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 […]
The Story of the Murchison – part 2
Following on from the first part of this tale from earlier in the year: The Story of the Murchison Part 1 Extract from a paper prepared by F Bateson and read to the WA Historical Society on the 25 October 1946. Early in 1895, I (Frederick W Bateson) was offered a position at the Star […]
The Wiluna Crossing Smash
James Farrell Read Age 18 who was killed in a train collision at Wiluna in 1936. Kalgoorlie Miner – 2 April 1936, page 4 WILUNA GROSSING SMASH TWO KILLED AND FIVE INJURED TAXI SMASHES INTO RAIL TANK The already long list of level crossing fatalities was added to yet again last night when two persons […]
Charlie the Goose and The Goose’s Puzzle
No one knew his real name and it was thought that Charlie himself too was hazy on that point. There are many colourful characters in the Early Goldfields of Western Australia but the tales of ‘Charlie The Goose’ must be amongst the best. As you will see from these stories, taken from the newspapers of […]
George GAYFORD, Prospector – grave tales
This is a photograph of George Gayford, a prospector, taken about 1935 in Wilina. He died the same year as this photo was taken. He is buried in the Wiluna Cemetery. I have always thought this image captures the hard life of the prospector in the early days. How tough must he have been to […]