Fremantle Press
February 2025
ISBN: 9781760994969
RRP: $17.99
When Goldfields Girl was first published in 2020, I acquired it for our collection and then never got around to reading it. Now it’s been reissued with this [IMO] far more engaging cover [I think it just illustrates Clara’s jaunty and resilient personality more] and I’m very happy to have had the chance to finally enjoy it.
This is historical fiction exactly to my taste as I’m particularly interested in women in herstory and their role in events and progress. The Western Australian goldfields, like all of them, were about as rough and ready – and often dangerous – as they could get but Clara Saunders took all in her stride, firstly with her family and then as a young girl going out to work among strangers at what we would now regard as an impossibly young age.
14-year-old Clara was no slouch, neither was she a ‘tough’. But there is no doubt that she was an exceptionally strong character and was able to rise above difficult circumstances and tragedies throughout her life. From her role in the early days of the ‘wild west’ of Coolgardie, a brand new town that sprang up purely because of gold fever, to being the first bride in that town, and then to her days as a hotelier, Elaine Forrestal has fleshed out a thrilling and inspirational account of Clara’s rich life.
Growing up wayyyyyyy over on the other side of the country, I certainly never learned much about the history of Western Australia beyond basic facts, so this series of books about WA significant women has been most fascinating for me particlarly.
While there are, of course, any number of middle-grade books centred on the gold rush/fields, this one combining fact with fiction and focused on a woman from the times, is a truly worthy addition to any collection. It is also, need I say, a must-have from the Mighty Girl aspect. The teaching notes are fairly generic but you could easily develop a fuller and more comprehensive unit of inquiry around this title.
It gets a 5 💛💛💛💛💛 rating from me and do read more from the archives on this remarkable woman.
Clara Saunders – First wedding in Coolgardie
First Marriage on Western Australian Goldfields
From the author’s blog:
Clara Saunders in the Internet Age
The Search for Clara’s ‘Memories’
Further reading:
Just So Stories 
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