Woop Woop – as an adjective?

I have noticed something today while researching the ghost community of Woop Woop. The name “Woop Woop” has often been used as a humorous or derogatory adjective.

If you have been following along with our project, you will already know that Woop Woop is one of the communities included in Phase 2. Woop Woop was a timber mill situated about 70Km south of Collie, and just a couple of Kms from the little town of Wilga, in the Shire of Boyup Brook. It only last for three years (1925-1928) but in that time it had six huts for single men, two houses, a boarding house, an office, and the Mill itself.

So today I have been working through a publication call The Guardian that has been published in Perth since 1937. While doing this I came across these “references” to Woop Woop – not to the place, but in a completely different context.

On 27 November, 1942, a random report about a scientific discovery related to the size of the solar system (and the universe) was concluded with a pretty obscure reference to Adolf Hitler as the bantamweight champion of Woop-Woop. ¹

In February 1945, in a report decrying poor quality journalism in relation to reports on the distribution of preferences in Victoria Park. Claiming that any junior reporter would have done a better job than the senior reporters tasked with informing the public.
The report concludes with the statement “A Woop Woop editorial staff would have made a better job of a simple duty to the public”. ²

Elections once again figure in a report from January 1947, where everyone from the Federal Government all the way down to “the Woop Woop Shire Council” is looking for a handout. ³

These stories may have been meant to be humorous, but between 1937 and 1954, seven times the name “Woop Woop” was used in a way that, if I had been a local resident, would have seen me writing a letter to the editor to demand an apology. And, perhaps, in this litigious age, seeking compensation.

A LAST NOTE: The seven articles are all in The Guardian. There are probably hundreds in the 365 other Western Australian newspapers currently digitised on Trove. Have a look for yourself and see what you can find.

Sources

ANOTHER SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. (1942, November 27). The Guardian (Perth, WA : 1937 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article266652877 ↩︎
MUDDLED JOURNALISM. (1945, February 16). The Guardian (Perth, WA : 1937 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article266664598 ↩︎
State Elections are ‘On’ (1947, January 31). The Guardian (Perth, WA : 1937 – 1954), p. 1. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article266579906 ↩︎

Captured Records at 31 July 2025

The total records captured up to 31 July 2025 is 78,987. During the past month, the communities of Black Range, Burbridge, Cork Tree Flat, Culham, Dattening, Garden Gully, Gum Creek, Hawk’s Nest, Kintore, Kudardup, Linden, Paynesville, Red Lake School, Spargoville, Warriedar, Wyening, and Zanthus have found their way into our captured list.

Our project team are working hard to capture as many records as possible of the people in WA’s ghost communities. Once our website and search engine is fully operational you will be able to access some of these records. Here are the latest figures followed by a simple line graph showing the growth in total numbers:

Quick Tip: to quickly see if your favourite ghost town is already in this list, press CTRL+f [find].

