Its not often there are identified photos of private houses. Here are a selection of the types of homes and gardens in Kalgoorlie in 1909 from the Western Argus.

‘Glasyn” The Residence of Mt Bignell, Burt Street, Boulder

A G Lovell Lewis Street, Lamington Cnr Lewis and Thurmott Sts.

Mr J Cosson,  Wittenoom St, Boulder

Mr Mendoza Lyall Street Lamington

Mr Laybourne-Smith Burt Street Boulder

The post A Desirable Residence- appeared first on Outback Family History.

The following biographies have been researched by – Dave Spain

PTE James Caldwell was born in Kanowna on or about January 1899.  He enlisted in Perth, Western Australia, on the 23^rd March 1917.  His Father was James Jonas Caldwell and his Mother was Charlotte Caldwell nee Gardner.  They resided at 68 Padbury St, Perth.  It appears he increased his age by 1 year on his final enlistment medical.  He was 5ft 7inches tall (170cm) and weighed 148 lbs (68kg).  He was of fair complexion with grey eyes and light brown hair. His religion was Church of England.  His occupation was a shop assistant and he was single.

PTE J Caldwell embarked from Fremantle on the 29^th June 1917 and arrived at Plymouth on the 25^th August 1917 on the HMAT A30 (the Borda).  He attended basic training at the 13^th Training Battalion located at Codford in England.  He was trained as a Signalman. On the 5^th January 1918 he attended a course on signals with the 4^th Divisional Signals School at Codford. On completion of the course he was sent to Folkstone with the 12^th Training Battalion to reinforce the 49^th Australian Infantry Battalion on the 15^th April 1918.  He marched into the Australian Infantry Base Depot (AIBD) on the 19^th April 1918 located at Staples, France.  He was then transferred to Havre on the 20^th May 1918 and on the 26^th May 1918, he joined the 49^th Australian Infantry Battalion which was in the Somme area at that time.

During a battle on the night of the 11^th August 1918, he received a gunshot wound to the back.  He was found on the battlefield and rescued.  He was carried to the 55^th Casualty Clearing Station and sent to the 47^th Australian General Hospital on the 13^th August 1918.  On the 24^th August 1918, he was sent to the 1^st Australian Infantry Depot on recovery.  PTE J Caldwell was returned to the 49^th Australian Infantry Battalion on the 11^th September 1918.  On the 29^th September 1918 he was detached to the 13^th Brigade Signals School located at Havre, France.  On the 4^th November 1918, he re-joined 49^th Australian Infantry Battalion at Havre.   On the 11^th November 1918, hostilities ceased.

PTE James Caldwell remained in France until the 9^th March 1919 in the Havre area in France with the 49^th Infantry Battalion and then was attached to the AIBD.  He performed burial duties during this time.  He was repatriated to England on the 11^th June 1919.  On the 12^th July 1919 he embarked on the City of Exeter for Australia and disembarked in Fremantle on the 16^th August 1919.  On the 1^st March 1920, Pte James Caldwell was discharged in the 5^th Military District (Western Australia).

3638 PTE James Caldwell claimed his Medals and Badge.

The British War Medal and the Victory Medal. The wounded Badge.

6795 PTE John Caldwell was born in Kanowna on or about March 1900.   He enlisted in Perth on the 12^th March 1917.  His Father was James Jonas Caldwell and his Mother was Charlotte Caldwell nee Gardner.  They lived at 68 Padbury St, Perth. The parents moved to 143 Lake St, Perth, sometime in 1918.  It also appears that James and John Caldwell joined the AIF at about the same time.

PTE John Caldwell was a clerk and was single.  His Religion was Church of England. He was 5ft 6 inches (159cm) tall and weighed 132lbs (60kg). He had a dark complexion with grey eyes and dark hair.  It appears PTE Caldwell increased his age by 1 year and his mother approved his request to serve overseas under the age of 19 in a letter to his Commanding Officer.

On the 29^th June 1917 he embarked on the HMAT A30 (the Borda) and disembarked at Plymouth England on the 25^th August 1917.  On the 26^th August 1917, he attended basic training with the 7^th Training Battalion followed by further training with the 6^th Training Battalion on the 11^th November 1917.  On the 7^th April 1918 he was sent overseas to the Australian Infantry Battalion Depot located at Havre in France and proceeded join his unit, the 28^th Infantry Battalion, on the 10^th April 1918.  During the following 4 months, Pte John Caldwell fought with the 28^th Infantry Battalion in several battles in the Bapaume, Saint-Quentin and Peronne area in France.  He was killed in action on Monday the 2^nd September 1918.  He is buried in the Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension in the Somme Region of France.

The British War Medal, The Victory Medal.  The Memorial Scroll.  The WW1 Memorial Plaque.

The post The Caldwell Brothers – a soldiers story appeared first on Outback Family History.

BAYLEY’S CRICKET CLUB

Premiers 1938-1939

Coolgardie Cricket Association

Back Row:- L to R = L WILSON, J MacFARLANE, W CATTENACK, M NIVEN (Capt), D Matthews, L NORRISH, W SIMPSON,
Front Row:– J MORALEE, F HOLT, J McKENZIE, R DOWNEY, John Ronald PAUL (with hat)

The post Cricket isn’t life or death. It’s much more important! appeared first on Outback Family History.

Kurrawang-Coolgardie United Football Club
 Season-1923

Back Row:- J Tovey, J Crudace, W Reid, J Moran, A Dunlop, G Rinaldi
Third Row:- G Hilliert, J Clementson, D Maguire (Sec), E Cullen, M Maguire
Second Row:-S Thompson, W Mulligan, J Rinaldi (President), D Brown (Capt), H Larcombe (Vice-Capt),
E Scahill,  J Ryan.
Front Row:- G Hoyer, T Condon, J Flood, M Lillis.

Photographer:-  T F MACKAY Kalgoorlie

The post Kurrawang-Coolgardie United Football Club 1923 appeared first on Outback Family History.

Many years ago I was fortunatye to be given access to the first marriage records for Coolgardie from July 1894 to Aug 1898. These marriages are not only a record of two people joining in matrinomy but it also show the broad number of the differtent nationalitis and occupations of these first pioneers.

Clara Saunders, the very first bride in Coolgardie.

I have compiled an index to these records of which a full record can be opbtained on request. It would take a great deal of time to transcribe them all compleatly. The infoamtion on each certificate varies a good deal. The following is an example of one marriage:-

The following is an example of a handwritten certificate:-

This index of 312 marriages is in alphabetical order by grooms name.

If you would like a copy of any of these records could you send me an email with your request on moyasharp@outbackfamilyhistory.com.au

The post The First Coolgardie Marriages appeared first on Outback Family History.

This is the first in a series of profiles on Goldfields Photographers. Some, like the T F MacKay Studios, ran a successful commercial ventures, mainly catering for portraiture photography. Others were travellers who went around to the outlying areas taking pictures of both people and places.

