Page:History of West Australia.djvu/550

 In 1886 Mr. Finnerty received an appointment in the Government service as Inspector of Police for the northern part of the colony. The area under his charge stretched from Kimberley to Roebourne, a distance of several hundred miles. His adventures here in the bush and on the desert befit the romancist better than the biographer. For six months he struggled to fulfil the laborious duties incumbent on his office, and was not a little relieved when after a service of six months he was appointed Warden for the Kimberley Goldfields. So sudden a promotion, though in mere keeping with his merits and distinction, surprised him a little. He set out for Kimberley to assume the new duties of his office, and arrived there soon after the richest discoveries were made.

For two and a half years he dispensed justice where required, and decided questions of law when invoked. Impartial, stern, yet clement, he earned a reputation as an excellent judge, lawyer, and friend. Round his little tent, where he sat in magisterial array, probing into the alleged worth of this, and assigning a lease for that, there gathered a large crew, burning in their feverish haste to report to him their luck. His period of well-nigh three years' office in Kimberley was one of signal success. By his stern and warranted reprimands to, and judgments on, offenders, he succeeded in maintaining peace and order in a naturally disturbed community, and safety and security among the miners. The tropical climate of Kimberley, with its moist and humid heat, its abundant rainfalls in the summer, made it a paradise in comparison with Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. But the rush and excitement of Kimberley was destined soon to fade, and with the decadence of the field the Warden made his exit.

Now fire seemed to issue all along the goldfields' line. Discoveries in quick succession, swollen into big reports, came thundering from every quarter. They first surprised, then astonished, and gradually, through a series of emotional changes, paralysed the slumbering colony. His presence was immediately requested at Yilgarn, Southern Cross, and there he repaired as fast as the uncertainties of the route would permit. He had not been long established in Southern Cross before Arthur Bayley came down to report his famous find. Mr. Finnerty set out at once with Mr. Bayley for the scene of the discovery, and carefully inspected it. Satisfied with its auriferous qualities, he granted Bayley a lease, now known as the Reward Area. On completing his task he returned to Southern Cross, only to go back again to the regions surrounding Bayley's find. The duties of his sphere now alternated between Coolgardie and Yilgarn, and soon the latter must retire before the growing importance of the former. When Coolgardie was proclaimed on the 6th of April, 1894, he proceeded there as Warden and Resident Magistrate.

His labours now reached a maximum. The very atmosphere was charged with golden electricity, and he with all the energy his body could furnish, must struggle to serve the multitude of requests made on his presence and his pen. Gradually the constitution of several centres relaxed the strain of overwhelming labour. Other Wardens appeared to share the work, so that now Mr. Finnerty got breathing-room.

But as can be easily supposed, his office of Police Magistrate was no sinecure. Occasionally turbulent and riotous youths found their way into Coolgardie, and theft and robberies were not infrequent. By a judicious severity at first he soon diminished the number of lawbreakers, and that peace and equilibrium which he had effected at Kimberley were repeated in Coolgardie. The house of legal procedure was not in 1894 a palatial-looking mansion. His little tent was made to serve as Post Office, Registrar's Office, Warden's Office, and Police Court. It was situated at the railway end of Ford Street, at that time the prominent part of the town. We can easily picture the stream of mortals rushing every hour to the tent which, though small, held within its flapping canvas the legislative machinery that controlled the fields. Here was centralisation effected, not in a vast and spacious edifice like the provincial Roman legates' dwellings on the distant fields of Armenia, but in an unpretentious tent, modest, substantial, and rustic. Every question of legality was referred to him as judge, every point of morality decided by him on the bench.

Not far from his tent he mapped out the future site of the town, and all agree that his choice and judgment were good. A little tale as to the origin of the name Coolgardie is interesting etymologically. About 100 yards from the Warden's residence is the spot from which Coolgardie derives its name. There is a large tank there now, but previously there was a round natural "gnamma" hole, which used to hold 4,000 gallons of water, and this hole was always known among the natives as Coolgardie, and it was from this that the town derived its name. As to the disappearance of this historic hole, the Warden says:—"I went away for a few days from Coolgardie, and you can imagine my chagrin when, on my return, I found this hole blasted beyond recognition."

Mr. Finnerty can tell many an interesting episode of his experiences on the fields. One time, when Coolgardie was just coming into being, he stopped at a certain place and asked for two gallons of water for himself and his camel. That long-suffering and much despised animal had sauntered on for nine days without a drop of water to cool his sides. The Warden obtained his request, but had to pay for the luxury of a few gallons the sum of 15s. In the early days of the goldfields he shared the rough fate of the pioneer. To obtain the bare necessaries of life was often impossible, and many a meal had to be made on that old indigestible concoction, "tinned dog." In a land destitute of food, wealth or wisdom could not get what did not exist.

Speaking with the authority of a magistrate, Mr. Finnerty's words of praise and commendation of the good conduct of the men are welcomed. Still he cannot forget, nor will the citizens forget, that he has cemented this high ethical standard among the inhabitants. His judicial sentences ably coped with dangerous evils, and brought on a reign of security and harmony. Only once did it behove him to send out two official parties to quell murderous and riotous bands of natives, and this was in the Kimberley field. The Coolgardie Goldfield, over which he is Warden, has an area of 11,800 square miles. It comprises Londonderry, Mount Burges, Twenty-Five Mile, Wealth of Nations, Forty-Five Mile, Bardoc, Siberia, Lake Lefroy, Mount Morgan, and Hampton Plains Estate. When we consider the vastness of this area and its auriferous capabilities, we may well recognise its territorial importance and the consequent responsibilities of the Warden. Mr. Finnerty has, in the execution of his duties, proved himself a man of remarkable ability, and a careful and successful tactician. His gift of administration ranks second to his judgment, which is clear, synthetic, and logical. Never has his philanthropic aim of benefiting surrounding humanity been realised commensurably with his desire. Pressure of duties, official and in their nature public, always bridle his