Mother O’Neill
Widow of the Kimberley Goldfield
by Yvonne Coate
ISBN 978-0-85905-518-5, (2012, New), Full colour, illustrated, 245 x 160, 135pp, 330 grams
$35.00 + POST
Sarah O’Neill was a widow on the Kimberley Goldfield, in the 1880s, the same time as Russian Jack, the famous wheelbarrow man who became legendary throughout the goldfields of WA.
Sarah led an even more fascinating existence in Halls Creek. Her fortitude, inner strength and tenacity were a byword wherever she went.
Yvonne’s book brings to life this almost forgotten pioneer and the time and place she lived.
Beautifully illustrated in full colour it details Sarah’s life and the localities, with maps, photographs and artwork.
Accurate details of the historic sites around Halls Creek, the Old Halls Creek cemetery, the numerous lonely graves of the area, details of the original route to the goldfields, and information on the colonial liquor laws that Sarah ran afoul of are also included to make this book a pleasure to read, handle and view.