In 1917, Joseph J Dwyer sold his studio to fellow photographer, Thomas Faulkner Mackay, who succesfully ran the studio until 1945. There is a large collection on line of the photographs of both Dwyer and MacKay.

Staff of T F MacKay Studios 1937 L-R:- Miss Ainsworth, Iris Gray (Standing) Mrs Wilson (seated), Thomas  Faulkner MacKay Jnr, Thomas Faulkner MacKay Snr, Helen (Ellen) MacKay (Standing) Amy Winch (seated) Standing, colourist, name not stated, Mavis Patterson (seated)

Helen (Ella) MacKay wearing a fur coat, outside the T F MacKay Studios, 147 Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie with the ‘Buick Goddess’

Helen Mackay (known as Ella) was born in 1903 in Glasgow Scotland. Her father was T.F. Mackay, a professional photographer who had trained in Glasgow at the Studios of T. & R. Annan. The family left Scotland and arrived in Perth, Western Australia in 1916. The following year T.F. Mackay took over J.J. Dwyer’s photography studio in Kalgoorlie, c.1917, and operated a very successful studio of his own.

Ella Mackay was also fascinated by photography. From the age of 12 she began visiting her father when he was at work at his studio. Mackay began working at this studio after she left school at the age of 15. Her father trained her in all aspects of photography, from retouching and mounting techniques to film processing. Her father put Mackay in charge of the amateur film processing section of the studio and eventually made her an assistant studio operator.

Ella Mackay chose not to marry, focusing on photography instead. She once remarked that although many women were entering professions, ‘if I had married I would probably have retired, not because of conventions, but because I don’t think one can succeed in two jobs. One has to choose and concentrate on the most important work: photography was my main love’  Ella Mackay died in 1999, at the age of 96.

The Australian Woman Register

The MacKay Family in their home at 10 Croesus Street, Kalgoorlie

The post Picture Perfect – T F MacKay Studios appeared first on Outback Family History.

Mr Charles Augustus Cutbush was born in Sydney NSW onn the 2nd Jan 1865, the son of William Montague CUTBUSH, pastoralist of Pillacawarrena Station and was educated at the Grammar School in that city. As a youth he figured prominently at cycle meetings, and on several occasions showed his calibre by carrying off certain special prizes. In the acme of his cycling power he created a long-distance record for New South Wales. His capabilities on the wheel, though lucrative from the point of view of competitive sports, were of more practical value to him on his prospecting journeys through the sandy deserts of Western Australia. His attachment to this form of athletic exercise, and others of a more or less kindred nature, has been conspicuously shown by the supreme interest he has taken in sporting matters on the Western Australian fields.

In 1893 Mr. Cutbush arrived in Coolgardie. Making this his headquarters, he set out on various expeditions in search of gold. His returns from these extensive tours were not a full compensation for the time and trouble expended in the attempt to reach some golden grotto. When the great rush to Kurnalpi took place, Mr. Cutbush was among the first to arrive. The balance of fortune swung more pleasantly in his favour, and hopes of future aggrandisement were restored. From this excited vicinity, where hundreds of miners still groped among the alluvial for grains and slugs, Mr. Cutbush, satisfied that the place was exhaustively worked, left for Hannan’s. On reaching there in 1894, he took a look round the neighbourhood, and pleased with its aspect, determined to settle down in the township and start business. He became a partner of Mr. J. W. Fimister in a most profitable venture.

When material affairs began to prosper, Mr. Cutbush resolved to take an active part in municipal life. A Progress Committee was soon formed for the purpose of taking precautions for the security and welfare of the citizens. Although this corporation had no legal existence, its aims and objects are practically the same as those of a municipal council, and the difference, which is everything, consists in the process of executing those aims. A Progress Committee is like a lay-preacher, unpolished, practical, ready, and not over disposed to be eclectic and dignified. This committee was formed, its drastic constitution was drawn up, and Mr. Cutbush was appointed first secretary, being returned at the head of the poll. He discharged the duties incumbent on the office with praiseworthy efficiency.

At a later period, when Kalgoorlie had assumed more definitely the appearances of a thriving town, a hospital was erected, and a committee chosen to superintend its management and interests. Mr. Cutbush was elected to the honourable position of chairman of committee, and was highly successful in this directing capacity. He has also held the secretaryship of the Hannan’s Racing Club for two years.

As one of its municipal pioneers, and most useful citizens, Mr. Cutbush is entitled to the respect of Hannan’s. He contributed his skill and energy towards forming the protocol of the municipality, and though many of the early enactments and provisions have suffered amendment, modification, and abrogation, as environments expanded and circumstances changed, he and his fellows did yeomanlike service for the era for which they were intended and devised. Mr. Cutbush has many traits of character which have created friendships and elicited the good opinion of his fellow men, in a land where honesty of purpose and other ethical virtues are extolled.

He married his first wife, Louisa May ENGLISH in Perth WA in 1894 and she died in Kalgoorlie in 1904. In the following year, 1905, he was then married for the second time to Adelaide May SMITH. Adelaide was also to die in Kalgoorlie two days after the birth of their stillborn daughter in Nov 1915. Both Adelaide and Louisa are buried in the Kalgoorlie cemetery. Charles and Louisa were also to have two sons, William Charles Russell CUTBUSH born 1895 (died aged 5mths) and George Arthur Montague CUTBUSH born 1898 (died aged 6days). He was to marry again for the third time and his wife survived him and was living in Sydney at thge tyime of his death .He died in Perth in the Wooraloo Sanitarium on the 8 Feb 1927 at age 62 and is buried in the Karakatta Cemetery.

76 Ward Street. Lamington

While he was mayor, Charles Cutbush lived at 76 Ward Street, Lamington (Cnr Ward and Graeme). The house is much as it would have been in his day.

This story was submitted by Eric Chamberalian

The post Charles Cutbush – people profile appeared first on Outback Family History.

Undertakers, or funeral directors, have been on the Goldfields from the very first days. The occupation of making coffins was usually done by someone with a trade in carpentry and they usually produced other items such as furniture. Coach builders were also often the makers of coffins. Not all of the makers of ‘funeral furniture’ were also funeral directors but many were. For those who died away from a town the coffin was usually made from whatever could be found. There was no regulation on the profession and anyone could claim to carry out funerals.

Donald J Chipper, Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie

The first branch of Donald Chipper’s Funerals outside of the metropolitan area was established in Kalgoorlie in 1895, the first mananger was Mr A E Hunter. I am sure that there would have been others for which there afre no records.