Name	Extracted Records
25 Mile	2
36 Mile Police Station	52
45 Mile	2
90 Mile	310
Abbott’s	58
Agnew	3
Aldersyde	4
Aldinga	8
Anaconda	2
Arrino	2
Baandee	120
Bamboo Creek	10
Bardoc	44
Barton	88
Benjaberring	13
Bernier Island	2
Big Bell	6481
Black Flag	42
Black Range	7
Bonnie Vale	177
Boorabbin	3
Bootenal	199
Boyadine	54
Boyerine	64
Broad Arrow	53
Brown Hill	164
Brown’s Mill	2
Buchanan River	5
Bullabulling	26
Bullfinch	65
Bulong	758
Bummers Creek	8
Bungarun Lazarette	6
Bunjil	14
Buntine	122
Burakin	8
Burbanks	1
Burbidge	3
Burnakura	57
Burtville	31
Butcher’s Inlet	16
Butterfly	1
Camden Harbour	14
Camden Harbour Expedition	8
Cane Grass Swamp Hotel	6
Canegrass	102
Carbine	420
Carinyah	6
Caron	11
Cashmans Bore	1
Chesterfield	1
Comet Vale	54
Condon	2
Coodardy	6
Cork Tree Flat	2
Cossack	35352
Cuddingwarra	8
Cue	186
Culham	178
Darlot	2
Dattening	2
David Copperfield Mine	7
Davyhurst	1
Day Dawn	60
Delambre Island	2
Dinninup	1471
Diorite King	1
Dore Island	2
Dowerin Lakes	405
Dunnsville	1
East Kirup Timber Mill	8
Edjudina	39
Eradu	486
Erlistoun	6
Eticup	7
Eucalyptus	152
Eucla	58
Euro	12
Ferguson Timber Mill (Lowden)	1
Ferguson Timber Mill (Yarloop)	2
Feysville	150
Field’s Find	167
Fields Find	647
Fly Flat	2
Gabanintha	73
Galena	159
Galena Bridge	3
Gap Well	3
Garden Gully	9
Geraldine	141
Geraldine Mine	293
Ghooli	322
Golden Valley	14
Goodwood	29
Goodwood Timber Mill (Donnybrook)	888
Goomarin	1358
Goongarrie	5943
Gordon	5
Grants Patch	1
Grass Patch	15
Greenough River	413
Gum Creek	7
Gwalia	4048
Hampton Plains	7
Hawk’s Nest	3
Hawks Nest (Laverton)	4
Hearson Cove	1
Higginsville	682
Holden’s Find	2
Holyoake	10
Ives Find	1
Jarman Island	30
Jibberding	150
Kallaroo	64
Kamballie	130
Kanowna	4168
Kathleen	8
Kathleen Valley	29
Kintore	16
Kodj Kodjin	38
Kookynie	159
Kudardup	27
Kulja	17
Kunanalling	165
Kurnalpi	54
Kurrajong	8
Lake Austin	116
Lake Darlot	7
Lawlers	11
Linden	1
Londonderry	58
Ludlow (Capel / Busselton)	352
Malcolm	701
Mallina	10
Mangowine	33
Marchagee	8
Mark’s Siding	10
Marrinup	4
Maya	35
Mertondale	3
Mia Moon	68
Minnivale	219
Mogumber	10
Mollerin	3
Mount Ida	2
Mount Malcolm	291
Mount Margaret	12
Mount Monger	3
Mount Morgans	8
Mulga Queen Community	190
Mulgabbie	5
Mulgarrie	1
Mulline	1
Mulwarrie	1
Mundaring Weir	277
Murrin Murrin	529
Nalkain	798
Nalkain Railway Siding	12
Nannine	276
Naretha Railway Siding	9
Needilup	2
Neta Vale Telegraph Station	12
New England	1
Niagara	283
Niagara (North)	5
Ninety Mile	139
Ninghan Station	9
Nippering	6
No 6 Pump Station (Ghouli)	44
Nugadong	766
Nullagine	16
Nungarin (North)	27
Nyamup	5
Old Dowerin	143
Old Halls Creek	1301
Ora Banda	161
Paddington	5
Payne’s Find	103
Paynesville	7
Peak Hill	15
Piesseville	35
Pilbarra	16
Pindalup Ports No.1 Timber Mill (Dwellingup)	20
Pindalup Railway Siding	20
Pingarning	2
Pingin	3
Pinjin	15
Pinyalling	1
Plavins	15
Port George IV	1
Quindalup Timber Mills	3
Red Lake School	8
Redcastle	12
Reedy	8
Roaring Gimlet	149
Rothesay	31
Rothsay	30
Sandstone	13
Shannon	19
Sherlock	3
Siberia	2
Sir Samuel	1
Smithfield	6
Spargoville	1
Speakman’s Find	1
Surprise	64
Surprise South	3
Tampa	8
Taylor’s Well	302
Taylors Well	14
Tenindewa	8
Tien Tsin	60
Trafalgar	346
Tuckanarra	8
Two Boys	12
Ularring	187
Vosperton	1
Walgoolan	18
Warriedar	3
Webb’s Patch	1
Whim Creek	2
White Feather	3
White Hope	1
Woodley’s Find	4
Woolgangie	3
Woolgar	201
Woop Woop Timber Mill	303
Wyening	30
Wyola	707
Xantippe	12
Yandanooka	135
Yankee Town	4
Yerilla	44
Yornup	10
Youanmi	13
Youndegin	5
Yundamindera	1
Yunndaga	293
Zanthus	20

And here’s what our progress look like in a simple line graph!

