the first rush, which set out on Sunday. He and his mates had furnished themselves with horses to accelerate speed, and sustained enthusiasm among the jolly company enlightened the dreariness of the route.
On their arrival at Coolgardie they immediately set to work, and pegged out a lease between Bayley's Reward and the present township. The alluvial seemed to possess inviting appearances on this area, so they steeped their energies and physical labours in the exercise of their infallible unearthing implements, and brought to the light of day and the interior of their "sporaned" belt the precious yellow dust. Satisfied with their alluvial successes they now cast their eyes round for the more dignified stately reef.
They were pleased at their swollen "shammy"-bag results after their hard period of incessant labour. Yet not a little had to be parted with for their daily necessaries. Water was scarce, and its price consequently enormous. Two shillings and sixpence a gallon was paid by Mr. Fimister for the precious unfiltered liquid. News reached him shortly after this that the Murchison was flourishing again. His great belief in the auriferous wealth of the Murchison induced him to seek its areas once more. On his way thither news reached him of a probable rush to the Horseshoe Bend. But devious and circuitous paths, slow and tedious progress on the long-distant march, were cruel obstacles to his early arrival. When he arrived there, with feelings of mixed chagrin and vexation, he found that the rush had died away, and that his long and toilsome march had been undertaken for nothing. Seeing that it was futile to remain any longer he retraced his steps to Coolgardie.
He had just reached his destination when news of the Hannan's rush fell with unmeasured delight on his welcome ears. He adapted himself to the situation, bought a considerable supply of stores, and set out for Hannan's. He erected a store in Hannan's Street, and at once commenced business. This new departure was very successful financially, and from a modest unpretentious "taberna" we see the evolution of a large, capacious, and flourishing general store. The growth of his business has kept pace with the expansion of the town, and such a progression may well indicate its present proportional dimensions.
In the administration of public affairs Mr. Fimister has been an ardent worker. He was elected a member of the first council, which sat for a period of eighteen months, and resigned his seat in November, 1896. His municipal service must be characterised as one of devotionate attention to the interests and material welfare of the town. Apart from his own commercial business, he is extensively interested in mining. He is associated with many syndicates and companies. Enterprising, yet cautious, he has been prosperous in his several ventures.
He is a man of pleasant temperament, with a keen social disposition. He is widely known in Kalgoorlie and the goldfields generally, and is worthy of that popularity which accrues to his name.
CHARLES CUTBUSH.
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Photo by CHARLES CUTBUSH. Falconer. |
ONE stroke of fortune makes a whole goldfield akin. It matters little what occupation or avocation one's grandfather pursued, or what industry or profession one engaged in previous to arriving in these cosmopolitan cities, so long as present virtues and behaviour are compatible with good citizenship and fellowship. Past conduct, of whatever colour it may have been composed, suffers no introspection and cross-examination from an inquisitive mind; the confession of silence is as gracious as the reward of present virtue and valour. How that miraculous intervention of luck changes destiny and life! A few moments before, and the lean-pursed prospector, with a swag on his own or a camel's back, a fading supply of edibles of ghostly luxury, ruin facing him if the hunted metal escapes his gaze, revolves a thousand turbulent thoughts in a restless mind, and then "Eureka," joy, splendour, and prominence! The transformation that discovery works in the fortunate prospector has all the gilded gorgeousness of a caliph's dream. His name soon flourishes on promotive boards and committees, and finds lasting preservation in the annals of institutions.
Such is often the fortune of adventurous prospectors into the depths of auriferous wildernesses. The world holds that their daring deserves all the success they can command, and the world is seldom so unjealously noble. Mr. Charles Cutbush seems to have arrived in the land of Pactolus with a "Golden Butterfly" secreted somewhere in his chain of fate. Prospects far and wide, distant and dreary, were undertaken with a noble horse, a complaining camel, or an inanimate "bike," as his unresponsive but trusty companions and carriers. Mr. Cutbush at last fared fortunate, and was enabled to assist others
