky-line bold,
And saw them, in the tinging sunsets rays.
All gold -all gold!
All gold! Ere breath had left the crippled clay,
Say, did the fluttering spirit burst its bars
To cleave a path across the Unknown Way,
Athwart the stars?

From where the spinifex and mulga meet
Did dying eyes, all prescient behold
Pearl-gated, jasper-walled, the Shining Street
Of gold – pure gold?

All gold! All gold! Nor ever tongue shall tell,
Nor ever mortal pen shall mark the place.
But chant no requiem, and toll no knell
For Stephen Grace.

What thought he bore the unknown hero’s part,
His be the name to honour and to hold:
Type of the loyal mate, the lion heart-
All gold – all gold.

By well-known Goldfields poet and newspaper editor, Andre Hayward. This verse was thought one of his finest, created at a time of the greatest cultural flowering of the early gold rush days of the 1890’s and destroyed by the insanity of WW1.

Stephen Aloysius Grace, along with Bernard Colreavy, formed the Amalgamated Leaseholders and Prospectors Association in 1904. He was born in Ararat Victoria in 1865 and had four brothers and a sister. In 1899 he travelled to Western Australia with two of his brothers, Michael and John. Before he came to WA, Grace had an auctioneering business in Warracknabeal. Victoria, in 1900 where he was well-known throughout the district. On arrival in Kookynie WA, he set up an auctioneer, stock, share and finance agency. His brother John ran the Victoria Hotel at Niagara and his brother Michael ran a coaching service at Menzies. Both of Michael Grace’s sons, Stephen and Michael, were to die in France in WW1.

NOTE:  The Geraldton Historical Society arranged to re-inter his body in the Wiluna Cemetery in 1976 and marked his grave with a plaque.

Publication:  All Gold, The Death of Stephen Grace by Peter Bridge, Ian Murray, Gail Dreezens and Moya Sharp. This book can be purchased from Hesperian Press: 

All Gold – The Death of Stephen Grace

The place where Stephen Grace died on the Rabbit Proof Fence – Photo Phil Bianchi

Geraldton Express and Murchison and Yalgoo Goldfields Chronicle 22 January 1897, page 9

A TRAGIC FATALITY AT LAKE WAY

The sad news is just to hand from Lake Way that Jack Tulloch, the well-known and respected partner in Tulloch Willis and Co’s butchery business at Cue, Day Dawn and Leonora, has perished near Lake Way from want of water. The deceased and his partner, James Willis, were travelling with a large mob of sheep. A few strayed away, and the deceased and a native boy went after and found them, and started back for the main road, the boy being sent ahead to return with water, but went direct to the main camp instead.

Coolgardie Pioneer 23 Jan 1897

When Tulloch didn’t arrive Willis left at once with the boy to try and find him, but when he succeeded, he found that he had been dead several days. Where the deceased was found was within four miles of water and the body was surrounded by pools of water from a recent thunderstorm.

Great sympathy and regret are expressed by the deceased’s numerous friends.

Original grave and fencing surround of John Tulloch – Photo SLWA

John Aeneas ‘Jack’ TULLOCH was born in 1861 in Epping, Victoria to Aeneas TULLOCH (1827-1897 – born Scotland)) and Jane nee ROSE (1832-1864). He was a son of his father’s second marriage and was one of thirteen children. He came to Western Australia in 1893 with his half brother, Charles Robert TULLOCH,  who died in Menzies WA on the 9 Nov 1896 and is buried there. John Tulloch was buried at Abercrombie Well in the Shire of Wiluna where he was found. A witness at the burial was Donald Ross. The informant of his death was James Betts Willis, his partner. He was registered as ‘Ted Tulloch’, a drover, who perished in the Bush for want of water.

A bronze plaque will soon mark derelict grave of a pioneer.
From – The Weekend Mail 7 Jan 1956

The grave of a Murchison pioneer who died of thirst along the trail 59 years ago (now 128 years) will soon be marked by a memorial plaque. The pioneer, John Tulloch, was buried where he fell, about 30 miles from Lakeway, now known as Wiluna. Since then his grave has crumbled into disrepair. Well known pasturelist Gordon Gooch came to Perth from his Wandagee Station, 120 miles from Carnarvon, to buy a plaque for the grave. The Lake Way station owner Herbert Lukin will erect a new railing to replace the ant-eaten bush railing around the grave.