Captured Records at 30 June 2025

The total records captured up to 30 June 2025 is 74,222. During the past month, the communities of Barton, Bummers Creek, Cuddingwarra, Davyhurst, East Kirup Timber Mill, Fly Flat, Galena Bridge, Kathleen, Kathleen Valley, Mount Ida, Mulgabbie, Naretha Railway Siding, Niagara North, Pingin, Pinjin, Sandstone, Sir Samuel, Surprise South, Webb’s Patch, and Yundamindera have found their way into our captured list.

Our project team are working hard to capture as many records as possible of the people in WA’s ghost communities. Once our website and search engine is fully operational you will be able to access some of these records. But for now, here are the latest figures along with a graph showing the growth in total numbers:

Quick Tip: to quickly see if your favourite ghost town is already in this list, press CTRL+f [find].

Community	Records Captured
25 Mile	2
36 Mile Police Station	52
45 Mile	2
90 Mile	310
Abbott’s	58
Agnew	3
Aldersyde	4
Aldinga	4
Anaconda	2
Arrino	2
Baandee	120
Bamboo Creek	10
Bardoc	43
Barton	88
Benjaberring	13
Bernier Island	2
Big Bell	6481
Black Flag	42
Bonnie Vale	177
Boorabbin	3
Bootenal	198
Boyadine	52
Boyerine	64
Broad Arrow	50
Brown Hill	164
Brown’s Mill	2
Buchanan River	5
Bullabulling	26
Bullfinch	64
Bulong	758
Bummers Creek	8
Bungarun Lazarette	6
Bunjil	14
Buntine	122
Burakin	8
Burbanks	1
Burnakura	12
Burtville	31
Butcher’s Inlet	16
Butterfly	1
Camden Harbour	14
Camden Harbour Expedition	8
Cane Grass Swamp Hotel	6
Canegrass	94
Carbine	420
Carinyah	6
Caron	11
Cashmans Bore	1
Chesterfield	1
Comet Vale	54
Condon	2
Coodardy	6
Cossack	34862
Cuddingwarra	8
Cue	175
Darlot	2
David Copperfield Mine	7
Davyhurst	1
Day Dawn	58
Delambre Island	2
Dinninup	1471
Diorite King	1
Dore Island	2
Dowerin Lakes	403
Dunnsville	1
East Kirup Timber Mill	8
Edjudina	36
Eradu	462
Erlistoun	6
Eticup	7
Eucalyptus	119
Eucla	58
Ferguson Timber Mill (Lowden)	1
Ferguson Timber Mill (Yarloop)	2
Feysville	136
Field’s Find	167
Fields Find	647
Fly Flat	1
Gabanintha	73
Galena	158
Galena Bridge	3
Gap Well	3
