This is a story of twin towns - Cue and Day Dawn - and the part the towns and their people played in the development of Murchison gold.
These towns are 3.5 miles apart, and the Big Bell gold mine which is twenty miles west of Cue. Starting in the 1880s, the story has been
taken up to the first closure of big Big Bell.
From the first rushes in the 1880s and the hardships of the pioneers to Cue's status as the 'Queen of the Murchison', the decay to ghost towns, oblivion and eventual rebirth.
The tale of Murchison Gold should remind everyone of the part played by those
who travelled 'along to road to Cue' in bringing much needed prosperity to the
colony of Western Australia - a feat unfortunately never given its full credit,
being overshadowed by the events which followed Bayley's discovery of gold at
Coolgardie six months after Fitzgerald's initial find at Cue.
The author has diligently researched the people and happenings in this
remarkable period of Western Australia's history. Much of the information comes
from the various local newspapers of the time - which includes the humour and
the tragedy; the tremendous hardships suffered.
Contents:
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Chapter 1
- Along the Road to Cue
- Pastoralists and Prospectors
- The Gold Rush
- Water Problems
Chapter 2
- A Runner Goes West
Chapter 3
- The Austin Controversy
- Amazing Progress
- First Race Meeting
- First Ball
- First Telegram
Chapter 4. 1895
- A 200 Mile Walk
- Russian Jack
Chapter 5. 1896-1900
- Murchison Coach Service
- The New Railway
- The Man who Found Cue
Chapter 6. 1901-1905
- Railway to Nannine
- A 3060 Mile Walk
- First Motor Car in Cue
Chapter 7. 1906-1910
- The Old Brigade
- The Wood Line
- The Meekatharra Railway
Chapter 8. 1911-1915
- First Picture Show
- Amalgamation of Councils
- Old Identities Reunion
- Decline of Great Fingall
Chapter 9. 1916-1920
- Great Fingall Close
- The Armistice
Chapter 10. 1921-1926
- Stories from Clay Pan Joe
- The Monte Carol Bank Mine
Chapter 11. 1927 onwards
- The Author's Reflections
Chapter 12.
- Cue Volunteer Fire Brigade
Chapter 13. Places of Interest
- Poona
- Wilgie Mia
- Telegootherra
Chapter 14. Conclusion
- "A Cue Lament"
- "A Cue Ballard"
- A Fingall Creep
Appendix 1. Nomenclature
Appendix 2. Gold Production
Maps
- Murchison Goldfield
- Gold Mining at Cue, 1904
- Gold Mining at Day Dawn, 1904
Photos
Index