Murchison Times & Day Dawn Gazette – 19 Jan 1897

John Tulloch formed Tulloch, Willis & Co, with James Bett WILLIS and William KERR, a butchering business at Cue and Day Dawn, five years later they started business in Leonora. Mr Gooch’s father, George Gooch, was appointed their northwest buyer and the sheep were overlanded from his Wandagee Station to Leonora. On New Year’s Day in 1897 there was little feed around Leonora so it was decided to shepherd the sheep, 5000 wethers, near Lakeway.

Gordon GOOCH – Dalgety’s Review 8 December 1932, page 3

The plan was to take them over in mobs of 1000 as the butchering firm could accommodate them. The first 1000 were successfully overlanded by John Tulloch, James Willis and a native boy. When the second flock reached Lakeway and counting began, it was found that they were 100 short. Tulloch, a fine bushman, offered to go back alone for them but Willis insisted on sending a native stockman with his partner. He argued that a small mob of 100 may break up and be troublesome, so they set out together.

Nor-west cattle on Goldfields Pastures – Tulloch & Co Leonora

The next day the stockman returned with Tulloch’s Horse and told Willis that the boss was bringing the sheep in on foot. This didn’t worry Willis because Tulloch was hardy and often preferred to walk. When he didn’t arrive the next day, a search party was sent out. They found where Tulloch tracks had turned back, but there was no sign of him. A bigger party went out the following day. They found him dead from thirst.

But for the memories of other pioneers John Tulloch would have been forgotten. Soon the sons of these pioneers will ensure that he is remembered. The inscription on the simple bronze plaque reads –

Erected to the memory of John Aeneas ‘Jack’ Tulloch,
a pioneer of Lakeway, who perished from thirst
January the 2nd 1897, age 35 years.
A tribute by his friends.

Note – It is thought that this version of events might not be accurate, as no experienced bushman would ever let his horse go. Locals think he must have been suffering from sunstroke and became delirious, frightening the young native boy enough to make him leave Tulloch, yet too frightened to tell Willis. This is the only explanation that the locals would accept, knowing that Tulloch was such a fine bushman. He died only three miles from water.
Another version is that the native boy was sent Abercrombie well to get water. He reached the well but drank too much water and became ill and was able to was unable to return to Tulloch, who perished within 3 miles of the well.

Ledger with bronze plaques and the remains of the original headstone at Abercrombie Well – Photo Find a Grave – 26°53’05.0″S 120°20’36.0″E

James Bett WILLIS was also from the same town as Tulloch, Whittlesea Victoria.  James was born in 1864 to Abraham WILLIS (1830-1903) and Isabella BAND (1834-1898). He married Louisa WILLIAMS in Perth WA in 1904, the couple had one child, James Thomas WILLIS born Leonora WA in 1911. After Louisa’s death in 1939 he re married to Lillian Beryl McKEOWN in Albany WA in 1942, nine years before his death in 1951 aged 87 years. He is buried in the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth WA.

James Bett WILLIS – Photo TROVE

William KERR  was born in New Zealand and arrived in Western Australia with James Bett WILLIS in 1891. They joined in partnership with John Tulloch. When they extended their butchering business, William stayed behind in Cue to look after their interests there. He later purchased Moorarie Station in the Murchison and Opawa in the Mingenew area. He died in 1938 and is buried  in the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth.

References: Information on James B Willis supplied by Elizabeth Kenny (Granddaughter) – West Australian Lonely Graves by Yvonne and Kevin Coate – Article in the Weekend Main by Owen Harkness – Find a Grave

As often happened in the early days, the first site considered for a cemetery ground became unsuitable usually because of things such as proximity to the living areas or water supply or perhaps the ground was too hard to dig. This happened at Wiluna, and after less than five years of use and 20 burials, it was decided to re-gazette the current cemetery ground which was further away from the township.

Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery
Dec 1898 to May 1903

Coordinates: -26.60696  –  120.22075

Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery Sign  – Photo Find a Grave

With lonely old graves where departed souls sleep,
Where a merciful god a vigil must keep
Till the trumpet is heard on that final last day
Let us never disturb them, just leave them that way.

