150-Year Archive Reveals Western Australia's Quirky Past

Imagine being so worried about "biliousness" that you'd buy beans specifically for it.

That's exactly what Western Australians did in the late 1800s, according to Kellie Abbott, who has spent months diving into the region's patent and trademark archives. The National Archives of Australia assistant manager discovered a fascinating window into colonial life, where stomach complaints were apparently as common as the common cold.

The archives, dating back to 1870, contain thousands of handwritten records in massive ledgers. Among the most charming finds: Dr. Williams's Pink Pills for Pale People, a cure-all claiming to treat everything from gout to "female complaints." Abbott found at least 10 different applications for "bile beans" alone, each promising relief from the mysterious ailment that seemed to plague early settlers.

But the records reveal much more than medical anxieties. They show a small, isolated colony that was surprisingly connected to the world's greatest inventors. Thomas Edison and the Lumiere brothers both registered patents in Western Australia, proving that even remote Perth was plugged into global innovation.

Local inventors were busy too, tackling problems unique to their new environment. The archives contain designs for tree pullers to clear dense Australian bushland, various contraptions for dealing with rabbit infestations, and one particularly wild invention: an explosive system meant to keep pigeons off roofs. Abbott notes she's not sure anyone actually wanted explosives on their roof.

Creative spelling was everywhere. Since trademark laws prevented registering common words, businesses got inventive with "fancy words." The successful Ezywalkin shoe company inspired competitors like Ezenwauken and Waukenphast, the latter boasting it could help you walk "seven miles an hour."

Why This Inspires

These quirky records do more than entertain. They reveal the everyday fears and hopes of people building new lives in unfamiliar territory. The abundance of typhoid medications and "safe" aerated waters (marketed as alternatives to potentially contaminated drinking water) shows communities grappling with real health threats while maintaining optimism about solutions.

Abbott presented her findings at the Boorloo Heritage Festival, encouraging others to explore the newly digitized archives. What started as dusty ledgers with hand-pasted drawings has become a searchable digital collection available to anyone curious about history's creative problem-solvers.

The archives prove that human ingenuity thrives in every era, even when it means inventing exploding pigeon deterrents or pills for people who look a bit pale.