Training Example: The Dusty Box – Review the Data, Give Your Score & Compare to the Real AI Evaluation

[H6] ● Featured Article
[IMG: Moving to Substack]
[H2] Moving to Substack
2023 is the year I follow my intuition. Initially, this started with regard to stories. When I came across a little-known Sydney story, I decided to follow it. As I researched, the familiar feeling of anticipation washed over me. It was a story I had to write. I decided The…
[H6] ● Latest Articles
[IMG: Poisoned at Day Dawn]
25 November 2022
[H3] Poisoned at Day Dawn
Dressed in her best clothes and halfway through drinking her tea, Georgina Hussey doubled over in pain. Unable to bear it, she went to lie…
[IMG: The Case of Frank Griffith]
16 September 2022
[H3] The Case of Frank Griffith
Frank Griffith arrived at Peak Hill in July 1900 after a spell of bad luck prospecting. He obtained employment at the company Peak Hill Goldfields…
[IMG: Mount Farmer Mystery]
2 September 2022
[H3] Mount Farmer Mystery
27 September 1854“…we buried [Charles Farmer] at sunset, sewn up in his blanket, with his saddle for a pillow, on to which we lowered him…
[IMG: Geraldton’s Air Raid]
22 August 2022
[H3] Geraldton’s Air Raid
On 19 February 1942, Japanese forces bombed Darwin. With the risk of danger increasing, men and women on the home front got to work. They…
[H6] ● About Me
Bring down the box, open the tin, and rifle through the contents. Join me as we sweep away the cobwebs, blow away the dust, and uncover the stories of the past.
[H6] ● Recent Articles
[IMG: Moving to Substack]
[H2] Moving to Substack
[IMG: The Māori Whaler]
[H2] The Māori Whaler
23 December 2022
[IMG: Poisoned at Day Dawn]
[H2] Poisoned at Day Dawn
31 December 2022

2023 is the year I follow my intuition. Initially, this started with regard to stories. When I came across a little-known Sydney story, I decided to follow it. As I researched, the familiar feeling of anticipation washed over me. It was a story I had to write.
I decided The Dusty Box needed a refresh. Searching for a new theme took time. Investigating whether to move to one of WordPress’s full site editor themes took time. Tweaking it took time. Time away from research. Time away from writing. Nothing about my endless clicking felt intuitive. There had to be a better way.
Some people know that podcasting has been at the back of my mind for a while. Again, it’s something that takes time. The initial setup was also very overwhelming. Recording, editing, and finding somewhere to host it. I kept the goal at the back of my mind knowing I would revisit it when I was ready.
I felt stuck, not with writing and research, but with the website. Something wasn’t quite right. At the start of February, a flash of insight hit me: Substack.
I read other writers’ work on Substack, but until that moment, I hadn’t thought of moving there myself. After thinking about it for over a week, I set up an account for The Dusty Box. I wanted to see what it was like.
From the start, everything clicked into place. All the artwork designed for me in 2021 fitted perfectly. I moved my current story into a Substack draft and continued to work on it. I loved how it felt to write. I loved how it looked. I loved that I didn’t have to think about the nuts and bolts of a website. It all felt intuitive.
Substack has the option to add a podcast, so I added it. I thought of the artwork created in 2021 that had been waiting for years (my guilt ever-increasing that I hadn’t used it yet). I downloaded it from my files. Would it work? In a moment, it was uploaded. Again, anticipation rippled through me. It all felt right. I connected it to Apple Podcasts. The Dusty Box podcast was ready to go. I just needed to use my voice.
For the longest time, this, and solely this, has been what I want to do. To write, create, and bring little-known historic stories to life. Another benefit of Substack is that it allows writers to offer paid subscriptions. It means I can provide additional stories and information to those interested in reading more. In saying this, please only take up a paid subscription if you are financially able to. I plan to have plenty of stories available for everyone to read (and listen!).
Finally, the existing stories will remain on this website. Everything new will be on Substack. If you are a current or new reader and would like to receive stories direct to your inbox, please subscribe here: https://thedustybox.substack.com
Thank you always for reading and supporting The Dusty Box. I hope you will join me in a new intuitive space that, I feel, will enable me and my writing to grow.
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←The Māori Whaler
[H6] ● About Me
Bring down the box, open the tin, and rifle through the contents. Join me as we sweep away the cobwebs, blow away the dust, and uncover the stories of the past.
[H6] ● Recent Articles
[IMG: Moving to Substack]
[H2] Moving to Substack
[IMG: The Māori Whaler]
[H2] The Māori Whaler
23 December 2022
[IMG: Poisoned at Day Dawn]
[H2] Poisoned at Day Dawn
31 December 2022