CARSON Samuel – d 16 May 1901, 60 years, at Wiluna, Occ: Prospector, Cause: Pneumonia, Born: Ireland, Reg: 1528/1901, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

Samuel Carson – Plaque by outbackgraves.org

FITZPATRICK Hazel Gwendoline – d 11 Jul 1903, 2 months, at Wiluna, Father: Patrick Walter FITZPATRICK, Mother: Kate NOONAN, Reg: 1620/1903, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

Hazel Fitzpatrick – Plaque by outbackgrave.org

FITZPATRICK William Francis – d 1 Feb 1903, 1 year, at Wiluna, Father: Patrick Walter FITZPATRICK, Mother: Kate NOONAN, Reg: 1610/1903, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery

GAFFNEY Claude Walter – d 31 Oct 1900, 17 months, at Lakeway, Father: Walter Prior GAFFNEY, Mother: Amy Blanche SMITH, Born: Elsternwick, Glen Eira City, Victoria in 1899, Reg: 1408/1900, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

Claude Gaffney – Plaque by outbackgraves.org

GREEN Albert Arthur – d 14 Jan 1902, 24 years, at Wiluna, Cause: Typhoid, Father: John GREEN, Mother Eleanor GRAY, Born: Rosedale, Wellington Shire, Victoria in 1877, Reg: 1666/1902, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

Albert Green – Plaque by outbackgraves.org

HOWARD Thomas Patrick ‘Tom’  – d 12 Apr 1903, 31 years, at Lakeway, Cause: Blood Poisoning, Father: Thomas HOWARD, Mother: Catherine LEE, Born: 7 Jul 1871 in Nambour, Queensland, Reg: 1616/1903, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

Thomas Howard – Photo Find a Grave – Boer War  -Boxer Rebellion, Private, SN 215, 3rd Queensland Mounted Infantry,

Thomas Howard

KEWLEY Arthur Nicholas – d 30 Oct 1899, 31 years, at Wiluna, Occ: Tinsmith, Father: William Henry KEWLEY, Mother: Jane Agnes JOUGHIN, Single, Born: in 1867 in Beaufort, Pyrenees Shire, Victoria, Reg: 1372/1899, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.
Murchison Times and Day Dawn Gazette 9 November 1899, page 2 – Lakeway
On Monday October, 30th, Mr Arthur Nicholas Kewley, aged 33, died from consumption. Mr. Kewley was a recent arrival, being only two months on the field, and during that time he was staying with his sister, Mrs. A. Ireland, who attended to him. Mr. Kewley was well known in Fremantle and Northam. In the latter place, he was in business as a tinsmith. He took a great interest in sport and gained the esteem of those with whom he came into contact. The funeral, which took place on Tuesday, was largely attended. Lake Way has a record, as this is only the second death since the place was first formed.

Western Mail 11 August 1938, page 11

Arthur Kewley – Photo Phil Bianchi

MAHONEY William – d 7 May 1903, 36 years, at Wiluna, Father: James MAHONEY, Mother: Catherine CANNY, Born: 1867 at Kapunda, South Australia, Reg: 1619/1903, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery. (Last Burial)

MCCOLL unnamed male – d 3 Dec 1901, Cause: Stillborn, Father: Hugh MCCOLL, Mother: Elena Anna PURTILL, at Wiluna, Reg: 1662/1902, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

MCCOLL Elena Anna – d 6 Dec 1901, 33 years, at Wiluna, Father: Thomas PURTILL, Mother: Ellen MCNAMARA, Born: 1868 in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, Married to Hugh MCCOLL, Reg: 1663/1901, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

Elena McCOLL – Plaque by outbackgraves.org

MCKENZIE Robert – d 30 Nov 1901, 46 years, In the bush about 22 miles North of New England, Cause: Died of thirst, Born: in 1854, Scotland, Reg: 1673/1902, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

Robert McKenzie – Plaque by outbackgraves.org

MERCHANT Herbert George William ‘Albert’ – d 22 Nov 1902, 27 years, at Wiluna, Father: Thomas MERCHANT, Mother: Sarah Jane HOOTON, Born: 17 Oct 1875 at Four Mile Creek, Cabonne Shire, New South Wales, Reg: 1676/1902, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery

MORRISON John Alexander ‘Jack’ – d 24 Apr 1903, 41 years, at Wiluna, Cause: Typhoid, Father: Alexander ‘Sandy’ MORRISON, Mother: Margaret ‘Mary’ MCPHERSON, Married to Catherine Agnes O’BRIEN in 1889 Victoria, Born: 1862 in Yan Yean, Whittlesea City, Victoria, Five Children, Reg: 1617/1903, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

John and Catherine Morrison – Photo Find a Grave

OWENS Richard – d 4 Jan 1903, 32 years, at Wiluna, Occ: Miner, Born: Amlwch, Isle of Anglesey, Wales, Reg: 1607/1903, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

Richard Owens – Plaque by outbackgraves.org

QUINLAN Thomas – b 12 Jan 1903, 36 years, at Wiluna, Cause: Typhoid, Born: 1866 in Victoria, Reg: 1608/1903, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

Thomas Quinlan- Plaque by outbackgraves.org

SMITH William George – b 19 Dec 1898, 24 years, at Lakeway, Cause: Fall from a dray, Father George SMITH, Born: 1874 in Whittlesea City, Victoria, Reg: 1579/1898, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery. (First Burial)

SVICAROVICH Visko – d 3 Feb 1903, 16yrs, at Wiluna, Occ: Labourer, Cause: Intussusception, Syncope, blockage of the bowel, Father: Dominic SVICAROVICH (Farmer), Mother: Katie CILK, Born: Dalmatia, Austria, in WA 1 month, death registered by Anton SVICAROVICH (Brother), Reg 5/1903 East Murchison, RC, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

WILKS Ivy Iris – d 8 Feb 1903, 3 weeks, Father: Alfred WILKS, Mother: Elizabeth SAUNDERS, Reg: 1612/1903, at Wiluna, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery

WILLIAMS William Watkin – b 29 July 1901, 51 years, at Wiluna, Cause: Congestion of lungs and heart disease, Born: 1850 Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery.

William W Williams – Plaque by outbackgraves.org

WILSON Archibald Balantine – d 22 May 1901, 65 years, at Wiluna, AKA Archibald Wilson Balantine, Occ: Auctioneer and Newsagent, Cause: Suicide by severing artery in arm with a razor, Born: 1836 in Scotland, Reg: 1529/1901, Buried Wiluna Pioneer Cemetery

Archibald Wilson – Plaque by outbackgrave.org

Grave of Michael Tobin – Monument Australia – Photo Chris McLoughlin

Michael TOBIN died on the 7th of April 1907 aged 33 years at Wadda Waddah Well or No 40 Well on the newly proposed stock route from the Kimberly called the Canning Stock Route. He was buried on a sandy ridge 250 metres from well No 40. His burial was confirmed by A G Clifton and H M Lawlers, witnesses present at the burial were Joseph Tobin (his brother) and Alfred Wernam Canning. His death was registered by Alfred Wernam Canning, Officer in Charge of the survey party on the stock route. Robert Shaw Moody marked the tree at the head of Tobin’s grave after helping to bury him. His death was registered as Pilbara 11/1907.

Tobins Grave and blazed tree in 1940 – Photo SLWA

Tobin was the foreman of the Government boring party for the Wiluna Kimberly Exploration Expedition (W.K.E.E) and was speared by a native, Mungkututu, causing his death. Born circa 1874 in Burra Burra, South Australia he was the son of Irish parents, Michael Tobin and Mary Anne nee Hickey (later Kelly). He was a member of the first survey expedition led by Alfred Wernam Canning in 1906. Which was doing a preliminary survey for the stock route from Wiluna to Halls Creek. Lake Tobin was named in his honour. He had lived in WA for 13 years.

An old bloke, Robert Shaw Moody, a practically unknown pioneer, stepped back out of history to return to the Halls Creek he had known as a wild frontier town near the beginning of the 1900s. Early in 1906, the government decided to send a party to explore the so-called desert country between Wiluna and Halls Creek. The idea was to establish a stock route along which beef could be taken from the East Kimberly to the Goldfields. Canning was made the leader of the expedition which left the Wiluna on the 29th of May 1906 and headed north to Halls Creek.

