Category: Project

Post relating to our project and the progress we are making

The Women of Wagerup & Yalup Brook

Editor’s Note: The following account has been thoughtfully researched and brought to life by Gail Thomas, a valued member of the Ghost Project team. It highlights the determination and activism of a group of women from Wagerup and Yalup Brook who worked together not only to improve their local communities and help shape their development, but also to contribute to broader issues affecting Western Australia.

There must have been much excitement on 25 April 1929 at the Yalup Brook Hall when women from Wagerup and Yalup Brook met to form a branch of the Women’s Section of the Primary Producers’ Association (WSPPA).1 These small farming communities were located between the towns of Waroona and Yarloop in W.A.’s south-west.  Mrs Pitman was elected president and Mrs Hester secretary and treasurer.  The Yalup Brook-Wagerup Branch met monthly and played an active part in the lives of local women until about 1936. Mesdames May, Archibald, Moffatt, Trotter, James, Stephens, Tyler and Miss Ibbotson were some of the other stalwarts of the Branch.

As well as their monthly meetings, members held fund-raising events such as euchre parties, a “Paddy’s Market” and dances.  Donations were made to the King Edward Memorial Hospital and funds were used to send delegates to the WSPPA annual conferences in Perth.

Branch members campaigned on local issues which impacted on their farming community, centred on dairy farming, pig production and the growing of crops such as pumpkins and cabbages.  In 1930 the women discussed the need for a cool storage van at the railway siding to provide for cream and milk to prevent it from spoiling, at great loss to the producers.2 At the annual state conference that year, Mrs Hester moved that “The Railway Department should be asked to provide conveniences on country lines”.3  At the monthly meeting of 23 June 1932, it was moved that the following resolution be placed before the next state conference – that “the Deputy Postmaster-General be asked to provide direct mails to and from Perth and Wagerup”.4  The women wanted action and they got it!  In October, Mr J. H Prowse, M.H.R., wrote to the executive of the WSPPA “advising that the request from the Wagerup branch for a direct mail service with Perth had been placed before the Postmaster-General, who had arranged for this service to be inaugurated daily”.5

Lest it be thought that the women of Wagerup and Yalup Brook were only interested in local issues, nothing could be further from the truth.  These women had strong opinions about the governance of their State and weren’t afraid to voice them.  They were not keen on the Government – State or Federal. Only a year after the Branch formed, it passed a motion to go to the state conference favouring the secession of Western Australia from the Commonwealth.6  Although the motion was debated at the conference on 15 August 1930, it does not seem to have progressed beyond the committee stage.7

Full newspaper article from 15 August 1930

The women of Yalup Brook-Wagerup protested about the high cost of Government and thought that the number of elected members should be reduced, though “without injury to the representation of country areas”.8 9 They deplored “the action of certain Federal members in raising their salaries, while farmers can scarcely make a living”.10

The Branch was still operational in mid-1934, but in June 1935 was re-formed after having been in recess for a year.11  It is probably fitting that what seems to have been one of the women’s last campaigns was for the direct benefit of their local community.  In October of that year, the Secretary for Railways informed the WSPPA that as a result of representations made by the Association, “it has been decided to provide hangers at Wagerup siding for protection against attacks by dogs of carcass meat deposited for conveyance by rail until placed in the security of the branke-van (sic)”.12  The Branch does not seem to have continued after 1936. A branch of the Country Women’s Association was formed in Wagerup around that time and perhaps the membership simply relocated. 

Despite the relatively short life of the Branch, the spirit of positive activism shown by its members resulted in tangible benefits for their local communities.  However, it also placed these women within the broader Western Australian community, as evidenced by their political campaigning.  The WSPPA gave the women of Wagerup and Yalup Brook a voice, and they made the most of this opportunity.

