We had a leisurely breakfast and checked out the Well. Since Phil’s last visit to Hunt’s Bodallin Well a powder coated, swimming pool-type fence had been erected around it. The well was in excellent condition but dry.

BOODALIN SOAK

            The Boodalin Soak, known also as the Boodalin Well, was one of the series of dams and wells sunk by early Explorer and Government Surveyor C C (Charles) Hunt in 1865.

            It was well known to Sandalwood cutters, pastoralists, travelers and gold prospectors and during the 1890’s was part of a well used track between York and the Goldfields. Travellers were requested to be careful “in using and repairing the watering places”.

Click here for more photographs of Bodallin Soak

MOONDYNE JOE – WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST ESCAPE ARTIST

            An interesting incident relating to Hunt’s 1866 expedition was the capture of Moondyne Joe, possibly Western Australia’s greatest known bushranger, in September that year. Moondyne Joe (born Joseph Bolitho Johns) was a colourful character whose defiant antics, frequent escapes and constant declarations of innocence entertained the early settlers. Originally transported from England in 1855 for stealing food, his notoriety sprang from his stubborn refusal to serve the prison sentences imposed on him and his very successful and numerous jail breaking episodes.

            Joe and his companions, having absconded from police custody, were intending to head to South Australia by initially following Hunt’s line of conveniently placed wells. Food, clothing, firearms, ammunition and horses were stolen from farms and properties around Toodyay and the escapees were well ahead of any pursuing parties.

            Knowing that Hunt and his party were eastwards working on tracks and wells, Joe intended to catch up with them, surprise them at night and steal fresh horses and rations at gun point. They had planned to destroy any horses they did not need, forcing Hunt’s party to walk back to civilization, by which time Joe’s party expected to be well over the border.

            The plan failed when the fugitives were sighted by Sandalwood cutters near Youndegin and a search party was organised. At around midday on September 29^th, the police party caught up with Joe and his friends who were captured with little resistance. From Boodalin the party returned to Fremantle, one fugitive on horseback having been wounded by a gun shot during capture with Joe and the other convict completing the journey on foot.

It was at this site that Moondyne Joe and other escaped convicts were captured when they were intending to steal Hunt’s horses and escape to South Australia - leaving Hunt and his party to walk back to York.  Hunt had been forewarned and he and his party assisted police troopers in the capture.

We packed up and headed into Westonia, waiting for a Dave Smith and his wife to join us at the agreed time of 9.00 a.m. Kim contacted Dave by phone and was advised that he and his wife could not make the trip. 

Our first stop was the abandoned Edna May Mine and lookout. There hadn’t been any recent mining activity, although drilling and testing has recently been carried out. Westonia, our next stop, was a quaint and very tidy little town with a general store, pub, and farm supplies outlet and a caravan park.

Edna May mine near Westonia

Next stop was Karalee Rock.  Here the water harvesting system, comprising of stone walls around the rock feeding into a large turkey nest dam via channels and a raised metal flume, has been restored. It was originally built in 1897 as a water supply for the Government Railway that ran from Perth to Kalgoorlie. Earlier, Hunt had built a well and a dam at this site.  We roamed around and found two wells and a dam. The dam looked authentic Hunt, but the wells didn’t. One wasn’t stone lined or built in Hunt’s traditional construction style and the other was stone lined but was far too narrow and didn’t taper in as it went deeper. Our group spent some time wandering around the area looking at the railway dam and water harvesting system.

For more photorgraphs of Karalee Dam, Well, and aquaduct, click here

Karalee Rock and dam is now vested in the National Trust and significant funding has been expended in making it a suitable place for camping, with camp fire rings, segregated camping, Enviroloo toilets and copper log fencing. Karalee is part of the Golden Pipeline trek that runs from Mundaring to Kalgoorlie.

Coolgardie Cemetery was our next stop. We looked for and found the graves of Ernest Giles, famous explorer; Victor Streitch, geologist on the Lindsay Expedition; W. Darcy Uhr explorer, drover, prospector and businessman; Leo Beretta, noted goldfields cyclist; James Moher, Western Australian drover; and Adolphus F. Hill, brother of H.W. Hill of the Hill expedition of 1899-1900.

