Chapter I: Front Matter

TRAVELS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

TRAVELS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Some Press Opinions of the First Edition

_The Daily Chronicle_: “This book is a pleasant and interesting one; it tells what somebody really saw and felt, not what somebody thought the proper thing to say. The average man will find May Vivienne a delightful and exhilarating guide to the still only half-understood pleasures and resources of Western Australia.”

_The Empire Review_: “It contains much first-hand information, clearly given, concerning the cities, goldfields, and agricultural districts of Western Australia. It is well illustrated, and will be found a most useful work of reference.”

_The Financial Times_: “Among the several books published dealing with Western Australia, we know of few, if any, which are at once so entertaining and so instructive as this volume. Any one who desires to obtain in a most pleasant way a good general knowledge of this distant colony could scarcely do better than purchase this book. As a mere record of travel, apart from its special interest as dealing with a gold-producing colony, it is well worth reading, and it contains a profusion of interesting illustrations.”

_The Pall Mall Gazette_: “Miss Vivienne knows her Westralia up and down; she takes us to farms and timber estates; she has visited the goldfields more than once, inspected all the chief mines, pegged a claim with her own hand, and pluckily traversed the pioneer fringe of civilisation. Her delightful journeys, which (with admirable illustrations) take us over the whole country, reveal its astounding promise, which has already largely become performance.”

TRAVELS IN
WESTERN AUSTRALIA

BEING A DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS
CITIES AND TOWNS, GOLDFIELDS, AND
AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS
OF THAT STATE

BY
MAY VIVIENNE

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN
1902

_First Edition, May 1901_
_Second Edition, January 1902_

_All rights reserved_

“_He Masters whose Spirit Masters_”

DEDICATED TO
THE RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN FORREST
P.C., K.C.M.G., G.C.M.G.
EX-PREMIER OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
AND
MINISTER FOR FEDERAL DEFENCE
IN THE COMMONWEALTH
OF
UNITED AUSTRALIA

“_Steer thou with good strong hand and wary eye, oh Helmsman_”

_AUTHOR’S NOTE_

_Some readers may be disposed to question the accuracy of my statements regarding the mines, and the actual wealth in gold of the State. I can assure them that these statements are absolutely devoid of exaggeration, and capable of being easily verified._

_This is true also of what is said respecting timber, fruits, and agricultural produce._

_Finally, my hope in issuing this volume is that it may induce people not only to visit but to settle in Western Australia, and so share in the benefits offered by its prolific tracts._

_M. V._

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

Albany—Sweet Boronia—Middleton Beach—Little
Grove—Regatta—Buildings—Whaling—Old Colonists—Travelling
Dairy—Splendid Vegetables—Wattle Farm—Porongurup—Land
Regulations—King George’s Sound Pp. 1-14

CHAPTER II

Torbay—Denmark Timber Mills—Mount
Barker—Katanning—Wagin—Narrogin—Beverly—York—Lovely
Wildflowers Pp. 15-28

CHAPTER III

Perth—Public Buildings—Yacht Clubs—Government House—Recreation
Ground—Lovely Perth Park—“Bond or Free” Pp. 29-40

CHAPTER IV

Darling Quarries—Kalayamba Vineyard—Mr. Brookman—Lady
Forrest—Cambria—Mayor of Perth—Mr. Hackett—Canning Park
Races Pp. 41-46

CHAPTER V

The Museum—Flower Show—Musical—Native Risings—Zoo—South
Perth—The Old Mill—Moonlight Pp. 49-69

CHAPTER VI

Drive to Claremont—Osborne—Keane’s Point—The
Chine—Cottesloe—The Ocean—North Fremantle—Arthur’s
Head—Smelting Works—Our Contingent—Fremantle Pp. 70-83

CHAPTER VII

Rottnest—Steam to Rottnest—The Lovely River—Crawley Point—The
Island—Boys’ Orphanage—Fremantle Harbour Pp. 84-89

CHAPTER VIII

Guildford—Henley Park—Hunting—Mundaring Weir—Sir John
Forrest—Darling Nurseries—Kelmscott—Armadale—Jarrahdale—Whitby
Falls—Mandurah—Yarloop Mills—Harvey—Collie Coalfields Pp. 90-105

CHAPTER IX

Bunbury—Exploring Days—The Estuary—Early Times—Whaling—Native
Murder—Mr. Layman—Retribution—Pasture Land—Robert Scott—Old
Residents Pp. 106-117