Why is the hearse with scutcheons blazon’d round,
And with the nodding plume of ostrich crown’d?
No; the dead know it not, nor profit gain;
It only serves to prove the living vain.
John Gay

The following is a list of Undertakers in the first 15 years compiled with the assistance of John Pritchard. Many only operated for a short time while others continued for many years. There is only one undertaker in Kalgoorlie today and this business has run continuously since 1897 under the names of A J Kyle, Mannion and Cruse and now Ivan and Frank Vukovich.

Each business is listed as it appeared in the WA Post Office Directories for the first time.

1895
CHIPPER Donald J, Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie
1897

HUMPHREY Charles F, Hunt Street, Coolgardie
KYLE A & J, Cassidy Street , Kalgoorlie
LAUBMANN John,  Coolgardie
LEIGHTON C H,   Mt Magnet
READ Alfred , Hunt St , Coolgardie AD

WA Post Office Directory 1897

REID and ZIMMERMANN,  Coolgardie
SEMKEN Joseph C , Shenton St , Menzies
SHORT John,  Kanowna
WALKER and GREENWOOD,  Bayley St,  Coolgardie
1898
FRASER A J  ,  Lawlers
SHANKS John , Kurawa (Broad Arrow)
TIPPETT Francis , Kurawa (Broad Arrow)
WRIGHTSON Robert , Kurawa (Broad Arrow)

Funeral at Nannine Undertaker not known

1899
DOUGLAS J R ,Menzies
FRASER Colin,  Mt Malcolm
LEHENY & Co (G) , Egan Street ,Kalgoorlie
LITTLE & McINNES,  Cue

WA Post Office Directory 1899

MILES & Co J V ,Brookman Street, Kalgoorlie

The cemetery is an open space among the ruins, covered min winter with violets and daisies. It might make one in love with death to think that one might be buried  in so sweet a place. :    Percy Bysshe Shelly

1900
GOSS T W ,Golconda Street,  Kanowna (In Piesse St, Boulder by 1901)

W Goss, Undertakers, Piesse Street, Boulder

1902
CRUSE & Co John P ,18 Hannan Street,  Kalgoorlie (Later Manion and Cruse)
LAMB & NATT,  Kookynie

1904
WARD C B  Mt Morgans

1905
WALKER Joseph H , Burt Street, Boulder
1907
DAVISON John , Yarri

1910
GREENWOOD Joseph , 28 Burt Street, Boulder (Formerly of Coolgardie)

NEEDHAM & LOWE,  82 Ward Street , Kalgoorlie

There is no profession more indispensable to a community than that of a funeral director. Only those to who he has been of service can appreciate to the fullest extent the intelligence, poise and downright ability that he must have. His calling is one that deserves the upmost respect and confidence.   :   Donald J Chipper

The post The Dismal Traders:- appeared first on Outback Family History.

I have often wondered about the names of these teams. They are both Cricket and Football teams with the same name, the Moonta Turks. This in its self is quite unusual I think, and I have not been able to find out the origin of the name. I first noticed it because my maiden name is ‘TURK’ and I presumed that the first part of the name was from the town of Moonta in South Australia. But why ‘TURKS’, does anyone know?

MOONTA TURKS CRICKET CLUB  (2^nd X1) Premiers 1921-1922      Back Row:- J CALDER (Umpire) J ELARI, M PORTER, D WEARING, J CAHILL, A BENNETTS, Front Row:- C WILLIAMSON, L STEPHENS, W TREWHELLA (Capt) C BURGESS (Vice Capt) E PRINCE, Sitting:- T PORTER, C CALDER.

MOONTA TURKS FOOTBALL CLUB Season 1922
Back Row:- E DUFFY, J WEARING, W BENNETTS, A TREMBATH, L MORRIS, R TREWHELLA, J WEARING, E SCHULTZ, E BENNETTS
Middle Row:- D JONES, J CALDER, L STEPHENS, A SMART, P TAAFE, C BROWN, M CAVAZZI, L TREWHELLA (Vice Capt) F DIGHTON
Front Row:- R WEARING, J HENDRY, F HAWKINS, J TREMBATH (Sec), A ROSEWARNE, A SMART (Capt), W TREWHELLA (Vice Pres), M WALLACE, C MAYER
Sitting:- S BURNS, CAVAZZI Jnr, A EDGELL, S BURGESS

MOONTA TURKS Football Club Season 1923
Back Row:- T McAULEY, J BACKMAN, S BURGESS, J BARRETT, J ELARI, S WEARING, J TREMBATH,
G ADAMS, J WEARING, A BENNETTS
Middle Row:- J ANDERSON, W BENNETTS, C CALDER, W COLLOPY, A SWEET, R A SMART, F DIGHTON, R WEARING.
Front Row:- F METHERAL, J HENDRY, J LAFFIN, A J SMART (Captain) W TREWHELLA (Sec and Tres),
J CALDER (Vice Capt), A TREMBATH, M MAYER

The post Whats in a Name – The Moonta Turks appeared first on Outback Family History.

Edmund Manners was born in Oswego, Oswego County, New York, United States of America on the 2nd September 1845. He was to meet his death on the Great Boulder mine on the 13th April 1899. His headstone in the Kalgoorlie cemetery is in remarkable condition for its age of 119 yrs. Prior to coming to the WA Goldfields he was living in Daylesford Victoria.

The headstone was erected by his son and daughter in law George and Matilda Manners. Edmund was the son of Alfred Morton and Nancy (Beasley) Manners. He was survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

He was crushed buy a massive fall of earth of some 20 tons and when his body was recovered he was identified by one of his sons, George Manners. Two of his sons at the time were working on the same mine with him.

Edmund Manners – Kalgoorlie Cemetery – Photo Danelle Warnock

The post Edmund MANNERS – grave tales appeared first on Outback Family History.

The Sun 1 Aug 1915

The post The Unknown Swagman – a verse appeared first on Outback Family History.

This “Early Years Project” will look at those people, who in the Early Years: –
 were living in South America and who later migrated to Western Australia
 were resident in WA and went to South America to work or live
 were resident in countries (generally European) who went to South America as part of a land development scheme or other arrangement (Farming etc), and who had returned to their home countries after a number of years, before eventually migrating to WA in this period, ca pre-1930
These people are likely to include members of the following groups
 Mining – engineers, geologists, assayers, metallurgists etc
 Farming and related industries.
 Social – nurses, teachers who may or may not have been working on a “voluntary” basis.
 Maritime workers – Ships Captains and other seaman, engaged in the trade between Australia and South America and who later settled in Western Australia

An example of the information sought is the following:-

John Wilson  First Mayor of Kalgoorlie 1895-1896 :  Solicitor  :Explorer and Soldier.

John Wilson – First mayor of Kalgoorlie 1895-1896

No mayor of the Goldfields lived the life like John Wilson. Born on the South Island of New Zealand in Timaru, Wilson first worked in a telegraph office as a messenger boy and worked his way to the operating room. While working he paid his own way through university studying law. When he graduated Wilson went to Queensland then to Western Australia to practice law.

