The "Golden" West.

Hastings Standard, Issue 132, 28 September 1896, Page 4

The "Golden" West.

COOLGARDIE. 1 The following letter from the pen of of Mr F. J. Nicol, late of Hastings, has appeared in the Greytown Standard : COOLGABDIE, August 10. I cannot yet undertake to adequately describe Coolgardie, or in fact any of the gold mining towns in this colony, but will endeavour to give a few facts which may interest your readers. To begin with Coolgasflie, the chief busnesa centre of the vast fields of Western Australia, the population of this " Goldern City" is estimated at about ten thousand, of which naraber the great majority are of the male sdx. To see a group of ladies " in town " at any time is considered one of the sights. In fact, the fair sex have not ventured so far into the wilds to any extent, although Coolgardie can at least boast of having a few of the " ever welcome " ones within its boundaries, which is more than some oitbe mushroom towns of tire goldfields «aa do truthfully

Before passing from so pleasant a subject as " the ladies," I must say that their advent has worked miracles in the cultivation of the inhabitants. Twelve months back the citizens were seldom seen wearing more than a hat, a singlet, a pair of pants,_ and a pair of slippers, and at that time this regalia was voted " fit for a king but now we are doomed to the inevitable " boiled rags," as starched shirts and collars are designated here, and laundries are flourishing, as no doubt they should, when the moderate charge of one shilling per shirt is made for washing, &c. When we visit the theatre now we dress for the occasion, as also do the ladies. By dressing, I mean the gentlemen wear a slight degree more collar, and the ladies a great deal less than at ordinary times. About town everyone appears busy, the unlucky one going at top speed, because they have too much to do, and the lucky ones hurrying because they wish to do the full round of pubs before they knock over. This latter task is rather a severe one as there are twenty hotels, and many beer shops, but; the liquor is atrocious. The hotels are doing a splendid business, the bar trade of course being the principal source of the revenue. As shilling nobblers are still in vogue, there must be a fortune in the game, as everyone drinks to a more or less extent. Licenses have been granted for three new hotels, to be erected shortly, on the grounds that there is not sufficient accommodation for the travelling public. Several of the hotels are quite up-to-date, and would hold their own in the larger cities of Australia, both in appearance and accommodation, but as I said before the liquor is bad all round. The Grand Hotel is splendidly lighted by electricity, supplied by a dynamo on the premises. The town electric lighting is supplied by a private Company, and down the centre of Bayley street is a line of arc lights, which tend to greatly improve the appearance of Coolgardie at night, and make the duties of the police force less onerous.

The streets, like those of Melbourne, are broad enough to accommodate an immense amount of traffic, and reflect much credit on those responsible for the laying out of the town. There are two breweries and a large aerated water factory in town, and almost every second building for miles around bears the sign "Cooldrinks sold here." Evidently this place would suit Rudyard Kipling's Tommy Atkins, who said — Ship me somewhere east of Suez, "Where the best is like the worst; "Where there aint no chance for heaven, And a man can raise a thirst. The rate charged for water now is a halfpenny per gallon. In the summer the heat is such that one must drink something, and continue drinking until the sun goes down. To the new chum, the beautifully clear, cool, condensed water looks tempting, but since one glass of it during the hot weather will produce an acute attack of dysentery, it has not become a popular beverage. There are .several butchering establighments doing good business here, and there are several fruit shops which do not flourish quite so well on account of the enormous price of these luxuries. In town tinned meats are not used to such a great extent as of yore, in fact, in Coolgardie proper the trade in " tinned dog " (as it is termed), is practically rum est, but we have to put up with tinned vegetables, fruits etc., as up till now there is not much grown locally in the vegetable line and absolutely no fruit. Cabbage and potatoes are of course imported, but for green peas, beans, carrots, etc, we rely on tinned stuff. One advantage is that we have a full list of vegetables on the table all the year round, although the method of preserving does not improve the quality. In tinned milk, tinned butter, &c., there is an immense trade done on the fields, and in dairy produce generally Western Australia is a splendid market for the other Australian colonies. There are but few presentable residences about, most people preferring to keep to their Hessian huts or tents, in case the " bursting of the bubble " should urge them to move on. There need be no fear however, as Coolgardie is here to stay, and the ever increasing output of gold bids fair to make these the richest goldfields in the world. The Churches are well represented, and the Salvation Army already has a strong body of adherents and a passable band. The much-talked-of new theatre is still a thing of the future, but we get along very nicely with the present hall. Ovide Musin, the violinist, held the boards recently, and was much appreciated by the public. He charged- tip-top prices, and gave tip-top entertainments. On his final appearance he was very ably assisted by local talent. Sunday concerts are in vogue, and are a pronounced success. We have amongst us some firstclass amateurs, the comic element being especially good. The local orchestra numbers twenty instruments and none of the players can be classed as learners.