At the rear of the main cemetery is the Muslim section where we located the grave of Tagh Mohamed, cameleer and merchant.  It was stated on the headstone, “Died by the hand of an assassin at Coolgardie January 10^th 1896 aged 37 years”. Phil told us that there was a debt owing to Tagh Mahomed by the person who later murdered him. The debt was settled but the murderer felt that his honour had been impugned. Mahomed was at prayer when he was stabbed in his back by the murderer. The murderer waited at the place where the murder occurred and when the police arrived he said, “I did what I wanted to do”. He was hanged at Fremantle Jail.

Tag Mahomed's grave in the Muslim section of the Coolgardie Cemetery

From pages 40-41 of Legal Executions in Western Australia by Brian Purdue:

            2 May 1896. Goulam Mahomet who shot Tagh Mohamet (brother of Faiz Mohomet and the son of Habbib Allah, [the Amir of Afghanistan was his wife’s first cousin]) in the Mosque at Coolgardie during morning Prayer.

            Faiz and Tagh Mohamet were the biggest camel owners in WA and also very successful businessmen, having mail contracts at Cue in 1894 and stores in Cue, Day Dawn, Mullewa, Geraldton, Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie and Esperance. They came from Quetta in Baluchistan (now known as West Pakistan), arriving in South Australia in about 1844 before coming to Western Australia in 1888.

            On 10 January 1896 at 4 in the morning, the priests and Tagh were at prayer in the Mosque in Coolgardie when another Afghan named Sur Wah came to the Mosque. Sur Wah asked Tagh “What is the cause of the quarrel between you and Goulam?” Tagh replied “I never said anything about him since he came to the field. The fault is with him”.

            Tagh Mahomet was kneeling facing west with his back to the door and Sur Wah was kneeling facing the door. Goulam came up behind Tagh and produced a revolver from either the pocket or the sleeve of a long coat he was wearing, and shot Tagh in the back. Tagh turned and looked at Goulam and fell back. Goulam left at once. He claimed he had been threatened by Tagh and got in first.

            The trial was held at Coolgardie and Goulam Mahomet was hanged at Fremantle.

            (A young man of twenty‑one years of age applied for the job of hangman’s assistant. He claimed he was strong and willing.)

So whether he was shot or stabbed he ended up in Coolgardie Cemetery.

We also visited the Coolgardie Pioneer Cemetery and located the graves of Agnes Holland and Richard John Holland.  In 1893 Holland pushed through a track from Broomehill to Coolgardie allowing prospectors arriving in Western Australia by ship to start their trek to the goldfields from Albany, a considerable shorter distance than travelling on to Fremantle and heading east from there. Over time this became known as the Holland Track.

After refuelling both the vehicles and bodies at Coolgardie, we headed south on the Esperance Road in search of Hunt’s Horse Rocks Well. Although we couldn’t find the well, we did find a bronze plaque commemorating the site of the well. 

Rob transcribed all the plaques we found and this one read:

York to Goldfields Heritage Trail
Horse Rock Well

This well was constructed during explorer Charles Cook Hunt’s third expedition east of York in June 1865 and was used during his fourth expedition in September and October 1866.

Hunt first camped at this site in September 1864 during his second expedition.

Kim and Joe

Next stop was Depot Rocks and Hill.  This rock was spread over both sides of the Esperance Road. On the western side Joe, Clinton and Phil took a long walk over the low lying rock, and couldn’t find any evidence of a well. They did however find what must be the biggest Kurrajong tree they had ever seen.

Kurrajong tree at Depot Rock

Returning to the Esperance Road we crossed to the east and after much calculation and interpreting of information available, Clinton, Kim, Joe and Rob set off looking for Depot Hill/Rock. It was 424 metres high, some 5 acres in size and was located at 31 09.841S, 121 25.889E (datum WGS84).

Travelling further south on the Esperance Road we turned east on a track near Spargoville. We followed this track eastwards around washouts and fallen logs to Halfway Dam. The flies descended in hordes and drove us away from the dam and further to the east, where we set up camp.

This is very pretty country with gimlets and salmon gums being the prominent trees. Dinner was barbecued barramundi, potatoes in the coals and salad. The conversation flowed on all manner of topics, lubricated (for some) by a few bottles of wine before we trickled off to bed.

It was hot today - Kalgoorlie had 33.8°C and Southern Cross 37.9°C.

Total distance travelled – 325 kilometres.