Sources

  1. Primary Producers. Women’s Section Extends (1929, May 3). The Daily News (Perth, WA: 1882-1955), p. 11. Retrieved October 28, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article85152570 ↩︎
  2. Work of Women’s Association (1930, January 3). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p.4. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32342060 ↩︎
  3. Producers’ Wives. Annual Conference (1930, August 15). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p. 20. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33349101 ↩︎
  4. Primary Producers. Women’s District Meetings. Yalup Brook-Wagerup (1932, July 1). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p. 5. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32556354 ↩︎
  5. Primary Producers. Women’s Section Meeting (1932, October 21). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p. 9. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32540950 ↩︎
  6. Primary Producers. Work of Women’s Association (1930, July 4). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p. 6. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33345383 ↩︎
  7. Secession. Discussion by Women (1930, August 16). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p. 13. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33346099 ↩︎
  8. Primary Producers. Women’s District Meetings. Yalup Brook-Wagerup, op.cit., p. 5. ↩︎
  9. Women’s Section. Concluding Day’s Session. Costs of Government (1932, August 19). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p. 14. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32547995 ↩︎
  10. Primary Producers. Women’s Section Notes. Yalup Brook-Wagerup (1933, November 14). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p. 4. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32784845 ↩︎
  11. Primary Producers. Branches’ Annual Meetings. Organising (1935, June 11). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p. 4. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32879902 ↩︎
  12. Railway Concessions for Country Women. (1935, October 3). The West Australian (WA: 1879-1954), p. 4. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32901857 ↩︎

Lynton Ruins

Editor’s Note: Lynton Convict Hiring Depot (1853–1857) is one of Western Australia’s many fascinating ghost towns. This evocative poem Lynton Ruins by S.M. Wild, is accompanied by sketches by Gerald K. Wild. We are delighted to share their work and extend our thanks to K.E. Allia for generously granting permission to publish it.

The limestone hills are greenly gowned
Though tamarisks sigh, no other sound
Disturbs the silence there.
And dappled sunlight’s soft caress,
It seems to me, has come to bless,
Three mounds bleak and bare.

Here, no words tell of fame or glory,
Time has erased their little story,
Has left them lying alone.
But fretting ruins nearby stand,
Hollow eyed upon the land,
Mid heaps of crumbled stone.

And they all speak of endless sorrow,
Loneliness, hope for tomorrow,
For those who toiled out there;
And those whose fate it was to be
Outcasts of humanity,
Knowing darkness and despair.

Could they but hear me, I would say,
“Take heart, take heart, for see, today,
All was not in vain.
You were our link in destiny,
Creating new lives such as we,
In us you live again.

And brick by brick and stone by stone,
We will make your efforts known
As we build anew.
So generations yet to be
Will come and visit, just to see,
And to remember you.”

Phase 8 – from Marble Bar to Eucla

Phase 8 of our project launches today. There’s a wide range of communities included from the border town of Eucla, west to the Timber Mill and Railway Siding at Newlands and north to the remote mining town of Bamboo Creek (north of Marble Bar).

  • AMERY – in the Shire of Dowerin
  • AUSTIN – gold mining in the Shire of Cue
  • BALKULING – a railway siding in the Shire of Quairading
  • BAMBOO CREEK – goldmining in the East Pilbara near Marble Bar
  • BOOKARA – a coaching inn and railway siding in the Shire of Irwin
  • BUNJIL – farming community in the Shire of Perenjori
  • BURNBRAE CHILDREN’S HOME – in the shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale
  • CANNA – a century of history in the Shire of Morawa
  • EJANDING – also in the Shire of Dowerin
  • EUCLA – a telegraph station and port located in the Shire of Dundas just west of the border with SA in a time zone all its own
  • FLY FLAT – before Coolgardie there was Fly Flat!
  • GILGAI – the No. 7 Pump Station on the Golden Pipeline in the Shire of Yilgarn
  • NEWLANDS – a mill town and railway siding in the shire of Donnybrook-Balingup and now an apple and pear growing area
  • PAYNESVILLE – the 1898 rush in the Shire of Mount Magnet
  • SMAILES MILL – timber mill in the Shire of Kalamunda
  • SMITHFIELD – three locations in the goldfields known as Smithfield #1, Smithfield #2 and Smithfield #3
  • TWO MILE – in the Shire of Sandstone
  • VIVIEN – gold mining in the Shire of Leonora
  • XANTIPPE – a farming community in the Shire of Dalwallinu (not the gold mine of the same name)
  • 4 MILE – possibly a gold mine in the Shire of Menzies, but very difficult to research

A new phase starts next week

Mark your calendar because Phase 8 of our project will start next Sunday – 6 September 2026. This phase will include some fascinating places:

