Vaso - Boulder WA

Vaso, keeping in touch with the world from his home in the Goldfields, Western Australia

I spotted this snappy-dressed gent, tapping away on his iPhone, as I drove down the main street of Boulder in the Goldfields recently.

Originally from the former Yugoslavia, Vaso arrived in Australia 50 years ago. In 1989, along with his friend Nicholas Steel, he travelled from Adelaide to the Goldfields, hoping to find their fortunes. They literally struck gold and ended up putting a mine shaft down rather than simply prospecting. Their search for gold brought them further success in both Cambodia and the Philippines.

Still firm friends, Vaso and Nicholas have both been living in Boulder for the last 12 years and catch up daily. Now aged 86 and telling me he was “a naughty boy”, Vaso happily showed me the photo on his phone’s home-screen of his 11 year-old daughter.