Norma King

This is the story of Mat and Jenny Kazea who lived in Boulder, Western Australia from the late 1800s. They travelled to the International Exhibition held in Paris in 1900, Mat's family in Dalmatia and Jenny's family in Ireland. Excerpts of her diary about the big adventure are included. After they returned, they adopted their niece from Zlarin, Thomasina, and established a wine bar in Fremantle that was popular with migrants from Dalmatia, Croatia and Yugoslavia. The story then follows Thomasina's daughter, Jean, who lived in an isolated and unique community in the Goldfields for 33 years - The Lime Kilns at the Naretha siding of the Trans-Continental Railway. Jean discovers a World War One Diary of a nurse who was posted to the same places that Jenny travelled to in 1900. Sister Clare Fitzpatrick's diary is also included, with information about her life provided. The final chapter is about the Coolgardie International Exhibition of 1899.

A revision of Norma King's popular Colourful Tales of the Western Australian Goldfields (1980) by Lorraine Kelly. The stories in this book relate to Western Australia's most fascinating chapter of history - that of the frenzied excitement of the early gold-rush days. The pursuit of gold with its promise of untold wealth yoked the most unlikely characters together, from the desperate unemployed loner to the titled English speculator. It was a precarious existence, and a home was a transitory affair for most families, moving from one town to another as the gold was worked out or as rumour directed. The incredible feats of the goldfields cyclists, carrying news to the remotest of areas, the part played by camels in opening up the outback, the unique Loopline railway, dangerous gold-rushes, the law of the digger in 'roll-ups' and the threat of death from the harsh environment are told to form a complete and intriguing portrait of life on the goldfields. The fortunes of towns, mines and individuals from boom time to depression are traced with telling accuracy and detail by writers whose lives were interwoven with the story of Western Australia's goldfields.