Geraldine	124
Geraldine Mine	161
Ghooli	322
Golden Valley	6
Goodwood	29
Goodwood Timber Mill (Donnybrook)	888
Goomarin	1306
Goongarrie	5567
Gordon	5
Grants Patch	1
Grass Patch	15
Greenough River	400
Gwalia	2381
Hampton Plains	7
Hawk’s Nest	3
Hawks Nest (Laverton)	4
Hearson Cove	1
Higginsville	679
Holden’s Find	2
Holyoake	10
Ives Find	1
Jarman Island	30
Jibberding	150
Kallaroo	64
Kamballie	130
Kanowna	4164
Kathleen	8
Kathleen Valley	29
Kodj Kodjin	38
Kookynie	158
Kulja	17
Kunanalling	3
Kurnalpi	54
Lake Austin	116
Lake Darlot	5
Lawlers	5
Londonderry	58
Ludlow (Capel / Busselton)	347
Malcolm	633
Mallina	10
Mangowine	11
Marchagee	8
Mark’s Siding	10
Marrinup	4
Maya	35
Mertondale	3
Mia Moon	68
Minnivale	213
Mogumber	10
Mollerin	3
Mount Ida	1
Mount Malcolm	288
Mount Margaret	12
Mount Monger	3
Mount Morgans	7
Mulga Queen Community	190
Mulgabbie	5
Mulgarrie	1
Mulline	1
Mulwarrie	1
Mundaring Weir	15
Murrin Murrin	529
Nalkain	798
Nalkain Railway Siding	12
Nannine	276
Naretha Railway Siding	9
Needilup	2
Neta Vale Telegraph Station	12
New England	1
Niagara	283
Niagara (North)	5
Ninety Mile	131
Ninghan Station	9
Nippering	6
No 6 Pump Station (Ghouli)	44
Nugadong	766
Nullagine	16
Nungarin (North)	27
Nyamup	5
Old Dowerin	143
Old Halls Creek	857
Ora Banda	161
Paddington	5
Payne’s Find	32
Peak Hill	14
Piesseville	35
Pilbarra	16
Pindalup Ports No.1 Timber Mill (Dwellingup)	20
Pindalup Railway Siding	20
Pingarning	2
Pingin	3
Pinjin	15
Pinyalling	1
Plavins	15
Port George IV	1
Quindalup Timber Mills	3
Redcastle	12
Reedy	5
Roaring Gimlet	133
Rothesay	31
Rothsay	27
Sandstone	1
Shannon	2
Sherlock	3
Siberia	1
Sir Samuel	1
Smithfield	6
Speakman’s Find	1
Surprise	47
Surprise South	3
Tampa	8
Taylor’s Well	72
Taylors Well	14
Tenindewa	8
Tien Tsin	60
Trafalgar	346
Tuckanarra	1
Two Boys	12
Ularring	99
Vosperton	1
Walgoolan	18
Webb’s Patch	1
Whim Creek	2
White Feather	3
White Hope	1
Woodley’s Find	4
Woolgangie	3
Woolgar	201
Woop Woop Timber Mill	303
Wyola	699
Xantippe	12
Yandanooka	131
Yankee Town	4
Yerilla	14
Yornup	10
Youanmi	6
Youndegin	5
Yundamindera	1
Yunndaga	293