While in Kalgoorlie, Wilson not only massed a considerable fortune but became interested in local politics. Becoming a member of the progress committee in 1894, Wilson ran for Mayor in the first Municipal elections in 1895 winning the seat by 8 votes. 
Later on he explored New Guinea and when the Klondike rush broke out Wilson travelled to northern Canada. On the Klondike he earns the name “Steamboat Wilson”, as he was the first person to transport a steamboat across a mountain range from one river to another.

While returning to Australia via London from Canada, John Wilson brought Mayoral Regalia valued at 200 guineas in London for the Municipality of Kalgoorlie. Wilson presented the robes and chain to H. Parsons, the newly elected Mayor on election night.
On declaration of War in 1900, Wilson joined the Light Horse as a trooper during the Boer War. Contracting typhus, Wilson was invalided, but after making a recovery he joined the Army again as a Lieutenant in General Roberts Bodyguard, an elite unit of horsemen.

After the Boer War, Wilson practised law in Johannesburg for a number of years before returning to New Zealand. In 1906 Wilson set sail for South America, in Lima he contracted another bout of Typhoid which killed him shortly after he arrived in Peru.

There are undoubtedly other people and occupations that I have not come across and who I am hoping might contact me out of general curiosity. Of particular interest are those families who may have had children born in South America

If you would like to be part of this project or have information as to people that you feel might be interested in being part of this project, please contact Geoff Blackburn OAM, Phone 92988990, email: geoffrox08@gmail.com or snail mail at Post Office Box 6, Glenforrest, Western Australia 6071.

The post The ‘Early Years Project’ – Geoff Blackburn appeared first on Outback Family History.

Cycling was slow to develop in Western Australia but with the opening of the Coolgardie goldfield in 1892, the cycling scene changed abruptly.  The scarcity of water and stock feed and their high cost made the upkeep of horses and camels a burden.  The large mining population and heavy private and government investment needed rapid and extensive communications, leading to the development of, what the Coolgardie Miner called, the “cycling telegraph”.  The bicycle was eventually used on a scale unequalled anywhere else in rural Australia.  A cyclist could cover 100 miles (161km) in a day.  Emerging out of the gold rushes of Western Australia was a group of bicyclists known as “the overlanders”.  The harsh conditions of the goldfields had made them tough, resourceful and fearless.  They knew how to survive.

Arthur Charles Jeston Richardson, a mining engineer, had spent seven years prospecting around Coolgardie.  Born in Brazil, his family had moved to Port Augusta, South Australia, when he was young.  On 24^th November 1896, he set out from Coolgardie to cross the Nullarbor to Adelaide, an alien landscape that explorer John Eyre had described as “a hideous anomaly, a blot on the face of nature, the sort of place one gets into in bad dreams”.  This was the longest bicycle trip since Percy Armstrong, three years earlier, had cycled from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Melbourne.  Carrying only a small repair kit and water bag, Richardson slogged through sandhills, baked in extreme temperatures, travelled more than 350km without seeing another human being and had been blinded by sandstorms.  His least favourite part was the 39km of sand-hills west of Madura station.  This was the worst he would experience in Australia.  He arrived in Adelaide on Christmas Day.

Arthur Richardson

But Richardson was inspired.  In June 1899, he set out from Perth to be the first to circumnavigate the continent by bicycle.  He described his story in a book titled “Story of a Remarkable Ride” (1900).  He headed north, carrying 25 pounds of gear and a pistol.  Heavy rain slowed his progress in Western Australia.  And later in the north, where the black-soil plains were unrideable for several days, he had to push and carry his bicycle through sand and silt, encountering hostile natives along the way.  He arrived back in Perth on 4^th February 1900 after travelling 18,507km.

Kalgoorlie Miner Mon 21 Dec 1896

In March 1900, Richardson left Fremantle with the WA bushman’s contingent, bound for the Boer War in South Africa.  He was badly wounded in WW1 and spent 2 years in hospital in Rouen, France.  His war injuries had reportedly left him seriously disturbed; he was found lying next to his wife in an apparent murder-suicide in Scarborough, England, in 1939. He had shot his wife and then himself.

Bert (1872-1950) and Fred James (1868-1945) were born into a wealthy Melbourne family (who seem to have been Bendigo mine owners) and were well-known members of the Melbourne Rowing Club.  In 1896, whether for wanderlust or lust for gold, they headed west to try their luck in the Murchison goldfields.  After 12 months of hardship, they decided to return home by bicycle.  They departed Mt Magnet on the 25^th March 1897 with a puncture repair kit, a billy and — presumably each — a spare pair of undies and two pairs of socks.  Their route took them through Lawler’s, Menzies, Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie, the camel track being well-adapted for bicycle riding and allowing 145km in one day, and then to Norseman and Eucla.  A considerable amount of walking was required, 50km one day, between Eucla and Port Augusta.  Tracking through Beachport and Mt Gambier, Bert and Fred rode into Geelong on the 2^nd October, forty-seven days and 4093km after commencing their ride, to be met by their brothers, one a well-known Geelong Football Club player.  They had averaged 105km a day.  They were cheered as they rode through Melbourne.  According to the Dunlop publicist, they had managed the journey without a single puncture but, in Victoria, had broken one spoke.

Both Bert and Fred went to the Boer War with the Victorian Bushmen.  Upon returning home to St Kilda, they discovered a world being transformed by motor vehicles.  Motorcycles were little more than bicycles with a small motor.  Bert was one of 15 motorcyclist who took up the challenge of Dunlop’s 1905 Reliability Trial from Sydney to Melbourne.  A wealthy Sydney motorcycle importer, A.E. Kemsley, offered a cup to the winner of “any motorcyclists rash enough to attempt the journey on their motorised bone shakers”.  Bert won.  A second Dunlop reliability Trial in 1905, which began in Melbourne, was won by Fred James.

Corporal Albert James in 1900

Bert James

As a mechanical engineer, Albert enlisted in the AIF in 1914 with the rank of Lieutenant.  He served in supply and transport, being promoted to Major while in the field in France.

Albert and Gwyladys James 1914

References

Fitzpatrick, Jim (1980) The Bicycle and the Bush. Oxford University Press.
Harris, Bret (2017) Uneasy Rider. The Weekend Australian Magazine, May 20-21.
Whitaker, Peter (2018) The James Boys. Australian Motorcycle News, Vol 67 No 19, 29 March-11 April.
Fed News. Federation of Veteran, Vintage & Classic Vehicle Clubs. Edition No. 76. October – November 2011.
The first man to cycle across the Nullarbor. Anon. Thedandenongranges.com. February 5 2018.
The Australasian, Sat 11 Sep 1897 Page 24.  AQUATICS.
Geelong Advertiser, Mon 4 Oct 1897 Page 3. A LONG CYCLING JOURNEY.
Leader, Sat 9 Oct 1897 Page 18. CYCLING.