  • EUCLA – located in the Shire of Dundas just west of the border with SA
  • BAMBOO CREEK – in East Pilbara near Marble Bar
  • AMERY – in the Shire of Dowerin
  • CANNA – in the Shire of Morawa
  • BALKULING – in the Shire of Quairading
  • BOOKARA – in the Shire of Irwin
  • EJANDING – also in the Shire of Dowerin
  • GILGAI (No. 7 Pump Station) – in the Shire of Yilgarn
  • PAYNESVILLE – in the Shire of Mount Magnet
  • VIVIEN – in the Shire of Leonora
  • NEWLANDS – in the shire of Donnybrook-Balingup
  • BURNBRAE CHILDREN’S HOME – in the shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale
  • SMITHFIELD – three locations in the goldfields known as Smithfield #1, Smithfield #2 and Smithfield #3
  • BUNJIL – in the Shire of Perenjori
  • FLY FLAT – in the Shire of Coolgardie
  • XANTIPPE – in the Shire of Dalwallinu
  • SMAILES MILL – in the Shire of Kalamunda
  • TWO MILE – in the Shire of Sandstone
  • 4 MILE in the Shire of Menzies

Watch out for the release of town profiles for all of these ghost communities.

Tragedy on the Turf

On 19 March 1906, the gold-mining township of Bulong celebrated St Patrick’s Day with an “exempted mixed sports meeting” that drew crowds to the local recreation reserve. What should have been a day of festive competition ended in a tragedy that exposed the “loose and incompetent” standards of early goldfields racing and led to a high-profile manslaughter trial in the Kalgoorlie Circuit Court.1 2 3

The day’s final event was the Forced Handicap. Albert James Windsor, a well-regarded 18-year-old jockey, was given the mount on a horse named Umber. Tensions were high before the start; Windsor reportedly told his stepfather and Umber’s owner, John Coen, that other jockeys had threatened him, saying, “They would settle me this time”. Windsor was so apprehensive that he unsuccessfully attempted to swap his starting position to the outside rail to avoid being “blocked”.4 5 6

Image generated using Nano Banana 2
Christine Harris (2026)

As the field turned into the straight, Philosopher and Little Katie led, with Umber trailing by two lengths. Umber made a spirited run on the inside, drawing level with the leaders near the post. Witnesses testified that the rider of Philosopher, Victor Perry, deliberately pulled his horse across the track to block Umber’s path. The interference was so severe that Umber was “wilfully bored” off the course and into the surrounding crowd. In the ensuing chaos, Umber fell, striking several spectators before rolling over Windsor.7 8

Windsor was rushed to Bulong Hospital and later transferred to Kalgoorlie. He had sustained a fractured spine, leaving his body paralysed below the waist. Despite his clear intellect until the end, his condition was hopeless; he succumbed to respiratory failure on 2 April 1906.9 10

Victor Perry, who had fled Bulong an hour after the race, was eventually arrested and charged with manslaughter. His trial opened in June 1906 before Mr Justice Burnside. The prosecution presented a damning case, including testimony from John Coen that Perry had offered to “pull” (deliberately lose) his horse earlier that day for a fee, which Coen had refused.11 12

Perry’s defence argued that the incident was a mere racing accident, claiming Philosopher had a “bad mouth” and had swerved naturally toward the rails. However, the jury was not convinced by the claim that a horse would naturally swerve nearly nine yards across a 35-foot track.13

On 22 June 1906, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. They added a “strong recommendation to mercy,” citing the “remarkably dangerous” nature of the Bulong course and the “general loose methods” of the meeting’s stewards. Justice Burnside, while acknowledging the jury’s recommendation, sentenced Perry to 12 months’ imprisonment with hard labour in Fremantle Gaol. He remarked that Perry had “deliberately infringed” the rules of sport to prevent a competitor from winning, resulting in a disastrous loss of life.14 15

Sources

  1. ALLEGED MANSLAUGHTER (1906, June 22). Coolgardie Miner (WA : 1894 – 1911), p. 4. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article218120555 ↩︎
  2. Wikipedia (2022). Bulong, Western Australia. Retrieved 18 Mar 2026 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulong,_Western_Australia ↩︎
  3. BULONG MANSLAUGHTER CASE. (1906, June 26). Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 – 1916), p. 12. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33036171 ↩︎
  4. The Bulong Racing Fatality. (1906, May 1). Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 – 1916), p. 18. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33034239 ↩︎
  5. Bulong Racing Fatality. (1906, April 12). The Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89619313 ↩︎
  6. Bulong Racing Fatality. (1906, April 11). The Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89626477 ↩︎
  7. MANSLAUGHTER (1906, April 11). The Evening Star (Boulder, WA : 1898 – 1921), p. 3 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204551063 ↩︎
  8. The Bulong Racing Fatality. (1906, May 1). Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 – 1916), p. 18. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33034239 ↩︎
  9. ibid ↩︎
  10. Bulong Racing Fatality. (1906, April 11). The Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89626477 ↩︎
  11. The Bulong Racing Fatality. (1906, April 25). The Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89627506 ↩︎
  12. ALLEGED MANSLAUGHTER (1906, June 22). Coolgardie Miner (WA : 1894 – 1911), p. 4. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article218120555 ↩︎
  13. ibid ↩︎
  14. ibid ↩︎
  15. BULONG MANSLAUGHTER CASE. (1906, June 26). Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 – 1916), p. 12. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33036171 ↩︎