Expedition Members: Front row – Tom Burke – Michael Tobin – Hubert Trotman
Back Row: Joseph Tobin – Alfred Wernam Canning – Edward Blake (Cook) – Otto Baumgarten – Photo: Geological Survey WA & TROVE

Rob Moody was a member of that expedition which explored the route and also the second expedition which established the watering places. It was on the first trip that Tobin was fatally speared by a desert Aborigine called Mungkututu near one of the native wells. He was approaching Mungkututu to question him about the water in the area when the native stabbed him with a spear, wounding him in the head. The spear passed through his temple and out through the lobe of his ear entering into his shoulder. Mungkututu, who was armed with several spears ran away a few yards, then turned and hurled his spear at Tobin, who raised his rifle at the same time and fired, killing him. The spear struck Tobin in the chest and he died some hours later in great pain. His final word was just ‘Goodbye’, he  was buried beside the claypan the next day. Canning was to say:

“The Expedition was a success which was only marred by the sad loss of Mick Tobin who had worked though with the greatest intelligence and goodwill, his death being a great shock to the party with whom he was a general favorite.”

The second Canning expedition erected a marble cross encased in galvanised iron on Tobin’s grave. The grave is on the east side of the tree and on the other side the letters WHEE for Wiluna Kimberly Exploration Expedition are carved. The men were unable to install the cross on the upward journey as they had to continue on for stores, so they dug a deep hole and buried the cross temporarily covering it with heavy steel and well material. One their return they found local natives had dug up the cross and had chipped flakes off it to use as spear heads. To prevent further damage, using two old buckets, they then encased the cross in a U shaped frame. They then built a fence around it.

Canning Exploration Party leaving Day Dawn 7 May 1906 – Photo P Strugnell – TROVE

About the Canning Stock Route:

East Kimberly cattle suffered from a disease transmitted by ticks called red water fever. A total quarantine was placed on the cattle which meant that they could not be driven South through disease-free country. Pastoralists of the East Kimberly successfully lobbied for an inland stock route. Alfred Wernam Canning, a contract surveyor, was appointed surveyor in general. Canning’s deputy, Hubert Stanlake Trotman, with whom Canning had a farming partnership, assembled the survey team which left Day Dawn near Cue on the 7th of May 1906 and met Canning at Wiluna.

The local police loaned canning an Aboriginal tracker named Charlie, and the party left Wiluna on the 29th of May 1906. They overlanded roughly 1500 kilometres through the Gibson, Little and great Sandy deserts, over sand hills running roughly east and West.

The Late Michael Tobin – Western Mail 3 Aug 1907 pg 3

On completion of the 14-month survey, Canning reported to the Department of Lands that it would be possible to establish a stock route. In 1908, Canning was selected to lead the well-sinking expedition. Henry William Beamish Talbot, a West Australian Government geologist, travelled with the well-sinking party. Again, Hubert Trotman supervised the arduous task of packing the camels. Throughout the survey, he had the job of finding Aboriginal guides to help find water for the party and their stock. The Canning Stock route is now part of the Heritage Trail network. A project for community participation devised by the Western Australian Heritage Committee. A Commonwealth and State bicentennial project.

Mungkututu’s Headstone – located near Tobin’s. However, Mungktutu wasn’t buried there,he was buried that evening 1½ -2 miles away on a large sand ridge, slightly north of west from the well – Photo by Phil Bianchi

References:
Work Completed Canning – A Comprehensive History of the Canning Stock Route 1906-2010 by Phil Bianchi
Western Australian Lonely Graves – by Yvonne and kevin Coate – TROVE- Monument Australia

My good friend and fellow historian, Phil Bianchi, recently wrote a book on the well-known bushman, tracker, drover and pastoralist Tommy Ningebong. Tommy was a highly regarded Aboriginal man from the Wiluna district. Phil tells me that every person he interviewed about Tommy for the book spoke of how Tommy was a such a genuine person, a hard worker and a most lovable chap.

The following is an extract from Phil’s book and part of an article he did for the Western 4wdriver’s Spring/current edition magazine. Many thanks, Phil for your kind permission to share the story. Details of where to purchase the book are at the end of the article.