The post The Overlanders – by David McMillan appeared first on Outback Family History.

I was recently sent the following photos by Alan O’Meara which are from the documents of his father, Brum O’Meara.

The Piccadilly Hotel, Kalgoorlie 1930, Publican Sam Percy is 6th from the left with his arms folded wearing a cardigan.

Outside the Piccadilly Hotel:- Left to right. “Digger” Thomas, Bert “the Barber”, Boy McKell, Brum O’Meara Allan’s father aged 26 at the time, Sam Morey, Sam Percy squatting, Brian O’Shannesy, Dave Jones, Bill Burke and Jock Bradley.

Miners at the Golden Horseshoe Mine, Kalgoorlie-Boulder

Share Certificate for the Coolgardie Redemption Gold Mining Co 1908

The post O’Meara Family Photograph- Alan O’Meara appeared first on Outback Family History.

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.

The post The Laslett Building- appeared first on Outback Family History.

The North Kalgoorlie Police Station, known as the Piccadilly Police Station Hare Street, Piccadilly.

This photograph shows  Constable Jeremiah John JONES and his wife Evelyn (nee HOLLOWAY) and their infant daughter Eveleyn Margaret (Born 1903).

The WA Post Office Directory for 1905 shows the the resident officer in charge was Constable J J Jones (674). The building survives today intact but with a sympathetic extension which blends seamlessly with the older parts. Very few changes have been made internally over the years and the two cells with their peepholes and thick doors and bars above and are now used as storage rooms. Even the two garden beds as seen in the old photos still exist. The building is located over the road from the old Fire Station building in Hare Street, Lamington which although of similar brick, was built much later in 1936, on the site of the previous fire station building.

40 Hare Street, Lamington 2018

The first North Kalgoorlie Police Station was a rented private house located on the corner of Bourke and Peers Sts, Lamington. This was a four roomed building which has now been replaced by a modern house. The lot was located at the rear of the now petrol station in Bourke Street. It was opened on the 4th October 1902. This building proved unsuitable and the police station was moved to Lot 1050 Melba Street, Lamington on the 28th Oct 1902. On the 29th July 1904 Constable Jones moved into the new police station located in Hare Street. The Station would remain at that address until its closure on the 25 Jul 1924 when it was sold as a private house.

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Sunday Times 28 June 1908, page 3

There appeared in a recent issue of the Sunday Times, a paragraph relating to the original discoverers of Black Range, fourteen years ago in 1892. It was founded on the statement of one of them, McIntyre, as was published in the “Murchison Advocate.” A correspondent writing with equal authority, as a first-hand witness, we are indebted this week for some further details about the pioneers of the field and the circumstances under which gold was first found there.

Prospectors Travelling to Black Range 1904

Your par about the original prospectors of Black Bange, he writes, is not quite correct, or rather does not go quite far enough. You mention McIntyre, Wright and Shilligton, but you omit the names of Smart and Angelo, who were also of the party. The latter, a French chef, was a poor bushman, and it was during one of “the periodic hunts for “Frenchy” who had been lost on this particular occasion for 36 hours, that the first gold bearing reef on the field was discovered. The party members were Ernest Eversley ‘Shilly’ SHILLINGTON, George RALPH, Thomas WRIGHT, John McINTYRE, A (Frenchy) ANGELO and Ralph SMART. Although it is probable that Jack McIntyre was the original discoverer of gold but the reward claim was filed in the names of all six of the party. The reward claim was lodged in Cue by Shillington and known as Ivy Linden, in 1895.

A prospectors camp 1900

This show, after being worked for about twelve months by the prospectors, was sold to Owen Daly (Micky the Priest) well known in the old Murchison days, for £480. Nine years later the ground around the original find was named ‘Mickey the Priests’.  In 1894-1895 it was said that Owen Daly made £17,000 from a mine near Nannine but by 1909 he was working as a labourer on the Sandstone to Mt Magnet railway line for 9 shilling a day and living on tinned dog and damper. It seems he had squandered his money on ‘fast women and slow horses’.

The Black Range belt, lying across a 70-mile dry stage, made early-day prospecting difficult, as horsemen naturally had to make hasty dashes across same. The original prospectors were lucky enough to locate a soak in the middle of the ranges, which lasted the party until after gold had been found and a well sunk by themselves where they found water at 60 feet. Other parties, eastward bound, kept considerably south of this soak, and the presence of a party in the ranges was not known to others for some months, when the big trek to the Lake Darlot rush took place.

It seems that on the day of the discovery, Frenchy burst into the camp, hat less and dishevelled, with nearly a full bag of water in his hand. He hadn’t taken a drink since the knowledge that he was lost again dawned on him 30 hours ago. The camp guard and one of the searchers had just returned and were having a game of crib while the billy boiled. Frenchy said “You playee de cards while I pereesh in de booshe”.  He turned on the players who, with difficulty, calmed him by sitting on his head and heels and while they did so they cursed that they had not belled and hobbled him. Just then Smart arrived from his epoch making discover 8 miles away. “Did you find Frenchy?” bawled one of the group. “I have had something better to do than to bother putting the word out about Frenchy” said Smart pulling out the specimens. This soon roused Frenchy again but the sight of the gold soothed him.

Mail Coach Leaving the Black Range 1905

Newspaper Notice:- Missing Friends : ‘Frenchy’ Angelo, if any of your readers know his whereabouts, they could do him a good turn by referring him to the Mines Department, Perth. His share of the reward, £30, for the Black Range discovery, voted by Parliament some three or four years ago, as never yet, so far been claimed.”

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This is a true story of the Moran family, who worked a pastoral lease at Mangowine to the north of Merredin in the early years. In those days the closest hospital and doctor was at Southern Cross, and in 1905 James Moran was admitted to hospital suffering from two broken legs. One leg had turned gangrenous and the poison was pervading his body.
He lay sweating on the iron bed, bare to the waist. A steel cage prevented the blanket from touching his legs. The gangrene smelt like death as the tissue rotted away, the leg blackish brown leached juices onto the bedding. The stench seeped into every nook and cranny and its foulness could not be escaped. Other patients pulled blankets over their heads in unsuccessful endeavours to escape the revolting smell.
The nurses put cinnamon oil on their masks to help stifle the disgusting odour. They were responsible for bathing the patient in cooling water, before retreating from the foulness. The nurses were also responsible for removing the damaged and infected tissue to help the healing potential. They were of hardy stock but had to regularly step back to hold their gag reflex in check.

