I am sure you will all have seen the beautiful Laslett Building in Hannan Street which the family built and which stands on the site where this photograph was taken.
I just love the following photo, as our Family is in Real Estate I found it particularly fascinating. It is of the Laslett family who owned the first Real Estate (or Land Agent as it was called then) business in Kalgoorlie. Not only that, but it is just a wonderful family photo. Seated on the rear of the camel is Henry E Laslett with his second youngest child Stella Laslett, the boy in front is not named but he was the ‘office boy’ standing next to them are three aboriginal sisters in European dress. To the right are Herbert Arthur Laslett (Henrys brother) Louisa Laslett Nee Walker (Henrys wife) holding their youngest child Rita. Rita has the most unusual full name which was ‘Rita Kalgoorlie Fedral Laslett’ a most unusual name, especially for a little girl don’t you think? Next to Louisa is Granny Pimm, a local midwife then Emily Walker, Louisa’s mother. The three other girls are Ethel, Ruby and Emily Laslett. Note the skipping rope, the girls must have just stopped playing for a moment to have their picture taken, and of course Spot the dog is also named. This photo is courtesy of Bruce Reynolds the son of Emily Laslett.
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Moya Sharp
Owner at Outback Family History
My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.
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Hello Moya
Can you point me in the general direction of more information regarding the Laslett family (my mother’s maiden name was Laslett with her father being Francis).
Donna Gaynor
As a boy, I was told stories by my great grandmother Ethel of her childhood in Kalgoorlie in the 1890s where her father, Henry Edward Laslett, was the town’s first real estate agent. In this photo from about 1894, his office is shown behind the group. The family lived in a hessian house – probably the one in the background to the left. It was virtually a tent with a simple timber frame and a corrugated iron roof.
Ethel is the eldest of the three girls shown in the family photo – third from the right. Henry is the man standing closest to the head of the camel.
Seated on the camel is his brother Herbert Arthur Laslett who was briefly engaged with Henry in selling water condensers but didn’t stay long in Kalgoorlie. He went on to become a policeman in Fremantle, Jarrahdale then Day Dawn before leaving the force in 1909 to become the publican of the Exchange Hotel in Pinjarra, owned by Henry. With him is his eldest son Arthur Edward. A later son by Herbert’s second wife was Francis Kerr Laslett who is likely Donna’s grandfather.
For more information, the best public sources for the Laslett family are:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/ – search for any of the Lasletts by name
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/KN84-L5Z – public family tree for Edward, the father of Herbert and Arthur
http://www.laslett.info/family/history/ – a collection of many branches of the worldwide Laslett / Lasslett family tree.
You can contact me via the links on my contributions to these people’s records on the FamilySearch tree, or through my shared trees on Ancestry.com, MyHeritage or FindMyPast that are likely to pop up in your searches in these sites.
Happy ancestor hunting!