Tommy Ningebong
Bushman, Tracker, Drover, Stockman and Pastoralist

Tommy Ningebong was born at Well 9 on the Canning Stock Route (CSR), circa 1900. He lived all his life in the Wiluna, Carnegie Station and Carnarvon Range area; working as a stockman, tracker, horse breaker, dogger, camp cook and gardener. The spelling of his surname is Ningebong and not Ingerbong as thought by many. He, however, preferred to be known as Tommy. Tommy didn’t see himself as an Aborigine living in a white man’s world. He saw himself as a person living within the Wiluna district community, and was welcomed and treated as such. He was held in high regard by Wiluna identities, with many willing to provide assistance and help him fight the bureaucracy to protect his rights.

Tommy Ningebong – Photo courtesy of Keith Quartermain

Tommy was never initiated, he left his tribal group when quite young. His first brush with white men occurred during the construction of Well 9 on the CSR in 1908 when explosives were detonated. His terrified mother grabbed him, and they ran off.

Henry Ward Snr was at Windich Springs circa 1912. Tommy and two other boys were there and were offered jobs. Tommy first worked as a stock boy on Millbillie Station and then lived with Fred Pope near Granite Peak Station. Pope taught him saddlery and horse handling. By 1919, Tommy was breaking horses for the Indian Army remounts and the Australian Light Horse.

Tommy Ningebong – Photo Bill Cresswell

Tommy was a strong man in the 1930s, and locals encouraged him to enter the shotput events at the Wiluna sports day. In preparation for the event, Tommy practised by throwing a small anvil. When it came to his turn, he found the shot was half the weight of the anvil and he threw it so far he embarrassed the competition. On one occasion during fencing on Millrose Station, the fencers were unable to get a cart loaded with fencing wire across a lake. Picking up 3 coils of wire at one time, one on each shoulder and one around his neck, a total weight of 150 kilos, Tommy took them across.

Tommy was an expert tracker and bushman; he first rose to prominence through his expert tracking abilities; skills that enabled him to lead the police party through the desert in search of, and the eventual arrest of the murderers of Joseph Wilkins, killed in 1936.

Tommy’s horse yard at Blue Hills 1998 – Photo Yvonne Coate

Tommy was then engaged to act as an interpreter at their trial. At the trial, he said he found Wilkin’s dead horse at well, 13, on the CSR, he recognised it by its white face and one eye. He followed the horse tracks to Well 13 on the CSR and then lost them and went back to Wiluna. Returning with constables Larsen and Pollard, they found the body of Wilkins. Tommy recognised Wilken’s red hair and the saddle and saddle bags, in particular, the britching of the pack saddle by the number of holes it contained – he had previously seen Wilkins doing the riveting.

He knew from previous experience that one of the tracks at Wilkins death site belonged to an Aborigine named Meloora. Following these tracks, they arrested the murderers Meloora and Yalyalli at Well 17. Tommy was then asked to be an interpreter at the trial, translating for various Aboriginal people. They were found guilty and sentenced to death, which was later commuted to 10 years gaol.

Tommy working with sheep on Earaheedy Station 1950’s – Photo Norma Ward.

In the mid-1930s Tommy was driving a Chevrolet some 30 miles from Millrose when it stopped. Undeterred, he hitched a horse to the front of the ‘Chev’ and standing up in the vehicle, steering it with one foot and, steering the horse with long reins, he returned to the homestead.

Tommy loved dogs; he would keep a ragged and torn blanket for himself and give his new blanket to the dogs. He gave his dogs strange and amusing names such as Lizarder, Wanderer, Sweet Apple and Red apple.

With the support of Pope, the Wards, Cresswell’s and other local families, Tommy applied for a pastoral lease of 134,530 acres west of Well 5 on the CSR. The application was approved in 1956 and he called it Blue Hill Station. Blue Hill was part of Tommy’s tribal country which centred on the CSR Well 9.

Tommy had a very adaptable attitude, he didn’t mind whether he worked with sheep or cattle and was always working at fixing things. He didn’t see clothes as a fashion, he would save money by patching and repairing them and would continue to wear the same clothes until they were completely worn out. He usually wore shorts in summer and long’uns in winter. Watch and pocket knife pouches hung from his belt. Tommy did not like socks. He would wear the sleeves section but the bottoms had to be cut off. If he was given new boots, he would want a larger size so that the air could get to his feet, or he would just cut holes in them.

His cigarettes were always rolled with three papers looking more like a cigars. When Tommy wanted supplies, he would place an order with Gilly Isbel at H Eves & Co storekeepers in Meekatharra. Because Tommy couldn’t write, he and Gilly developed a system where Tommy drew pictures of what he wanted, with Gilly interpreting the list and supplying the goods. Some of the drawings Tommy used include.