Goldfields Hospital 1900

James Moran was of fine physique after years of hard work. His good looks and quiet politeness, even when in pain, endeared him to hospital staff. Those who nursed him suffered pangs of guilt for their attempts to escape the revolting smell. They made the effort to linger a little longer when tending him.
Doctor Humphrey warned Jimmy that he would die if he did not have the leg amputated. Jimmy refused. The longer you refuse the higher up the leg I will need to take off. Amputation will save your life. I will do it in the next hour. Just say so. There will be no pain as I will use chloroform and you will feel nothing during the operation.
Jimmy replied ‘I fear no pain but I fear the loss of my leg. A man needs two legs. I will not have it off.’
“Then you will die’ replied the doctor. ‘And so be it’ said Jimmy.
The other patients knew Jimmy’s death was near. Their collective thoughts ‘for Christ’s sake just die you poor bastard.’
Soon Elizabeth Moran arrived. She had travelled from Mangowine to Merredin by horse and buggy, and then caught the Express train to Southern Cross to be with her dearest husband. It was a scorching day, the last day of 1905.
The diminutive woman in her early thirties walked down the aisle between the beds in a purposeful manner, without any indication of the terrible smell pervading the ward. The other patients were on death watch and kept the privacy curtain under review.
Doctor Humphrey sensed Elizabeth’s approach and greeted her outside the curtain. He informed her of Jamie’s condition and his steadfast refusal to have an amputation. The doctor expressed hope that Elizabeth could change his mind.
Elizabeth went to James and the gangrene smell was as bad as she had ever smelt, and she had smelt death in many creatures from camels to snakes. She steeled her nostrils against the stench as she hugged Jimmy and gave him a kiss on his fevered brow, and begged him to have the amputation.
Jimmy was still relatively alert although dosed on an opium mixture. He smiled lovingly at her. ‘A man needs two legs to survive in this country. You know that, Lizzie. I will not become a burden on you and the children. Oh so sweet Lizzie, you have given me much happiness and love. More than a man can expect in a lifetime.’
Jimmy was resolute in accepting death. His personal attribute was his physical ability. He was Jimmy Moran the undefeated boxing champion of the bush. The best well sinker in the district, and the provider for Lizzie and their children. In a one-legged state he could no longer box or sink wells or provide for his family. Above all he would not suffer the barbs from those who would question his usefulness. He loved Lizzie and the children too much to allow the shame his worthlessness would bring. Although he would not distress Lizzie by expressing such thoughts, even on his death bed.

Elizabeth held him close and begged him to have the amputation, saying he was still full of the Irish blarney. Her pleading was to no avail. Jimmy slipped into a drugged repose and she cried as the bacteria thrived in the decayed leg and rapidly invaded his body. Father Henry Mason attended James just before midnight and intoned the last rites. Shortly it would be New Year’s Day.
Elizabeth held Jimmy’s hand as the tears streamed down her brown sunburnt face. James woke long enough to turn his head, and bade her goodbye with his eyes. Then the poison swept through him and carried him away.
It was a stifling hot new year’s day that prohibited the keeping of dead bodies longer than necessary. A lonely Elizabeth saw James laid to rest mid-morning in a newly dug grave in Southern Cross cemetery. The two grave diggers, who had lowered James in his rough coffin for burial, leaned on their shovels seeking shade from a spindly tree. They were waiting for the service to finish so the grave could be refilled.
Father Mason was in attendance. He had married James and Elizabeth and baptised their two children. After a quiet prayer he helped her into his buggy for her return to Southern Cross, where she booked a room at the Railway Hotel.
She boarded the Kalgoorlie express late that night and was in Merredin before dawn. She remained in the waiting room until there was movement in the town, then retrieved her horse and sulky from the livery stable for the journey back home.
Her horse knew the way and she sat quietly in the buggy. She wept and thought of her dear James, and how things might have been. A man needs two legs.
Elizabeth Moran visited Southern Cross on several occasions in later years. Her son owned the Bohemia mine at Marvel Loch. She felt no need to visit her husband’s grave as death was a natural state never fussed over. There was the sadness and that was enough. James lies in grave 45 in the Catholic section.
Based on an article written by grandson Kevin Moran in 2012

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SULLIVAN Edward alias ‘Doo-dah” or “Dido” died 2 Jul 1896 age 36yrs – buried 2 miles north of Leonora.
For some years his old barrow and some of his equipemt reposed by his grave, but gradually they disappeared. Sir John Forrest later arranged to have a headstone and fence to be erected.
A pioneer prospector and barrowman, who died on the track and was buried in his old lease near the town. Born c1860 in South Africa. He first found gold near Leonora in 1896.
A part of prospectors led by ‘Dooda’ SULLIVAN and Harry WEDDECK sank a shaft on a big quartz outcrop on the Johannesburg Lease, which they had pegged in March 1896.

Edward Doo Dah Sullivan – 2 miles north of Leonora

Western Mail 21 October 1937

Any old prospectors who may remember Dooda Sullivan, who, with mates pegged the Johannesberg, may be interested to know that he took his last camel ride with me from Leonora to Menzies, where we had to go for provisions. I got my stock and loads ready to leave and, went hunting for Dooda. There were only six possible places to find him and at last I ran him down. Although we had been 24 hours in Menzies he had not got all the dust out of his throat and he wanted me to wait a further 24 hours. As my mates were short of tucker I could not agree, so he said: “Go on, I’ll catch you up.” He got to Leonora a week after my arrival and of course his mates roused on him. He never said a word, walked into his tent, then out into the bush. A shot, and Dooda never saw Africa again (he was a Boer). His grave is or should be found where he went out.

Ref:- Western Australian Lonely Graves by Yvonne and Kevin Coate

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The Black Range district in the East Murchison Goldfields was a promising field in the early 1900s, with the first real township, Nungarra, being established in 1902. By 1903 the population had risen to 900-1000 with 500 men on the alluvial patch alone. It was said only 1 in 10 were ‘making tucker’. It wasn’t until 13 January 1904 that the town was officially gazetted. Warden Clifton gave the town the name of Nungarra, an aboriginal word meaning ‘Barb of the Spear’. The name never really caught on locally, and the area was known to many as Black Range or just ‘The Range’.

By 1906 it was realised that the water supply was not adequate in the area to support the population, even though fresh water could be found by well sinking. A better position was decided on about 6 miles North East of Nungarra. This new town, Sandstone, was gazetted in Sep 1906.

Nungarra Cemetery – In the Shire of Sandstone approx 12 kms  from Sandstone townsite.  On an active Mining lease Cemetery hard to find, and graves overgrown in the bush  burials from 1903 to 1908.

1^st Cemetery Black Range or Ivy Linden/ Nungarra 6 burials

CUMMINGS P J

IRVINE Andrew William, d 1904, 37yrs, Occ:- Battery Manager, Natural Causes, Father:- Arthur IRVINE (Stonemason), Mother:- Mary LESLIE, Born Shetland Isle, Scotland. In WA 10yrs, married to Florence Anna Mary BULLEN no children, buried Nungarra Cemetery.

