Nannine by the Lake
by P.R. Heydon
ISBN 0 85905 137 4, (1990 new), Soft Cover, 260pp, Illustrated, 350grams
$30.00 + POST
Nannine by the Lake is a story of the first township on the Murchison Goldfields, proclaimed by His Excellency, Alexander Campbell Onslow, Administrator of the Government in the Colony of Western Australia, and signed by George Shenton, Colonial Secretary, on Thursday, 24 September, 1891.
The story tells of the finding of gold, and the later controversy surrounding its discoverers. It describes the little town in its early days, and the nearby settlements - small though they were, and tells down to earth stories of the inhabitants.
A special feature of this book is the number of anecdotes told by men who were actually a part of 'the first rush', or who arrived shortly afterwards.
The descriptions by newspaper editors of their first trip to Nannine will live forever. The little town no longer exists, but the stories remain as a monument.
THE AUTHOR
Phil Heydon was born in Cue in 1920. His family, both maternal and paternal, were synonymous with the goldfield, for the name Chesson and Heydon was well known at the turn of the century, and later. He commenced his working life in the Post Office at Cue, in 1935, as a Telegraph Messenger. He worked in most Murchison goldfield towns, returning to Big Bell as Postmaster in 1947 and retired as Postmaster at the General Post Office, Perth. He was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, and the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1979.