Captured Records at 31 May 2025

Our project team are working hard to capture as many records as possible of the people in WA’s ghost communities. Once our website and search engine is fully operational you will be able to access some of these records. But for now, here are the latest figures along with a graph showing the growth in total numbers:

Quick Tip: to quickly see if your favourite ghost town is already in this list, press CTRL+f [find].

Community Name	No of records captured
25 Mile	2
36 Mile Police Station	52
45 Mile	2
90 Mile	310
Abbott’s	58
Agnew	3
Aldersyde	4
Aldinga	4
Anaconda	2
Arrino	2
Bamboo Creek	10
Bardoc	42
Benjaberring	13
Bernier Island	2
Big Bell	5689
Black Flag	40
Bonnie Vale	175
Boorabbin	3
Bootenal	198
Boyadine	52
Boyerine	64
Broad Arrow	49
Brown Hill	164
Brown’s Mill	2
Bullabulling	26
Bullfinch	63
Bulong	749
Bungarun Lazarette	6
Bunjil	14
Buntine	122
Burakin	8
Burbanks	1
Burnakura	12
Burtville	30
Butcher’s Inlet	16
Butterfly	1
Camden Harbour	14
Camden Harbour Expedition	8
Cane Grass Swamp Hotel	6
Canegrass	94
Carbine	420
Carinyah	6
Caron	11
Cashmans Bore	1
Chesterfield	1
Comet Vale	54
Condon	2
Coodardy	6
Cossack	34862
Cue	172
Darlot	1
David Copperfield Mine	7
Day Dawn	57
Delambre Island	2
Dinninup	1467
Dore Island	2
Dowerin Lakes	403
Dunnsville	1
Edjudina	35
Eradu	432
Erlistoun	1
Eticup	7
Eucalyptus	119
Eucla	58
Ferguson Timber Mill (Lowden)	1
Ferguson Timber Mill (Yarloop)	2
Feysville	136
Field’s Find	143
Fields Find	600
Gabanintha	73
Galena	33
Gap Well	3
Geraldine	111
Geraldine Mine	2
Ghooli	319
Golden Valley	6
Goodwood	29
Goodwood Timber Mill (Donnybrook)	851
Goomarin	1289
Goongarrie	5520
Gordon	5
Grants Patch	1
Grass Patch	15
Greenough River	67
Gwalia	2364
Hampton Plains	7
Hawk’s Nest	1
Hawks Nest (Laverton)	4
Hearson Cove	1
Higginsville	679
Holden’s Find	2
Holyoake	10
Ives Find	1
Jarman Island	30
Jibberding	150
Kallaroo	64
Kamballie	130
Kanowna	4150
Kodj Kodjin	38
Kookynie	148
Kulja	17
Kunanalling	3
Kurnalpi	3
Lake Austin	116
Lake Darlot	5
Lawlers	2
Londonderry	58
Ludlow (Capel / Busselton)	347
Malcolm	606
Mallina	10
Mangowine	11
Marchagee	8
Mark’s Siding	10
Marrinup	4
Maya	35
Mertondale	3
Mia Moon	68
Minnivale	123
Mogumber	10
Mollerin	3
Mount Malcolm	271
Mount Margaret	10
Mount Monger	3
Mount Morgans	1
Mulga Queen Community	190
Mulgarrie	1
Mulwarrie	1
Mundaring Weir	15
Murrin Murrin	528
Nalkain	128
Nalkain Railway Siding	6
Nannine	276
Needilup	2
Neta Vale Telegraph Station	12
New England	1
Niagara	26
Ninety Mile	131
Ninghan Station	9
Nippering	6
No 6 Pump Station (Ghouli)	44
Nugadong	766
Nullagine	16
Nungarin (North)	27
Nyamup	5
Old Dowerin	143
Old Halls Creek	857
Ora Banda	161
Paddington	5
Payne’s Find	32
Peak Hill	14
Pilbarra	16
Pindalup Ports No.1 Timber Mill (Dwellingup)	20
Pindalup Railway Siding	20
Pingarning	2
Pinyalling	1
Plavins	15
Port George IV	1
Quindalup Timber Mills	3
Redcastle	12
Reedy	3
Roaring Gimlet	133
Rothesay	30
Rothsay	9
Shannon	2
Sherlock	3
Siberia	1
Smithfield	6
Speakman’s Find	1
Surprise	12
Tampa	8
Taylor’s Well	8
Taylors Well	14
Tenindewa	8
Tien Tsin	60
Trafalgar	344
Tuckanarra	1
Two Boys	3
Ularring	57
Vosperton	1
Walgoolan	3
Whim Creek	2
White Feather	3
White Hope	1
Woodley’s Find	4
Woolgangie	3
Woolgar	201
Woop Woop Timber Mill	303
Wyola	699
Xantippe	12
Yankee Town	4
Yerilla	13
Yornup	10
Youanmi	5
Youndegin	5
Yunndaga	293

Old John Hunter

“The only man who ever made Coolgardie blossom like a rose”

Something rarely mentioned about the Eastern Goldfields is – how did people get fresh veggies?

It’s hard to imagine life without fresh or frozen greens at dinner nowadays, but just imagine how it was in the 1890s. The conditions were very hot, the rainfall was unreliable. Those of you who have ever grown your own vegetables will know how quickly they can wilt and die on very hot days. Throw in a scarcity of water and growing your own becomes a labour of survival.

Water was carted into communities by camels bearing barrels of water from the closest place that it could be found – often from 500 km away in Northam, but this was obviously extremely expensive.

Water Condensers

Desalination plants were quickly built by enterprising people. Salt water was taken from nearby lakes, put into corrugated iron tanks and using local timber boiled and condensed. The condensed water was still very poor quality and needed to be further boiled to make it drinkable. This water was liquid gold at the price of 9p per gallon. It was even more expensive than beer!¹ Eventually the Government built condensers but water was still not plentiful.