Andrew William IRVINE

IRVINE John Reg Black Range 22/1908

JONES Frederick Henry, d  13 Aug 1905, 52yrs, Occ:- Miner, Cause:- Enteric Fever, Father:- John Williams JONES (Dec, Merchant), Mother:- Emlen Worth LONGMAID, Born Walston, London, England, Reg Eat Murchison 15/1905, buried Nungarra Cemetery.

JONES J, prospector died at the 6 Mile.

PIERCE William Bushel, d 6 Oct 1903 died Gregory Street, Black Range, Occ:- Restauraunt/Boarding house keeper, Cause:- Heart failure, Father:- PIERCE (Gardener), born Kent Engalnd, in New Zealand 45 yrs, in WA 9 yrs, married to Elizabeth WILSON in Christchurch New Zealand, Children:- Cecilia 25yrs, William 17yrs, 1 male deceased. (This is the first recorded burial in the Nungarra Cemetery) Reg:- East Murchison 22/1903

An aboriginal woman who died of senility, name unknown

2^nd Cemetery Black Range, Nungarra 33

ALLENDER Francis, d 13 Jul 1905 at Black Range, Occ:- Teamster, Cause:- Suffocated by a load of timber overturned on him, Father:- Francis ALLENDER (Butcher) Mother:- Margaret KENNEDY, Born Kilrush Ireland, in WA 45yrs, Married to Hannah CULLETON in Greenough WA at age 27yrs, Children:- Thomas Francis 27yrs, Julia Theresa 21yrs, Reg:- East Coolgardie 13/1905, buried Nungarra Cemetery.

AUBURN Albert George (Grave on boundary fence) d 25 Oct 1905, at Nungarra, Occ:- Miner, Cause:- Fall of earth in the Squib GM, Accidental Verdict of Coroner, Father:- George AUBURN (Storekeeper) Mother:- Mary Anne ECK, Born Wodonga West Victoria, in VIC 19yrs, In WA 2yrs, buried Nungarra Cemetery Reg: East Murchison 16/1905

BOYLE Robert, 6 May 1907, at Nungarra Police Station, Occ:-Prospector, 69yrs, Born Donegal Ireland, In WA 21yrs, Reg:- East Murchison 15/1907, buried Nungarra Cemetery

Mr Robert Boyle, an old goldfields identity, and one of the of the pioneers of the Kimberley field, passed away early on Monday morning, death being due to senile decay, although deceased’s age was given as 69 years. He had been at the Nunngarra hospital for some time, but left the institution on Sunday morning with the object of going to Mount Magnet by coach, arrangements having been made for his admission to the Old Men’s Home at Geraldton, it was found however, that he was too weak to undertake the journey, and Boyle was accommodated at the police station where he was made as comfortable as possible. Dr. Keenan thought at the time that the invalid. might be able to travel a day or two later, but he sank rapidly and died on Monday morning. The interment took place the same  afternoon at the Nunngarra cemetery, Mr. McDonald, undertaker, completing all arrangements.

CALDER Alistar Douglas, d 2 Mar 1907 at Berrigin via Black Range, Age 14 months: Father:- Neil CALDER (Mine Manager) Mother:- Mary Jane Priestly, Natural Causes. Born Perth WA, buried Nungarra Cemetery.

Alistar Douglas CALDER

CLARKE George, d 20 Mar 1906, Nungarra, 52yrs, Occ:- Cook, Cause:- Heart Failure, Parents Unknown, Reg East Murchison 12/1906, buried Nungarra Cemetery

COUNDON William, d 21 Jan 1907, at Nungarra Hospital, Black Range, 35yrs, Occ:- Accountant, Cause:- Chronic nephritis, Reg:- East Murchison 8/1907, buried Nungarra Cemetery

FRAWLEY Simon, d 1 Feb 1908, Nungarra Hospital, 28yrs, Occ:-Miner Cause:- Peritonitis, Reg Black Range 1/1908

GAFFNEY Amy B,  1907 :  Reg Black Range 10/1907

GAFFNEY Walter Stillborn son of Amy GAFFNEY

GARVIN John F, 7 Aug 1907, 50yrs, Died at National Hotel, Sandstone, Cause:- Heart Failure, Born England.

A well-known Cue identity named John F. Garvin, died suddenly at the National Hotel, Sandstone, last week. Deceased was a native of England and was about 50 years of age. He is believed to be a brother of the Resident Medical Officer in Colombo. A post mortem examination was held, which revealed that death was due to heart failure.

GRONCHI Mary Elizabeth,  d 5 May 1907, age 42 at Sandstone Black Range, Widow, Cause:- Pulmonary phthisis, Father:- Thomas SIMPSON (Carpenter) Mother Jane DOWNEY, Married twice:- First time in Melbourne VIC to Andrew BLACK at age 23yrs, Second time in Rutherglen VIC to john GRONCHI at age 28yrs, No Children, Reg:- East Murchison 17/1907, buried Nungarra Cemetery

Mary Elizabeth GRONCHI

HAYDON Edward, d 21 Jan 1907, Maninga Marley, Black Range, abt 35yrs, Occ:-Miner, Cause:- Cardiac disease, Reg:- East Murchison 7/1907, buried Nungarra Cemetery.

Edward HAYDON

LIDDELL W, d 1908 Reg:- Black Range 5/1908

LYNES John Wheeler, AKA LYONS, d 3 Oct 1906, near Hans Irvine’s Lease, 6 miles North of Nungarra, 57yrs, Occ:- Butcher, Cause:- Dislocation of neck as a result of a buggy accident, Father:- William LYNES (General Grocer) Mother:- Cecilia WHEELER, born Lewisham, Kent, England, in WA 19yrs, Single, Reg East Murchison 20/1906, buried Nungarra Cemetery

MURAHATA Yuwakichi, d 9 Mar 1907, at Lease No 5B, Nungarra, 48yrs, Occ:- Market Gardener, Heamoragh of artery after attack by a pig, Father:- Seitaro MURAHATA (Market Gardener), in WA 13yrs, Reg East Murchison 9/1907, buried Nungarra Cemetery.

NORRIS John Francis ‘Jack’, d 5 Dec 1906, at Hancocks near Nungarra, Black Range, 34yrs, Occ;- Prospector formerly accountant, Cause:- accidentally killed by a fall of earth, Father:- Richard Augustus NORRIS (Banker), Mother:- Marienne FENNESSY, born Fitzroy Melbourne VIC, In VIC 10yrs, In NSW 12yrs, In WA 12 yrs, Single, Reg:- East Murchison 23/1906, buried Nungarra Cemetery www.wavmm.com

John Francis NORRIS

OUTRED John William, d 16 Feb1908, 38yrs, at Hancocks, near Nungarra, Reg Black Range 2/1908

PRIME Alfred Charles, d 6 Feb 1907, Reg Murchison 11/1907

The West Australian 7 February 1907, PRIME.-At Mount Magnet Hospital, on 6th inst. Alfred Charles Prime, aged 38 beloved husband of M. A. Prime. Rupert-street, Subiaco, traveler for. Messrs. E. S. Wigg and Son, Perth, and formerly traveler for Messrs. G Robertson and Co . Melbourne. Deeply regretted Melbourne and Tasmanian papers please copy.