Lemon and melon jam – Tommy drew a lemon and a melon.
Matches – a square box and a single match with the flame.
Tobacco – a face with smoke coming from it.
Tea – a packet and a Billy can with the spout on it.
Flour  – a big bag with no ears.
Sugar – a bag with ears.
Soap – A hand with a cake of soap in it.

L-R – Bill Small – Tommy Ningebong – Sue Small – Photo Joy Smith

Billy Cresswell from Granite Peak remembers Tommy being well-liked. He recalls Ningebong being Fred Popes offsider and working for various pastoralists around the district, doing jobs such as fencing, mustering and well sinking.

Tommy was in charge of feeding the pigs at Prenti Downs where he developed a liking for them, often cooking them Johnny cakes. Being an enthusiastic worker, the only way to get Tommy to have a day off was to tell him it was Sunday every two or three days. A Native Title determination over his country on the 6th of June 2016 included Ningebong as one of the common law holders of the native title for the Birriliburu People.

Dogger Peter Moore had a strong friendship with Tommy. He described Tommy’s camp as basic with a bough shed and furniture in the style of ‘Saltbush Bill’. The furniture was made from mulga logs and rails. The table was made of squared rails supported by four posts sunk into the ground. The chairs were made of mulga and were so heavy that they were almost impossible to lift. On one visit Muir saw that a new small hut had been built. He also noticed the table and chairs had not been moved. The Hut had been built around them.

In his advancing years, Tommy worked for the Linkes on Carnegie and Prenti Downs Station as Gardener. He refused to take sit-down money ‘welfare’ preferring to work. Tommy had an infectious laugh. He would finish each sentence with an ‘eh’ even if the subject wasn’t particularly funny; one couldn’t help laughing with him. Tommy Ningebong was a wonderful man, a man with a charming eccentricity. He was highly regarded in the Wiluna district and a real gentleman.

Tommy died peacefully at Prenti Downs on the 5th of November 1978. A number of geographic features in the area are named after him.

Tommy Ningebong’s Grave at Wiluna Cemetery – Photo Phil Bianchi

Tommy Ningebong – bushman, tracker, drover, stockman and pastoralist.

Tommy Ningebong – by Phil Bianchi

Bushman, tracker, drover, stockman, pastoralist, Aboriginal Ningebong was an extraordinary individual. C1904-1978 he spent most of his life in the wider Wiluna area. He was a favourite of the local people and many are the stories of his solidity and of course his little quirks. This biography places on record his life and peoples appreciation of him. He was the principal witness in the trial of the murderers of trapper Joe Wilkins in 1937 and in a rustling trial in the 1970s. He was one of the first Aboriginals to have his own pastoral Lease. – $25.00 + Post from Hesperian Press or the Eastern Goldfields Historical Soc

Sunday Times:  6 June 1920

George Cole, the discoverer of Cole’s Find, 11 miles south of Wiluna, Is a scion of a family of 15, four of whom first saw the light within an interval of eleven months. His father and mother are both living. Mrs Margaret Cole (nee Grady)  is a resident of Newcastle Street, her husband being one of the best-known pioneers of the far outback country, he having overlanded to Wiluna, via Eucla, from New South Wales with his wife and their family, during the early eighteen-nineties.

Three of the Cole boys enlisted for the war, and a fourth tried several times to do so, but, much to his, chagrin, was turned down. Of the three Cole heroes, one made the supreme sacrifice, another was seriously wounded and gassed, while George, the lucky prospector of the Wiluna find, got through the terrible ordeal without a scratch.

Henry Thomas Cole, the head of this virile clan of nine stalwart sons and six bonnie girls is in his 69th year. He stands 6ft. 2in in his socks, and is as erect as a sentinel. His steel grey eyes flash with tile resplendence of Brazilian diamonds when he, with Kitchener-like equipoise, relates to his auditors that his mother is still an active resident of the back blocks of New South Wales and is going strong. In her 97th year!  Moreover, his wife had two sets of twins in 11 months, and one of his daughters commenced her matrimonial enterprise by presenting her lord and master with a pigeon pair.