**Typical scene of loading water onto camels at a condenser**
Image copyright WA Museum ²

Into this hot and harsh environment comes Old John Hunter, who we only learn about from his death. His obituary in 1927 reads:

Old John Hunter, who for over thirty-five years tilled a small plot of land on Fly Flat, Coolgardie, died a matter of four months ago, and old Coolgardieites who knew the old vegetable gardener of the Flat will be pleased to know that the old chap, who did so much to make a living at Coolgardie a good deal more tolerable than it might otherwise have been was given a last farewell by the old hands. John Hunter was an old sailor, probably leaving the sea to join in the gold rushes of the early nineties. He excavated a few small dams on the flat, improvised pumps and a primitive irrigation system and soon turned his little plot of erstwhile dusty alluvial diggings into a veritable oasis. He varied his gardening with dryblowing, received a pension, and lived quietly and snugly in a camp that exhibited many signs of his handiwork. His demise takes away a very old landmark whose going will be regretted. ³

Another writer said of John:

He created a veritable oasis in the desert and even produced mushrooms to tickle the palates of the epicurean goldfielders, whilst ordinary vegetables he grew in profusion and with rare skill. A type everybody will miss and remember. ⁴

Old John Hunter was born circa 1836. He must have been a remarkable man to have been tilling his garden since 1892. He was 91 when he died.

Sources

Shire of Coolgardie Liquid Gold in Coolgardie, 10 August 2023. Accessed 3 April 2025. https://www.coolgardie.wa.gov.au/news/liquid-gold-in-coolgardie/20477 ↩︎
Western Australian Museum, 2025. Condensing. Retrieved 19 May 2025 from https://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/wa-goldfields/water-arid-land/condensing ↩︎
PERSONALIA (1927, May 6). The Leader (Perth, WA : 1923 – 1928), p. 2. Retrieved May 19, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article256985122 ↩︎
PEEPS at PEOPLE (1927, May 8). Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 – 1954), p. 14. Retrieved May 19, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58318621 ↩︎

Phase 3 starts

On 28th March 2025, our project team started phase 3. This new phase of the project adds 16 new communities to the existing communities from the pilot (4) and phase 2 (15). To see the full listing of phase 3 communities can be found here.

If you are interested in joining the project team, or if you have information about any of the communities on our list, please email ghostswa@fhwa.org.au

Kundip Dreaming

Wyn Green was born in Kundip in Feb 1911. In later years she wrote a poem called “The Ghost Town of My Dreams” which you can find, in full, in the book “Kundip 1901-2001” by R Goldfinch¹. This is an excerpt…

The gorge still breathes its glory swathed in purpose and in gold
Rocks I climbed so many times their majesty still hold
There’s a lone crow a-cawing on a distant hill
Where the sombre mines with their rotting lines loom, eerie, and so still.

I hear the joyous notes of childhood wafted on the air
Occupants of homesteads which are dotted here and there
But Alas! The vision passes, again the streets are bare –
Homes have gone – have crumbled and none are there to care.

Wherever I may wander guided by my schemes
Kundip, I will remember – the ghost town of my dreams

Sources

Ravensthorpe Historical Society, 2001. Kundip 1901-2001. pp24-25 ↩︎
State Library of Western Australia. Jack Mallet Collection. Retrieved 11 Mar 2025 from https://encore.slwa.wa.gov.au/iii/encore/search/C__SJack%20Mallett%20collection%20of%20photographs%20SMCLN__Orightresult?lang=eng&suite=def ↩︎

An amusing tale

I have just run across a gently amusing newspaper cutting from 1933¹ that I want to share with you…

Coley Crane, a well-known Perth citizen, is interested in a very promising mining venture at Field’s Find. Recently he was showing a visitor round the ine and drew attention to the ore dump beneath the whim legs. “It is nice ore,” said Coley. “Ah well,” condoned the newcomer, “it all takes time, and while the improvised plant might be improved upon that will come in time; it will all come in time.”

“I don’t think,” said Coley, “you quite understood what I said – I remarked that this was a nice ore.” The visitor agreed, but continued: “But I wouldn’t worry about that. You’ll have everything spick and span later on.”

Coley was still puzzled. “I was referring,” he persisted, “to the quartz in the lump here.”

“Oh,” exclaimed the man from Perth, elucidation dawning upon him, “I thought you were referring to the superstructure and that you were saying it was an eye-sore!”

