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1 correction by KeithWA - Show corrections

Early Gold and Lead.

I do not remember my father ever mentioning Beere. From what I have heard I thought the specimens of gold were left with my grandfather, R. M. Habgood, and they were the grounds for his belief that payable gold would he found in Western Australia... Can Mr. Ranford tell me whether they were left with E. M. Habgood or with Habgood, Absolon and Co.?

"R. M. Habgood was the biggest of the early Perth merchants, and a worthy pioneer. He was very interested in mining and, as I have already stated, owned the Geraldine lead mine on the Murchison River, near Northampton. The deed of the land around lt still stands in the name of Robert Mace Habgood in the Titles Office, and it is still owned by his estate. It was worked for 20 years under the management of Cap- tain Mitchell; at first profitably, when lead was £60 a ton; and then unprofitably for some years, when lead fell to £10 a ton and the work was stopped by my grandmother in the eighties. The build- ings are now all in ruins and a gum tree is growing out of the manager's house. I know Beere's gold specimens were good and also believe they came from a reef in the locality of Southern Cross. It is a certainly if Beere had lived and located it, it would have oro vided the first payable goldmine in West- ern Australia and would have changed the history of Western Australia. Perth would have now been twice the size if the goldmining had started so early; and Beere's and my grandfather's names

would have become historic

-E. H. Abso

lon, Windarrling, Jarrahdale.

A Geraldton Pioneer.

Dear "Cygnet,"-I send you a photo, of an old Geraldton pioneer, born as long ago as 1861 at Tibradden Station, 227 miles out from here. He is Arthur Blayney, and he has the distinction of never,   having been to school, nor on board a ship of any description. In his early days he took the first five tons of general cargo to leave Mullewa for the Murchison, and he transported it on an eight   horse team. He was also the driver of the third team to reach Nannine,  

that, altogether, he has contributed prominently to the. opening up of the interior.-M. Davies, Geraldton.

Well, Mr. Blayney is rather, old to start school now, but he can still do a lot for the education of the children of the State if he will get hold of someone who has been to school and get him to jot down some of his reminiscences, and   especially some of the stories he must have heard from his parents and the earliest pioneers. By the way. Mr. Davies does not tell us that Mr. Blayney is "hale and hearty." I suppose I am to take that for granted from the snapshot.

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