CHAPTER X

Dardanup Park—Donnybrook—Bridgetown—The Grange—Dallgarrup—A
Prodigious Prize—Greenbushes—Tinfield—The Great Forest Pp. 118-123

CHAPTER XI

Busselton—Napoleon’s Grave—Cattle Chosen—“All
aboard”—Karridale—Touring the Forest—King Karri—The Sand
Patch Pp. 124-136

CHAPTER XII

Deepdene Caves—Margaret Caves—A Welcome Lunch—Cape Leeuwin Pp. 137-147

CHAPTER XIII

Pretty Newcastle—Oranges!—New Norcia—Native Love—The
Mission—Northam—The Grand Old Man—Ploughing Match—Oat Crop—The
Show Pp. 148-158

CHAPTER XIV

Southern Cross—Early Discoveries of Gold—Heavy Tramps—Walking
on Gold—Bayley’s Reward—Fabulous Finds—The Potato
Ground—Bayley’s Death—The 90-Mile—The Treasure House—Great
Boulder Find—The Londonderry Pp. 159-175

CHAPTER XV

Coolgardie—The Camels are Coming—The Landlord’s Record—Meeting
a Friend—A Goldfields Camp—“Nap”—The Reward Mine—Bonnie
Vale—Londonderry—Nearly Lost—King Solomon’s Mine—Hampton
Plains Pp. 176-195

CHAPTER XVI

The Golden Butterfly—Norseman—Gold Exhibits—Coolgardie—Alluvial
Treasures Pp. 196-203

CHAPTER XVII

Kalgoorlie City—The Six Great Mines in the Golden Mile—Mr.
Kaufman—Early Predictions Verified—Associated—Lake View Consols
and Great Boulder Pp. 204-223

CHAPTER XVIII

The Ivanhoe—The Famous Stope—Climbing the Ladders—Boulder
Perseverance—The Rock Drill—Down 500 Feet in a Bucket—Blasting
the Rock—British Westralia Syndicate—Mr. Frank Gardner and our
own Zeb. Lane—Kalgoorlie Again—Wages on the Mines—Yield of the
Goldfields Pp. 224-236

CHAPTER XIX

Kanowna—The Great Alluvial Rush—Big Nuggets—“The Joker”—Father
Long’s Golden Sickle—Nobility Represented—Bulong Pp. 237-245

CHAPTER XX

Broad Arrow—Menzies—Rich Mines—Lady Shenton—Luncheon in the
Caverns of the Earth—Hon. H. J. Saunders—Welcome Tea and
Cake—Native Murder—A Lost Prospector—Cake of Gold—Box-seat
of the Coach—Mount Malcolm—Gold Escort—Windmills and Fresh
Water Pp. 246-256

CHAPTER XXI

A New Field—Mertondale—Stupendous Richness—Gold, Gold
Everywhere—A Lucky Prospector—Garden in the Bush—Murrin!
Murrin!—A Welcome Surprise—Western Australian Mount
Morgans—Golden Hills—Blackfellows on the Trail—The Lagoon Pp. 257-268

CHAPTER XXII

Laverton—Excitement among the Miners—Bachelors and Grass
Widowers—More Souvenirs—Lucky Discoveries—Erlistoun—Lost—Eagle
Nugget—Euro Mine—Hospitality in the Bush Pp. 269-279

CHAPTER XXIII

Leonora—The Gwalia Mines—In a Gingerbeer Cart—More Nuggets—Gold
Blocks—Pastoral Land—Swampers—Scarcity of the Fair Sex—Saturday
Life—Alas, poor Prospectors! Pp. 280-291

CHAPTER XXIV

Lawlers—Splendid Vegetables—Waiting for a Samaritan—Mount Sir
Samuel—While the Billy boils—The Kangaroo—Lake Way—Across the
Country—The “Back-blocks”—Camping Out—Arrival at Nannine—Bed
Once More—Splendid Mines of the Murchison—Peak Hill—The Gold
Patch—An Old Friend—A Hearty Welcome Pp. 292-312

CHAPTER XXV

Tuckanarra—The Lights of Cue—Surprising Vegetation—Sweet
Flowers Again—High Wages—Splendid Meat—The Island—The
Mirage—Jolly Faces—Mount Magnet—Donkeys—A Tasteful Camp—The
Morning Star—Windsor Castle Pp. 313-324