Brown and a mate, Bert Gilbert, had descended to the 100 foot level to begin their shift when they were overcome by fumes. The fumes remained from shots fired the previous night, in spite of the air having been turned on. The men began to climb up the shaft and were about 50 feet from the surface when Brown showed signs of difficulty. Gilbert tried to assist hi but Brown fell to the bottom of the shaft. He had declined to put on the air extraction unit. His mate, Bert Gilbert, managed to reach the surface and then courageously descended the shaft and to bring Brown to the surface although he himself was also affected by the fumes. At the Inquest, the Coroner returned a verdict that Raymond Jeffery Brown came by his death as a result of a fractured skull caused by his falling down a shaft when overcome by fumes, and that no blame was attachable to anyone.

Brown was described as being "A fine type of young man and was interested in aviation" . Ironically, he wanted to prepare a landing ground for planes in the event of mine accidents. He was the second of six children born to this family. His siblings were: Greta Jessie Adelaide born 24 February 1905; twins born 27 March 1910 Lorna Verna (Birth Registration 11/1910, Dundas) and Lorton Ferguson, (Birth Registration 12/1910, Dundas); Ursula Elma born 20 June 1912; Doris Beryl born 10 October 1914.

Maria had an younger brother, Giacomo, who was born 17 November 1916, went on to become an Australian Businessman and a civic leader. He attended school in Widgiemooltha and Kalgoorlie. The family then moved to Italy where he finished his education in Castello dell'Acqua. He worked in an office until the death of his father, at which time, he moved back to Australia with his mother in 1935. That year, he enrolled at the University of Western Australia, where he studied engineering but before he could finish his degree, he joined the Australian Government as an engineering draftsman. In 1942, del Piano was interned after allegations were made that he had fascist sympathies. He spent time in Fremantle Prison before spending time in internment camps in country Western Australia and South Australia. He was released in early 1944. Known as James Andrew Del Piano, after World War II finished del Piano opened his own business, specialising in immigration and shipping. In the late 1940s he diversified into real estate and by the 1960s he had become involved in the timber industry. In 1979, James Andrew Giacomo, of Mount Lawley, was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to the Italian Community, which he had served in many and varied ways.  The citation read: For services to municipal affairs, the Italian community and care of the environment.

In 1947 he became president of the Western Australian Italian Club a role he held for eighteen years. His time in charge was notable for the significant increase in membership from 50 to over 3000. During the 1950s he served four years, over two stints, as president of the Azzuri Soccer Club. Del Piano spent ten years as a City of Perth councillor, including two years as Deputy Lord Mayor. Del Piano died on 13 July 1981 of cancer. His mother, Maria, died in Perth in 1962 aged 74 years. There was also possibly another sister for Giacomo, named Christina or Nina. This has not been confirmed.

Three little brothers from this family died and were buried at Widgiemooltha.  They were Francis Joseph who died 15 August 1897, aged 6 days; Gerald John, who died 16 November 1898, aged 2 months; and James Nicholas, who died 9 August 1900, aged 10 months.

Three little brothers from this family died and were buried at Widgiemooltha.  They were Francis Joseph who died 15 August 1897, aged 6 days; Gerald John, who died 16 November 1898, aged 2 months; and James Nicholas, who died 9 August 1900, aged 10 months.

Three little brothers from this family died and were buried at Widgiemooltha.  They were Francis Joseph who died 15 August 1897, aged 6 days; Gerald John, who died 16 November 1898, aged 2 months; and James Nicholas, who died 9 August 1900, aged 10 months.

Known as Jim. John James spent 3 years in Victoria where he was a member of the victorious Irish Tug of war team against teams from around the world at the Melbourne Exhibition in 1892, 3 years in NSW and 42 years in WA. At the time of his marriage, he was a miner. In 1896 he went to Widgiemooltha ... and made up his mind to stay. And stay he did, until a few months before his death. John James Doyle had gone to Widgiemooltha to set up a water condensing plant. A while later, Warden Finnerty suggested that he apply for a hotel and liquor licence, which was quickly granted y the self-same Warden. With the advent of' the railway in 1908, the locale of the coach change wayside hotel and township was shifted to the railway siding a mile or so south-east. The demands of the times and the prosperity of the town demanded an additional hostelry. Sweeney's hotel was built and flourished but with the cycle of the decline, Doyle purchased the rival hotel and amalgamated the businesses. Before Jim Doyle died he expressed a wish to be buried at Widgie. That the funeral cortege came by way of the old Coolgardie road was a happy circumstance. This road or mostly track, was a favorite of Jim's for the reason that before the coach and bike days he had to often pad the hoof to Coolgardie for stores — a 48 mile walk. His practice was to leave either town just before sunset and walk through the night. Daylight would find him at his destination! One would have to have some good "understanding" to keep up that four mile an hour pace. Jim and his ashes, lie peacefully at Widgie. His wife's story is also told in this website.

