Burtville – People of Western Australia's Ghost Towns

Editors Note: This very informative article is reproduced from the Kookynie Press.¹

We [the newspaper] recently obtained fascinating population statistics for the North Coolgardie district, courtesy of Inspector Woods, detailing the population as compiled by the police up to June 30. These figures offer a crucial look at the shifting fortunes of the Northern Goldfields communities.

The Overall Trend: A Net Loss for the Region

Compared to the statistics compiled the previous year, the North Coolgardie district as a whole has experienced a loss of 256 people.

While some centers managed to hold steady or even grow, others saw significant decreases in population. Menzies, for instance, managed to remain the same.

The most substantial population losses were recorded in:

Kookynie, showing a significant drop of 559 residents.
Morgans, which lost 132 residents.
Malcolm, which saw a decrease of 125 residents.

However, the outlook was much brighter for several key towns, demonstrating that growth continues in specific pockets of the goldfields. Towns reporting major increases include:

Leonora, which gained 240 people.
Laverton, which grew by 230 people.
Gwalia, which added 100 people.

Substantial increases were also recorded in the areas of Murrin and Yundamindera.

Detailed Population Statistics by District

The following tables provide the detailed breakdown of the population in the North Coolgardie district as of June 30, 1905.

MENZIES DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Menzies	998	467	379	1,844
Woolgar	144	52	55	251
Comet Vale	11	3	7	21
Goongarrle	60	9	10	79
Mt Ida	94	15	15	124
TOTAL	1,307	546	466	2,314

KOOKYNIE DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Kookynie	1,020	220	175	1,415
Champion	50	15	18	83
Britannia	19	5	10	34
Puzzle	11	2	2	15
Niagara	150	31	22	203
Tampa	30	4	6	40
Yerilla	100	5	4	109
TOTAL	1,390	282	241	1,915

MALCOLM DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Malcolm	250	90	60	400
Webster’s Find	60	20	10	90
Mertondale	240	60	20	320
Dis. gen.	81	15	27	123
TOTAL	631	185	117	933

GWALIA DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Gwalia	585	185	160	930

LEONORA DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Leonora	395	196	140	731
Tower Hill	93	11	3	107
Dis. gen.	337	45	31	413
TOTAL	825	252	174	1,251

YUNDAMINDERA DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Yund’m’n’dra	167	45	48	260
Edjudina	115	23	24	162
Pingin	57	2	0	59
Dis. gen.	85	3	4	92
TOTAL	424	73	76	573

MURRIN DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Murrin	370	33	29	432

MORGANS DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Morgans	665	282	138	1,085
Dis gen.	103	11	8	122
TOTAL	768	293	146	1,207

LAVERTON DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Laverton	205	60	41	306
Euro	8	2	3	13
Craiggiemore	55	17	24	96
Lancefteld	160	20	36	216
Augusta	20	3	4	27
Ida H.	80	22	25	127
Hawke’s Nest	20	0	0	20
Erlston dis.	338	27	16	371
TOTAL	886	151	149	1,196

BURTVILLE DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Burtville	228	42	30	300

SIR SAMUEL DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Sir Samuel	413	100	69	582

LAWLERS DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Lawlers	430	130	110	670
Cue’s Patch	115	16	13	144
Darlot	140	22	14	176
Dis. gen.	308	41	17	366
TOTAL	993	209	154	1,356

BLACK RANGE DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Black Range	92	19	11	122
Dis. gen.	463	24	23	510
TOTAL	555	43	34	632

DAVYHURST DISTRICT

Location	Males	Females	Children	Total
Davyhurst	625	98	125	848
Callion	10	1	2	13
Siberia Soak	6	1	2	9
Mulwarrie	47	12	13	72
Ullaring	19	2	0	21
Mulline	130	24	22	176
Riverina	48	5	10	63
TOTAL	885	143	180	1,208

Sources

Population of the Northern Goldfields. (1905, July 15). Kookynie Press (WA : 1903 – 1911), p. 1. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article251123991 ↩︎

The following article was published on page 1 of The Sun newspaper on Sunday, 21 November 1909. I first stumbled across the name of Billy Frost while researching Siberia where he, along with Bob Bonner, discovered gold in 1893.

That well-known prospector, Billy Frost, the discoverer of Goongarrie, Siberia and Burtville, and the pegger out of the Premier at Kunanalling, the third lease applied for on the Coolgardie goldficlds, is again amongst us after prospecting in pretty nearly every goldfield in the world. After a long experience and many hairbreadth escapes, in which his death has been duly chronicled many times, Frost has returned, and is of opinion that Australia is “God’s own country”. Anyhow he is going to have one more try. A syndicate is being formed of 40 shares of £25 each to fix up matters. Frost gets nothing, either in cash or wages, but takes 10 fully paid up shares, which are a pure gamble. Ten further shares are held in reserve for contingencies, while 20 contributing shares, £12 10/ to be called up, are being issued. Of the latter half have been placed in Perth, and goldfielders have now an opportunity to apply for the balance, five of which have already been placed. The Government is backing the venture with camels, and all that Frost requires is tucker for a six to twelve mouths’ trip, which, in the early days he could have got in the twinkling of a star. Frost is staying with Jerry McAuliffe, prospector of the White Feather, Yerilla and other shows, but is rather diffident of being interviewed by members of the fourth, or any other, estate. He starts outback almost immediately.
BILLY FROST. (1909 November 21). The Sun (Kalgoorlie, WA : 1898 – 1929), p.1.¹

It seems like Billy was a bit of a lad, and here I may be reading too much into it, but the tone of the article suggests that investing your hard earned in his new venture might be a little risky?

In 1926, in Mackinlay, Queensland, Billy was shot by Mick Ford during an argument. He is buried at Cloncurry².

Sources

Trove. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article211133656 Accessed 16 Nov 2023 ↩︎
Moya Sharp, 2023. Billy Frost – the seeker of shadows. Outback Family History https://www.outbackfamilyhistoryblog.com/billy-frost-the-seeker-of-shadows/. Access 16 Nov 2023 ↩︎

Tag: Burtville

Population of the Northern Goldfields – 1905

The Overall Trend: A Net Loss for the Region

Detailed Population Statistics by District

Sources

Billy Frost

Sources