Voices Across the Wire

Editor’s Note: The source of the following article is an article in the North-Eastern Courier in 1938.1

For the residents of the Murchison and the North-Eastern wheatbelt in the 1930s, “distance” was more than just a measurement; it was a constant, looming threat. To be a prospector at the Payne’s Find goldfields or a pastoralist on a remote station meant living days away from medical help. However, on a Saturday afternoon in late July 1938, that gap was narrowed significantly with the official opening of the radio telephone service between Dalwallinu Hospital and Payne’s Find.

Wireless transmitter in the ante room of the Labour Ward, Dalwallinu Hospital, 19382

The event was treated with the gravity such a technological milestone deserved. The Minister for Health, Mr A. H. Panton, travelled from Perth to perform the opening honours. Accompanying him was a party of dignitaries, including Mr P. D. Ferguson, M.L.A., and officials from the Medical and Health Departments. The afternoon began with a sense of local hospitality, as the Chairman of the Dalwallinu Hospital Board, Mr W. H. Flynn, entertained the Ministerial party at lunch at the Dalwallinu Hotel before the proceedings moved to the hospital.

What makes this piece of local history so compelling is the evidence of grassroots determination. The service was not merely handed down by the government; it was a hard-won victory for the locals. The total cost of the sets exceeded £200, a significant sum during the tail end of the Depression, with £75 of that raised specifically at the Payne’s Find end.

Special credit was given to Mr A. F. Pipe, who spent a “vast amount of time” securing financial aid, and Dr C. W. Anderson, who had spent two years advocating for the wireless link. Minister Panton noted that the hospital tax money was being put to “good and legitimate use” to benefit such country areas, but it was clear that the heavy lifting had been done by the people themselves.

Before this link, a medical emergency at Payne’s Find required a physical messenger to travel long distances just to reach a telephone. Dr Anderson highlighted that the new service would be a “vast benefit” to those “outback who lack hospital and medical facilities”. Over the airwaves, the Minister explained that the radio would allow for immediate first-aid advice to be given by the doctor while a patient was being prepared for the arduous journey to Dalwallinu.

The day also saw the formal handing over of a new operating table to the hospital by the Wubin and Districts sub-branch of the R.S.L. Mr Jas. Day, representing the sub-branch, appealed to citizens to support Dr Anderson, whom he described as “second to none” in his care for the “sick and afflicted”.

The most poignant moment of the day occurred when the link was tested. Mr W. J. Green, the long-standing postmaster and pioneer of Payne’s Find, replied to the Minister “over the air” from the mining centre. Green, who had been instrumental in the project, spoke with pride about the district’s twenty-seven-year history, noting that it had produced thousands of pounds worth of gold and a “huge quantity of the highest quality wool”.

He also shared a rare moment of environmental optimism, reporting that beneficial rains had recently fallen, brightening the prospects for local pastoralists. The ceremony concluded on a personal note, with Mr J. C. Clark sending a “cheerio” over the air to Mr Eric Bouquet, the operator of the set at Payne’s Find.

  1. Radio Telephone (1938, August 5). North-Eastern Courier (Perth, WA : 1923 – 1955), p. 5. Retrieved April 3, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article257371150 ↩︎
  2. State Library of Western Australia (n.d.) Colin Warden Anderson collection of photographs; BA2076/46. Retrieved 3 Apr 2026 from https://encore.slwa.wa.gov.au/iii/encore/record/C__Rb4615670
    Notes:
    1. Wireless transmitter in ante room of Labour Ward, Dalwallinu Hospital. Built by W.E. Coxon. Call HUG reputed 50 watts output. Two receivers on R. Lower is 5 valve AWA receiver donated by Mr Green, Paynes Find.
    2. Original image damaged and unclear has been restored by Nano Banana 2 AI. ↩︎

What’s new in Phase 7?

Phase 7 of our project starts tomorrow with the release of twenty-one new communities, bringing the total of communities being actively indexed to 109.