The fortunate discoverer of the recent field is the juvenile of Mr and Mrs Henry Cole’s nine sons. The writer of this tale first met him at Leonora, last December, when the young hero, of about 20 summers, started out with a comrade-in-arms named James Ridley, who was the owner of the best-equipped tandem team that ever left the town. Later in the month, I met Cole and Ridley at Lawlers, 80 miles further north, where they were given a hearty send off. their equipment from the Repatriation Department, together with the appointment of their expedition in general, and their self-reliance withal, being the admired of the admiring.

A bush camp in the back blocks – Photo SLWA

At Mt. Sir Samuel, 36 miles N.E. from Lawlers, George Cole met his father, whom he had not seen since his two brothers and he had enlisted to fight the Hun, an interval of upwards of four years. After spending a couple of days in the old mining town, which, like Lake Way (Wiluna), immortalises the name of a recent Chief Justice of South Australia, Ridley and Cole drove their tandem, in shifts, for another 50 miles, as far as Mt Keith, where they agreed to differ as to their expedition’s future destinations and operations, Cole decided to prospect Mt. Lawrence, on the slopes of which his valuable find is located, while Ridley decided to remain at Mt. Keith to help an old friend named Ryan to develop a claim he had been working in that vicinity. So, like Abraham and Lot of old, the two heroes separated – Cole going to the right hand and Ridley going to the left hand.

Mrs Margaret Cole (nee Grady) mother to the ‘clan’ – Photo Ancestry.com

The tandem team, belonging to the Repatriation Department, Cole left with Ridley, together with the whole of their other equipment, and single-handedly, he started for Mt Lawrence, 35 miles away. En route, he came across the camp of George McHugh, the under-ground manager of the Violet mine, which Mr. de Bernales is about placing upon the London market. McHugh and Cole are old friends. Consequently, the former’s sulky and horse were immediately placed at the disposal of the young soldier, who made straight for his objective, Mt. Lawrence, on the southern side of which he came across the auriferous belt that is now a hive of industry and is known throughout the Commonwealth as Cole’s Find. George McHugh was the first to be informed of the new discovery, and after confirming his anticipations, by the activities of the dolly and the dish, McHugh resigned his position on the Violet and joined Cole, as partner-halves in his bonanza.

Four claims, comprising of 7 acres were pegged out before the townspeople of Wiluna were aware of the sensational find that had been made within pistol shot, as it were, of their lawns and flower gardens. But, just as Cole and McHugh were driving their last peg, about 3.30 a.m., a rush had set in, with the result that upwards of 20 claims were applied for before sundown.

Daily Telegraph and North Murchison and Pilbarra Gazette 2 November 1927

Leonora Holding Yards with 200 head of cattle from Mr J Willis’s property, Wongawol Station – Photo SLWA

P Cole, of Wongawol Station, is one of the big family of boys well known in the outback W.A. Tom Cole of the Kimberly brought the first mob of cattle via Canning’s track in 1909. All the boys are hefty chaps, but Dad, a wiry old bird usually came out a little ahead in the family altercation. If the Coles’s cared to wrangle amongst themselves it was considered unlucky for outsiders to but in.

On Christmas day 1916, the Cole Clan gathered at their homestead, Old Cork Tree on the Lawlers road. The boys had come in from all over the country bringing, as was their wont, big cheques which were at once handed to Mum. As the day wore on the fun became rather strenuous, and Paddy thought fit to make certain comments on his father’s behaviour in a bygone quarrel. A merry rough-up promptly ensued. When peace again spread her radiant wings over the festive scene, one of the boys asked his brother why he had plugged Dad. Through a split lip and after spitting out a surplus tooth or two Paddy said “Oh I only wanted to see if he has “slipped” since I was home last — but he hasn’t.”

FOOTNOTE:- Their father, Harry Ernest Cole, a fine bushman, was accidentally killed by a tram in Hay St, Perth in 1923.

Stockmen – Photo Roger Garwood

Coles Find:  La 26° 44′ 45″ S & Lo 120° 12′ 29″ E, is 11 miles south of Wiluna.

William ‘George’ Cole is buried in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery, where his brothers James Cole, Herbert Hughie Cole and his sister Rosetta Mary Bawden (nee Cole) are also interred.

Plaque on the grave of George Cole, Kalgoorlie Cemetery – Photo Find a Grave.