Mary was probably working for John Doyle at his hotel in Widgiemooltha before they married. She is believed to have been the first white woman living at Widgiemooltha. The men remarked how strange a woman looked after not seeing one for months. She had one sister Frances who was married to Richard Kuhlken, a police officer at Norseman, and another sister, Catherine, who ran a hotel at Coolgardie. After she married, she lived at Higginsville and was the postmistress. Mary was born to John and Mary Hayes, the eldest of nine children. Her siblings were: Catherine Agness born Newham, Victoria, 1863; Elizabeth born Newham, Victoria, 1864 (died 1865); John born Newham, Victoria, 1865; Amy Ann born Woodend, Victoria, 1867; Christopher Patrick born Woodend, Victoria, 1868; Frances Theresa born 1870; Ellen Gertrude born Victoria, 1872; Nicholas Morgan born Woodend, Victoria, 1873. Their father, John, died 9 May 1902 at Woodend, Victoria, his wife also died at Woodend, 8 October 1911. Mary Doyle's good-heartedness and generosity to the battlers of the outback will never be forgotten. With the broke and down and out "Matildas", it is said by old hands, that none ever went by that hostelery hungry; and when moving off, they were further reinforced with tinned dog to help on the fifty mile tramp to Norseman. An old battler once said, "If Jim and Mary could have 'stacked up the tins of dog they gave away to battlers on the track, there would have been in Widgie something bigger than an Egyptian pyramid." The late Jim Doyle, famous Widgie publican, and a mate were riding across Hannan's Lake when their gaze was arrested by a camel running madly in circles. Tentacles appeared to be waving from the camel's neck. Investigation revealed the astonishing sight of a man clinging to the beast and hitting furiously at a vein in its neck. The man, crazy from thirst, was brought into Widgie. As was the custom in dealing with demented, dangerous men, he was bound to a waggon wheel. Mrs. Doyle said the most terrible sight she had ever seen was a man lashed to a wheel with arms stretched full length and shoulders tightly bound to the spokes. Mrs. Jim Doyle, who ran the Widgie Hotel for more than a quarter of a century, nursed many a "perisher" in the infant days of Widgie. Mrs. Doyle, a bright, cheerful old lady, said there was nothing more pitiful than the sight of a thirst-crazed man. Perishers would crawl in, speechless, with trembling fingers pointing to swollen tongues and black lips. "We'd give them water, but they'd cry for beer or whisky. I'd nurse a perisher for a couple of days; then he'd be all right." Jim Doyle's story also appears in this website.

Little Vivyan was buried by Frederick Richard Kingswood. Witnesses at his burial were Burt and O'Reilly. His death was certified in writing by Richard Thomas Kingswood, his father. Richard Thomas Kingswood was born in Port Adelaide on 26 July 1873. He married Elizabeth Jane Drummond in Albany in 1904 (Marriage Registration 1790/1904). Elizabeth was born in Port Adelaide on 20 January 1874. Their other children were: Myrtle Constance born 1904 (Birth Registration 1928-1904); Jack Arnold Clifford born 1906 (Birth Registration 108/1906); Geoffrey Newton born 1907 (Birth Registration 8/1908); Alma Millicent born 1909 (Birth Registration 58/1909). Richard Kingswood was one of the original prospectors of the Kingsley Hall, Smithfield, which caused a rush. He also had the Flinders South Mine and in 1914 the Connie K Mine. He worked Kingswood's Iron Knob and owned the Imperial Mine in the 1900s and 1930s. A miner named Walter Vivyan mined the Flinders Lease with Kingswood and later applied for the licence of the Lefroy Hotel. The Kingswood family were long term residents of Widgiemooltha after whom Kingswood Street behind the roadhouse was named. Elizabeth Kingswood died in 1937 after being evacuated on the first air ambulance flight to Kalgoorlie.

Richard and Frances Kuhlken were married in Coolgardie in 1901 (Marriage Registration 102/1901). Frances Amy was their firstborn. Their other children were: Maria Christiane (Mary Christina) born 1906 (Birth Registration 7/1906, Coolgardie); Eleanore Josephine (Nellie) born 1908 (Birth Registration 18/1908, Coolgardie); Richard born 1909. Richard was born in Bendigo in 1870 and became a police officer (Regimental Number 325, 1897-1934) in WA at Norseman, Coolgardie, Dwellingup, Albany, Perth and Busselton where he died of a stroke in 1934. His wife, Frances Theresa Hayes, was born in Victoria in 1870, the sister of Mary Elizabeth Doyle. She died at Albany on 25 March 1939. Little Frances Amy died of a convulsion after 1 week of teething difficulties. She is buried in the Doyle family section of the Widgiemooltha Cemetery.

Also known as Ian McLeon. Very little is known about this gentleman, who was buried so recently in Widgiemooltha. In 1968, he was living in Beaudesert, Queensland. His wife died in Queensland on 28 August 1994.