Sources

ON THE SKYLINE (1933, January 8). Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 – 1954), p. 9 (First Section). Retrieved November 2, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58671587 ↩︎
Shire of Yalgoo, 2024. Image Gallery – Field’s Find. Retrieved November 2, 2024 from https://www.yalgoo.wa.gov.au/image-gallery/fields-find/35 ↩︎

Symonds or Simounds?

A group of people posing for a photo

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This is a delightful wedding group, with the bride, Miss Maggie Symonds, wearing “…a pretty dress of white silk with point lace, a tulle veil, and a coronet of orange blossoms…the presents were both numerous and costly”. Some 80 guests partook of breakfast, then attended a ball in the evening at the Anaconda Hotel¹, ²,³.

Less than a year before, Alfred Frederick Thompson, her new husband, the landlord at the Anaconda Hotel, was in custody, charged with unlawfully shooting and wounding John Clinton. He was acquitted – it was decided that he needed to protect himself with a revolver against some of his customers who were “attempting to take possession of the hotel”. This was definitely the Wild West, and one wonders if his bride was prepared for this behaviour, not uncommon, and including “outrages with dynamite” on the billiard hall and also the hotel⁴, ⁵, ⁶, ⁷, ⁸, ⁹.

Over time, Anaconda has been known by various names, including Eulaminna, Murrin and Murrin Murrin. Lots were originally surveyed in 1900 to serve the nearby Murrin Murrin Copper Mine that was known as the Anaconda Copper Mine at the time. By 1903 there were 64 residential lots and a population of about 350. A Police Station was also established in 1903 and the town boasted two hotels, two stores a chemist and a newsagent. A mail receiver was in place but no telegraph station.

Researchers – if this is your family, the bride’s name is misspelled – she is really Margaret Robina (or Rosina) Simounds. If you know more about this family, please let us know at ghostswa@fhwa.org.au.

Sources

Kalgoorlie Western Argus, 1903. District News. Published 29 Sep 1903, p.12. Retrieved 23 Oct 2024 from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32734679?searchTerm=Maggie%20Symonds ↩︎
Kalgoorlie Miner, 1903. Wedding at Anaconda. Published 26 Sep 1903, p.4. Retrieved 23 Oct 2024 from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88873557?searchTerm=Maggie%20Symonds ↩︎
Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 – 1916),(1903, October 20) Wedding Group, Anaconda, Murrin Murrin. Thompson-Symnonds. p. 23. Retrieved October 25, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4123379 ↩︎
SHOOTING AFFRAY AT ANACONDA (1902, March 7). The Malcolm Chronicle and Leonora Advertiser (WA : 1897 – 1905), p. 3. Retrieved October 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228044349 ↩︎
Shooting Affray. (1902, March 13). The Evening Star (Boulder, WA : 1898 – 1921), p. 3. Retrieved October 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203481548 ↩︎
News of the Week. (1902, March 14). The Malcolm Chronicle and Leonora Advertiser (WA : 1897 – 1905), p. 2. Retrieved October 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228044368 ↩︎
MALCOLM POLICE COURT. (1902, March 21). The Malcolm Chronicle and Leonora Advertiser (WA : 1897 – 1905), p. 3. Retrieved October 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228044382 ↩︎
THE ANACONDA FRACAS. (1902, March 28). The Malcolm Chronicle and Leonora Advertiser (WA : 1897 – 1905), p. 2. Retrieved October 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228044400 ↩︎
THE ANACONDA FRACAS. (1902, June 27). The Malcolm Chronicle and Leonora Advertiser (WA : 1897 – 1905), p. 3. Retrieved October 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228044723 ↩︎

Announcing Phase 2

On 23 October 2024, our team will start Phase 2 of the project. Following the completion of the Pilot Phase (Phase 1) on 30 September, the findings of the pilot were assessed and a report was submitted to the FamilyHistoryWA Management Committee recommending that the project proceed. This new phase of the project will add 15 new communities to the existing list of 4 communities that are being researched. Full details of the 15 new communities can be found here.

If you are interested in joining the project team, or if you have information about any of the communities on our list, please email ghostswa@fhwa.org.au.