RICHARDS James, d 11 Dec 1906, on the Black Range Company Lease 669B, near Nungarra, Black Range, Occ:- Miner, Cause:- Struck on the head by monkey in shaft at the Black Range Lease, Verdict of the Coroner, Reg East Murchison 22/1906, buried Nungarra Cemetery, www@wavmm.com

ROBERTS Leslie, d 14 Jun 1906, at Sandstone near Nungarra, Child aged 8yrs, Cause:- Croup, Father:- Thomas John ROBERTS (Occ Circus Proprietor, Mother:- Elizabeth ALPINE, born Longreach, QLD, in WA 6mths. Reg East Murchison 15/1906, buried Nungarra Cemetery

ROBINSON Roland A, d 1907, Reg Black Range 6/1907

SKINNER Charles Hamilton, d 18 Jan 1906, 56yrs,  at 5 ½ mile East of Nungarra, Occ:- Miner, Cause:- Thirst and exposure Reg:- East Murchison 4/1906, buried Nungarra Cemetery.

SHIMAMOTO Ohara, d 9 Jun 1907, Laundress age 33, at Nungarra Hospital, Cause:- Pleusiry and Phthisis, Father:- Kiphechin OSHINIA (Gardener), born Nagasaki Japan, in WA 12yrs, married to Kuisup SHIMAMOTO in Japan at age 27yrs, buried Nungarra Cemetery,  Reg : East Murchison 21/1907, Headstone

Mrs SHIMAMOTO

SIMMS Thomas, 29 Jan 1908, 76 yrs, Nightwatchman at the Black Range Company Mill, died in the Nungarra Hospital.

SKINNER Charles Hamilton, d 14-16 Jan 1906, 5 ½ miles East of Nungarra, 56yrs, Occ:-Miner, Cause:- Thirst and Exposure, Buried Nungarra Cemetery

DEATH FROM THIRST    :    Western Mail 3 February 1906

A sad story of death from thirst conies from Black Flag. Working at the Sandstone mines in that district, the early part of this month, vas a miner named Charles Skinner, nearly 60 years of age. After dinner on Sunday January 14th, Skinner set out for a short prospecting ramble, intending to return to camp the same evening. This he failed to do, but his absence does not appear to have occasioned any alarm to his mate at the camp. Skinner did not return, and in fact, so far as is known, wag never seen alive again. As he had not returned by Wednesday morning, the 17th, the police were communicated with, and a search party conducted by Constable McNamara and a tracker set out. The heat at the time was intense, and the task of searching for the missing man proved no light one. For four days the search was continued, and eventually the dead body of the unfortunate man was found lying in the bush about three miles from his camp. The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition and bore signs-of having been already attacked by ants and iguanas.
The appearance of the place suggested that death had taken place in circumstances somewhat different from those which generally characterise men who die of the terrible sufferings caused by thirst. Skinner retained his clothes, and apparently realising that he was lost and without water had collected boughs and grass and having with these made his deathbed, he lay down, and awaited his approaching end, which, from indications, had taken place some 48 hours after he left his camp on the Sunday. Skinner bore the reputation of being a steady, industrious man, and was believed to be a good bushman. It is plated that he had received a sunstroke in Queensland, and it is surmised that owing to this and the intense heat pre-vailing in Black Range the early part of this month, the poor old fellow lost his bearings, and was unable to find his way home. A considerable sum of money was found on his body. So far as can be ascertained, he leaves no relatives in the State.

The body was brought in to the Black Range Hospital and placed in the morgue, where it was examined by Dr. Nutting. The doctor giving a certificate that death had resulted from thirst, the Coroner dispensed with an inquest. The deceased man was buried during the afternoon at Nungarra.

STEPHENS Thomas R, 1 Mar 1908, from a sulky accident, Reg Black Range 3/1908

Thomas STEPHENS

THOMPSON Arthur, d 26 Feb 1906, Nungarra, Occ:-Miner, 39yrs, Cause:- Heart failure from dysentery, Parents unknown, born NSW, Reg: East Murchison 10/1906, Buried Nungarra Cemetery.

THOMPSON Isaac, d 1 Jan 1907, at Eclipse GM, 9 miles East of Nungarra, 37yrs, Occ:- Miner, Cause:- Heart failure brought on by exitement during a fight on 31^st Dec 1906, Verdict of the Coroner, Father:- William THOMPSON (Merchant), Mother:- Ann CROW, born NSW, In VIC 28yrs, In WA 9yrs, Single, Reg :- East Murchison 2/1907, buried Nungarra Cemetery

TRACEY David d 1907, Reg Black Range 3/1907

VICKERS Arthur, d 9 Apr 1906, Nungarra, 42yrs, Occ:-Contractor, Cause:- Suicide, Gunshot wound self inflicted, Father:- George Allen VICKERS, born Howden England, in WA 14yrs, Married in Wagga Wagga, NSW at age 25yrs, to Kate (Maiden Name Unknown) , Children:- Violet 16yrs, Ida 7yrs, Reg East Murchison 14/1906, buried Nungarra Cemetery

VINE Walter, d 6 Aug 1906, Nungarra Hospital, 33yrs, Occ:-Miner, Cause:- Chronic Brights Disease, Father:- Joseph VINE (Carrier) Mother:- Helen CARIS, Born Londonderry Ireland, in NSW 13yrs, In WA 5 yrs, Reg:- East Murchison 17/1906, buried Nungarra Cemetery

WALL William 13 May 1907,   of Nungarra Hospital, Occ:- Miner, Cause:- Fall from a ladder in the shaft GM Lease Hawthorn Reward, 109B causing dislocation of neck.  Father:- William WALL, Born Liverpool England, in VIC 12yrs, in WA 5yrs, Reg East Murchison 16/1907, buried Nungarra Cemetery

WILLIAMSON John, d 3 May 1907, 69yrs, Occ:-Prospector, BURNSin Black Range Hospital, Cause:- Malignanat disease of the bladder, Father: Occ Farmer, born Northhamptonshire, England, in WA 14yrs, Married in Adelaide SA to Mary B URNS, Children:- Thomas James 45yrs, George William 41yrs, Sarah Ann 40yrs, John Richard 37yrs, Francis Henry 35yrs, Herbert 33yrs, Albert Edward 29yrs, Reg:- East Murchison 13/1907, buried Nungarra Cemetery

John Williamson

This grave is unidentified:-

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