The Dusty Box

Category: Mysteries

  • Robbery at Day Dawn

    Robbery at Day Dawn

    Finally, after a busy day on Monday, 19 November 1906, the afternoon was quiet at the Day Dawn branch of the Western Australian Bank. The manager, Charles Jago, was the only person on the premises and was starting to close up when a man walked through the door at about 3 pm. He handed over…

  • The Ghost of Francis Street

    The Ghost of Francis Street

    Have you seen the ghost! is the latest query under the verandah. Dark rumors have been for some time circulated, of a mysterious apparition which at uncanny hours, haunts the solitudes of Francis street. According to the Victorian Express, in 1882 numerous Geraldtonians had indeed seen the spectre, dressed in black and walking along Francis…

  • Bushed – Australia’s Horror

    Bushed – Australia’s Horror

    On 21 January 1896 it was reported that the remains of a man were found lying alongside the overland telegraph line, about five miles from Coorow. Police Constable Simpson of Geraldton was sent to investigate and near the body he found a swag and a bible held open with two sticks. He could not find…

  • The Yalgoo Bomber

    The Yalgoo Bomber

    As he was acting as the Clerk of Courts and Mining Registrar in addition to his normal workload as Postmaster for the town of Yalgoo, William Meleng decided that he had better start the day early. At 5:30 am on Friday, 13 February 1903, he arrived at the post office and began the task of…

  • The Skeleton in the Dunes

    The Skeleton in the Dunes

    A report reached here by last night’s mail that the skeleton of a man has been found on the coast near the Donnelly River by Mr. G. Giblett. The body is supposed to have been there some time. 20 October 1892 While no doubt shocking, finding a skeleton was not an altogether unusual occurrence in…

  • Pinjarra’s Ghost

    Pinjarra’s Ghost

    In the early 1870s a man by the name of Thomas Scott visited Western Australia and in particular Pinjarra. He was there for about three days when he mentioned that he had passed an elderly woman dressed in a light dress standing on the Pinjarra Bridge. He did not know it at the time but…

  • The Lost Tin of Gold

    The Lost Tin of Gold

    A ten ton crushing is going through the little 3-head mill on the Lake Way lease from the Black Swan in a day or two. This parcel is bound to yield well, and I will leave further comment until the mill has had its say. The mill had its say and the crushing yielded 97…

  • The Ginger-Haired Skeleton

    The Ginger-Haired Skeleton

    The Daily News Friday evening edition was first to break the story and deemed it interesting enough to be front page material. They ran with a concise headline, one which would immediately catch the public’s attention: Skeleton Found At South Perth Perhaps readers were initially sceptical of the find. It was, after all, 1 April 1938 – April Fool’s Day – and…