SPIRIT OF THE GOLDFIELDS -

A woman and her 3 children arrived in Sandstone on an old rickety cart being pulled by a worn out old horse. There was a wrapped bundle in the back of the cart that turned out to be the woman's dead husband.

The family had fallen on hard times and the husband had been so ill he could not work. The woman found what work she could but there was never enough money. They had decided to head for the coast hoping that with better conditions the man's health would improve.

As they made their way west they were helped by other travellers who gave them what food and water they had to spare but the man died before the family reached the coast and now the woman and her three children were destitute.

Arrangements were made in Sandstone for the man's burial and the 'hat' was passed around, as it usually was on such occasions, to raise money to pay for the burial. There was a small amount left over which was given to the woman.

As the family was now to be sent to the coast they had no further need for the old horse and cart so an auction was held. It was sold for 12 pounds, but then its new owner decided he had no use for it and it was put up for sale again. The next 'owner' paid 10 pounds but he too decided the rig was not for him and again the horse and cart were put up for sale. This happened until over 100 pounds had been paid and the rig was eventually given to an old prospector who thought he could use the horse but not the old cart.

In the true spirit of the goldfields, all the money from these various 'sales' was handed over to the widow and her children.

GET YOUR OWN COPY -

If you would like to get a PDF copy of the stories on this website that you can read offline or even print out and turn into your own hard copy book, you can order through PayPal at the link below. All sales of this book help us to gather more information and stories for this site and our main website. It is only $3.99 AUD!