Golden Days: Being Memoirs and Reminiscences of the Goldfields of Western Australia

A reprint of the 1929 classic on the eastern goldfields. The author writes in his Foreword: ‘… life on the goldfields of Western Australia was period packed with romance and characterised by the spirit of adventure. Tragedy too, was not wanting from the picture – the tragedy of ‘failure, of the deadly fever camp and the lonely death from thirst’.

The dominant impression in looking back on those far-off days is on youth indomitable, hope invincible, and example almost without parallel of man overcoming the forces of Nature.

Imagine thousands of men moving with a common impulse upon a hole in the ground from which two men had extracted a few pounds of yellow metal. Imagine those mustered thousands pushing out in all directions into what was known as a barren, waterless desert, staking their very lives on the chance of fortune.

This book combines personal reminiscences together with a history of the Western Australian Goldfields to become a ‘classic’ on the subject.

Contents:
1. Narrative and Anecdote Part 1
2. Old Goldfields’ Residents who have Risen to prominence in the Outside World
3. Political
4. Historical Part 1
– Tracing the History of Events Leading up to the Discovery of Gold
– Its First Discovery and its Story from then on up to its Discovery at Coolgardie by Ford and Bayley
– The Story of the Arrest of the Notorious Deeming of his Hut and Search of his ‘Hidden Treasure’
– The History of Coolgardie
5. Discoverers – Roll of Honour
6. Goldfields’ Aborigines – Their Habits and Customs
7. Acknowledgement and Appreciation of a Kindness
8. The Pioneers’ Gallery
9. Historical Part 2
– The Discovery of ‘Hannans’
– The Story of the Finding of ‘Hannans’ as told by Paddy Hannan Himself
– As Told by his Mate, Dan Shea
– The memorable McCann ‘Bogus’ Rush
– The Great Coolgardie Fire (1895)
– The Second Great Fire (1897)
– Burbanks Graphic Story of Thirst as told by Himself
– History of the ‘Londonderry’ Mine
– An Unexpected ‘Gold Fine’
– The First Coolgardie Wedding
– Father Long’s ‘Sacred’ Nugget
– The Kanowna ‘Cemetery’ Gold Rush
– History of the Discovery of the ‘Carbine Mine’
– Some Early Kimberley History
– The Bonnivale Mine Disaster, describing the rescue of the Entombed Miner, Verichitti
– The Ivanhoe Venture Alluvial Trouble
– How the Goldfields United Australia
– The Goldfields’ Water Scheme
10. Mining
11. Narrative and Anecdote Part 2
12. The Goldfields’ Poets’ Corner
13. Conclusion

pp. x, 270 illusts.#1217/0720 (Presentation tipped-in on fpd)