William arrived in South Australia in 1866 with 4 pounds in his pocket. He began working for the government and qualified as a surveyor. He worked under Charles Todd and in 1871 became a surveyor on the central section of the Overland Telegraph Line. He was one of the first white men to travel through the area and is believed to have named Alice Spring after Todd’s wife. He was required to locate a pass through the MacDonnell Ranges and named Heavitree Gap, although there is some dispute as to who actually located it. The whole line linking Port Augusta to Darwin was completed in just 18 months. The Central section had been finished quickly and Mills had gone north to help some of the others. Mills returned to Adelaide in 1872 but struggled to get permanent work as a surveyor. His brother Harry, who was also a surveyor, arrived in South Australia in 1878. Following his marriage in 1879, William was declared insolvent in 1882. In 1883 he completed an extraordinary feat by taking a team of thirty camels with one assistant and five Afghan cameleers from Beltana in the Flinders Ranges in SA across drought stricken country to Northampton in WA for a landholder there. The trip took 25 weeks. After his wife, Mary Jane, died on 1 October 1888, aged 30 years, William left their two young daughters to be brought up in South Australia by two maiden aunts and moved to Broken Hill where he worked as a surveyor until 1891. By then the gold rushes to Western Australia had begun and William travelled there. In 1912 he was on the electoral roll at Red Flag Mine, Mount Margaret, as a woodcutter. By 1914 he was prospecting in the Norseman area probably at Widgiemooltha. William's brother, Harry, married Janet Arneill Merrett at Port Wakefield, South Australia, in 1882. One of Harry's grandsons, Elliott Whitfield, wrote a book about William Whitfield Mills called “From SA to WA by Camel”. William's parents were married in 1843 in Plymouth. William was the eldest of seven children born to this couple. The others were: Elizabeth Alice born 1846; Josias Grant born 1847; Frederick C born 1853; Mary J born 1854; Harry W born 1857; Arthur Everard born 1863. William's father died in Plymouth in 1872 and his mother in 1895 in Lancashire. After falling on hard times toward the end of his life, William spent the last years of his life at Widgiemooltha, by all accounts, alone and unwell. He died intestate and his estate was valued at one pound.

Parry died in 1932, specific date unknown, 10 chains north of Doyle's Hotel at Widgiemooltha. He had been mining at Widgiemooltha since at least 1907, when he was granted a mining lease.

Arthur's parents were married on 7 September 1876 at St Michael's Parish Church, Blackrock. Co Cork, Ireland. His mother was born in Cork in 1854. Arthur's siblings were: Josephine F born 1878, Middlesex; Richard Harris born 1880 (died Perth 1926), Frederick Noel born 1882 (died Scotland); Kathleen Mary born 1884; Thomas Paget born 1884 (died of war wounds Hampshire, England 1916)), Francis Paget born 1885 (died Gallipoli 1915); Geoffrey Charles born 1891 (died Perth 1953) and Doreen Alice born 1893. Arthur's parents and some of his siblings arrived in Albany in 1902. His father died in 1907 and mother and daughters returned to England, where his mother died in 1914. Arthur arrived in Fremantle from Colombo, Ceylon, where he had a tea plantation, in 1917 to enlist in the AIF. In his enlistment papers, he put his brother, Richard Harris, as his next of kin. Arthur was 5 feet 8 and a half inches tall, with fair complexion, blue eyes and fair hair. Under Service Number 7529, Arthur was sent to France where he received a severe gunshot wound to his leg which required amputation below the knee. He also suffered from scabies and malaria. He was repatriated to Australia in 1919. In 1935, he was working in Larkinville and spent part of his holidays in Widgiemooltha.

George and Isabella were both born in South Australia. He on 13 October 1867 and Isabella on 9 October 1876. They were married at Coolgardie in 22 January 1908 (Marriage Registration 3/1908, Coolgardie) and their first child, Silver Isobel, arrived on 8 October 1908 at Kalgoorlie. Then came Kathleen Emma on 27 January 1910 at Claremont. George Sweeney worked as a coach builder and miner in Day Dawn and Coolgardie. He owned the Lefroy Hotel which was later bought by James Doyle (whose story also appears in this website) and the Bass and Flinders Mine. Isabella had been working at his Lefroy Hotel at Widgiemooltha. Isabella died on 24 September 1946 at Bethesda Hospital, Claremont, her husband on 12 February 1962 at Fremantle Hospital

Known as Gus or August. Also known as August Loftus.

According to research, August Thorn arrived in Sydney in 1877 as a mariner on the "Bernan". He was naturalized in New South Wales on 9 April 1884 as August Thorn and signed the document as Augustus Loftus. (A copy of his naturalization form appears on this file.) Some family descendants list his full name as Augustus Loftus Thorn, maybe due to this document, which stated that he had resided in New South Wales for the previous 7 years. From there, Augustus has been traced through his relationship with Elizabeth McInnes and the children she bore, some to him and some to her previous partner (see Comments below). Augustus was known to have lived in Sydney, Heidelberg (VIC), Brighton (VIC), Davyhurst, Southern Cross, Kalgoorlie and finally Widgiemooltha, probably with several other areas in between. Thorn passed away after a brief illness.