Suicides And Settlers

*Suicides and Settlers* by **Paul Bridges** is a meticulously researched **social history** that sheds new light on 19th century **Western Australia**, told through 315 recorded suicides from the Swan settlement towns of Fremantle, Perth and Guildford, and across the colony from the Kimberley to Esperance.

Rather than focusing only on celebrated founders, this book documents the lives of pioneers who are often missing from official stories—people whose work and presence helped build the colony’s foundations, even when no family remained to carry their names. Along the way, Bridges traces the practical realities of the era: policing across enormous distances, the colony’s slow-developing communication networks, the central role of hoteliers, and doctors working in isolation before antibiotics, vaccination or modern forensics.

Perfect for **Australian history** readers, **genealogy** researchers, local studies enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the human texture of frontier life.

Add it to your shelves and discover a fiercely important side of WA’s past.