  • Mundaring Weir
  • Ninghan
  • Yerilla
  • Kunanalling
  • Golden Valley
  • Payne’s Find
  • Myalup Sustenance Worker’s Camp
  • Kurrajong
  • Wyening
  • Kudardup
  • Warriedar
  • Zanthus
  • Mangowine
  • Mulga Queen
  • Burnakura
  • Gum Creek
  • Mason & Bird Timbers Mills
  • Yetna
  • Jonesville
  • Nairibin
  • PWD Timber Mill

The profile pages for these communities will be released progressively across the next six to eight weeks, starting tomorrow. So make sure you are subscribed to our website to be notified when this happens.

James Lilly

In the mid-19th century, the region we now know as Mundaring was a rugged expanse of “mundak,” or wild country, dominated by towering jarrah and wandoo forests,. It was a landscape defined by the rhythmic thud of sleeper cutters’ axes and the isolated camps of convict road parties who laboured to maintain the vital thoroughfares of the colony,. For the early settlers, these hills were a formidable barrier between the burgeoning capital of Perth and the agricultural promise of the Avon Valley. Along the main artery of travel, the York Road, law and order often felt as thin as the coastal mist, creating a perfect environment for those living outside the law.1

An imagining of James Lilly, bushranger, created by Nano Banana 2
Christine Harris (2026)

The focal point of this narrative is a small stone structure situated near Manaring Lake at the junction of the Great Eastern and Great Southern Highways. Originally known as the Travellers Rest Inn, it was built around 1855 by Robert Doncon on “King Dick’s Road”, a route specifically financed by York settlers to bypass a more difficult government-surveyed track. By 1858, the inn had been purchased by Henry Horton and renamed Horton’s Half-Way House. Described by visitors as a “primitive sort of house,” its sitting room was famously furnished with great sofas that frequently served as makeshift beds for weary travellers.2

In November 1860, this humble outpost became the stage for a dramatic moment in Western Australian colonial history. James Lilly, an escaped bushranger, was at large in the district. In a time when the bush offered near-limitless sanctuary to fugitives, Lilly was a significant concern for the small, scattered populations of sawyers and pioneers. Bushrangers like Lilly represented a direct challenge to the safety of the mail routes and the security of isolated homesteads in the “high places” of the range.3

The capture of Lilly at Horton’s inn was a rare and decisive victory for colonial authorities. Drawn by the necessity of the crossroads or perhaps the rare prospect of shelter, the fugitive’s run ended at this remote stop. While the specific tactical details of the struggle are not extensively detailed in the historical record, it is confirmed that it was here that Lilly’s flight from justice was finally halted.4

Today, little remains of the site where this frontier drama unfolded. The advent of the Eastern Railway in 1884 bypassed the old York Road inns, stripping them of their economic purpose and social importance. Partially destroyed by bushfires in the 1920s and 1930s, the inn fell into a dilapidated state. What once stood as a vital haven for travellers and a site of high-stakes capture is now a collection of low stone walls, slowly deteriorating among the trees at the locality known as The Lakes. These ruins serve as a silent reminder of the days when James Lilly haunted the wild country of the Mundaring hills.5

Sources

  1. National Trust of Western Australia (n.d.) The Golden Pipeline: Mundaring. Retrieved 19 Mar 2026 from https://www.goldenpipeline.com.au/place/mundaring/ ↩︎
  2. Heritage Council of WA (2017). Travellers’ Inn Ruins. Retrieved 19 Mar 2026 from https://inherit.dplh.wa.gov.au/public/inventory/details/02f2be09-9790-45ec-99a6-2780f0b9e570 ↩︎
  3. ibid ↩︎
  4. ibid ↩︎
  5. ibid ↩︎

Further Reading

Wondering about where to find a ghost town?

Here on our website we have a great resource called WA’s Ghost Towns by Location. This document lists all communities included in our project (to date) by Administrative Region and Local Government Authority. At the bottom of the list, you can find a list of communities that are still being researched.

If you are planning a road trip and want to visit some Ghost Towns on the way, you can search by region or by shire name and find what is around you.

Snip of two shires in our Ghost Towns by Location List

If you want a view of how things looked a century ago, here’s a map of Western Australia by Locality produced in 1934.

S.C. Ward & Co., issuing body. (1934). Locality map of Western Australia showing gold fields and mining centres Retrieved March 22, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1485547591

20 New Ghost Towns

1 March 2026 is the launch of Phase 6 of the project and 20 new ghost communities have been added to the list of towns that are being actively researched.

If you know anything more about any of these places, or any others on our please, please contact us via our contact page. And if you find anything that you think is incorrect on any of our pages, we need to know!!

And don’t forget to subscribe to this page to receive updates on the project.