Arthur Bayley
Arthur Wellesley Bayley (born March 28, 1865 in Newbridge , Victoria , † October 29, 1896 in Avenel ) was a gold prospector who discovered the Coolgardie gold field in Western Australia with William Ford .
He was the son of John Bayley, a butcher, and his wife Rosanna, nee Williams. He attended Rupanyup State School from 1875 to 1882. At the age of 16 he took part in a gold hunt with his brother. He later met his partner William Ford in Croydon on this quest . When he reached Perth in 1887 , he went to Southern Cross , where he worked in mines.
After several other failed gold expeditions, Baley and Ford reached Gnarlbine Rock on the Hunt Track and when they got to the Coolgardie area they began their gold prospecting and William Ford made his first gold find at the place called Fly Flat, towards the end of August 1892.
Bayley returned to Southern Cross and delivered 554 ounces of gold (15.7 kg) on September 17th and made the claim . Two months later, in the middle of November, several hundred prospectors were already on the gold field. Bayley and Ford had obtained the water they needed to dig for gold from the rocks 20 kilometers west at Gnarlbine Rock and a waterhole twelve kilometers away. Water became as valuable as gold. This gold field was only supplied with sufficient water by the Golden Pipeline in 1903 .
Bayley and Ford sold their claim in the late 1892s or early 1893s for £ 36,000 and a 4,000 stake in the new company. 500,000 ounces of gold were mined from this field in 70 years until closure.
On May 24th, Bayley married Catherine, nee Fagan, and returned to Victoria in 1894. He bought a farm near Avenel that his brother managed. He died of hepatitis and hematemesis on October 29, 1896.
Web links
- Pat Simpson: Bayley, Arthur Wellesley (1865-1896). In: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Volume 7, Melbourne University Press, 1979, pp. 220-221. Available online
- Arthur Wellesley Bayley on gutenberg.net.au
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information on www.coolgardie.wa.gov.au ( Memento of the original dated November 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved June 29, 2009
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bayley, Arthur |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bayley, Arthur Wellesley (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Gold prospectors in Western Australia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 28, 1865 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newbridge , Victoria |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 29, 1896 |
| Place of death | Avenel |