Dressed in her best clothes and halfway through drinking her tea, Georgina Hussey doubled over in pain. Unable to bear it, she went to lie down. In bed, she proceeded to have a fit. Horton Sibley, the man she lived with, hovered nearby. He decided to find a doctor. Before doing so, he asked their neighbour, Ellen Clarke, to sit with her. Ellen tried giving Georgina water, but it did not help. After reviving a little, she had another fit. Frightened, Ellen told her younger sister, Janet, to fetch their older sister, Sarah Ann.
Sibley returned without a doctor but received some advice from the chemist, Andrew Taite. It was of no use. Georgina knew her condition was fatal. As Sibley sat beside her, she turned to him and said, “Kiss me Jack, and say goodbye.” On 16 September 1906, at about 7 pm, less than half an hour since the pain started, Georgina Hussey died.
Sibley left the house and told the chemist what had happened. Andrew called Dr David Blanchard at Cue, who immediately phoned the Day Dawn police. Constable Herbert Laslett first went to the chemist and then to Sibley’s home. He arrived after 7:30 pm, followed by Dr Blanchard and Dr Edward Haynes at 8 pm.
Georgina’s body was removed from the house and taken to the Cue Hospital. In the afternoon on Monday, 17 September, the coroner, Patrick Troy, opened an inquest before three jurors: Hubert Goss, John Blake, and Robert Barclay. After they viewed the body, he adjourned it for eight days.
Six days later, on 22 September, Messrs. De Mamiel and Co advertised four auctions taking place that day at the Railway Yard in Day Dawn. At Sibley’s request, at 2 pm, “a large quantity of useful household furniture,” including a piano, were to be sold. Once he had the proceeds, he intended to leave Day Dawn.
The inquest resumed on 24 September. Detective Henry Mann happened to be in the area investigating the murder of Michael Naughton. He opted to appear on behalf of the Crown, along with Sub Inspector Frederick Mitchell. Abelard Palfreyman represented Sibley.
Sibley was the first witness. He was a miner who lived at Day Dawn and knew Georgina as Georgina Lynch. He was also aware that she was sometimes known as Georgina Hussey. They lived together but were not married. They had been living together at his home on Reid Street for about three months. After her death, he went to the morgue and identified her body.
Despite getting underway, the evidence was not yet complete. Sub Inspector Mitchell requested an adjournment for 14 days, which the coroner granted.
Day Dawn, meanwhile, buzzed with speculation. Talk soon turned to the relationship between Sibley and Georgina. People gossiped that he was actually a married man, living apart from his wife and family. On 25 September, Sibley refuted that rumour by placing a notice in the Day Dawn Chronicle threatening to take legal action against anyone repeating “slanderous statements.”
Harry Green, a storekeeper at Day Dawn, countered Sibley’s statement the next day. He recalled that months ago, Sibley visited his store to purchase furniture and mentioned that “his wife was coming to the district and he wished to prepare the house for her arrival.” Harry appears to have provided the furniture in credit, the same furniture that Sibley later sold. Harry printed his statement publicly, not, as he said, “in a spirit of vindictiveness” but to draw attention to “the sample of man whose actions prevent honest, industrious, men, from getting credit from business people…”
The inquest resumed on 8 October, and Sibley continued with his evidence. Detective Mann questioned him for four and a half hours.
Sibley first met 30-year-old Georgina in February 1906 when she worked as a barmaid at the Dew Drop Inn in Day Dawn. Eight weeks later, at his suggestion, she went to live at his house on Reid Street. He stressed that, at first, they were not living together; she only slept there.
The Dew Drop Inn (left of centre) in Day Dawn circa 1904. Courtesy of State Library Victoria (H91.325/1931)
Georgina left in May and obtained employment at a hotel east of Mount Magnet. For several months, they corresponded with each other. At some point, Sibley suggested she return to Day Dawn. About three months before her death, she left her position at the hotel and went to live with him as his wife.
They continued to live together until Georgina’s death on 16 September. According to Sibley, they “got on very well,” with Georgina acting as a “well conducted woman…” On the 16th, he was home all morning and recalled that she seemed to be “in good health and spirits” while she carried out the household chores. They had lunch, and he remained home until sometime between 5:00 and 5:30 pm when he went to the Day Dawn Hotel for a drink. He was away for about 45 minutes.
When he returned at about 6:30 pm, Georgina was standing at the front door, talking to Robert Arnold. He went to lie down on a stretcher in the kitchen and was there until it was time for dinner. When he went inside after finishing his smoke, she had already poured out the tea. He joined her at the table. During the meal, she asked him again if he would take her to the band concert that evening. It was about 6:40 pm. She sipped her tea but did not eat anything, an act that was not unusual.
Georgina had not complained of feeling unwell throughout the day. About a minute after she started drinking her tea, she began to tremble. With Sibley’s help, she immediately went to bed, where she had a violent fit. Sibley watched in shock, and when she regained consciousness, she asked him for a cup of salt water, commenting that she had taken too much cascara.
Sibley got Georgina’s cup from the table, washed it out, and filled it with salt water. She was unable to drink it. He suggested getting the doctor, and she asked him to get a neighbour to sit with her while he was gone. He came back with Ellen Clarke. Unable to find the doctor, he went to see Andrew Taite, the chemist. Andrew recommended applying hot fomentations to her stomach to ease the symptoms arising from excess cascara.
Upon his return, there were three women in the house, and Georgina had another fit. When it stopped, she told him to send her brooches to her mother and asked him to kiss her, which he did. Shortly after, she died.
The police arrived, followed by the doctors. Sibley was present when they searched his house. In the bedroom, they found a bottle of cascara. In the dining room, they found a packet of Phoenix brand poisoned wheat as well as a teacup half full of moistened wheat. He did not know why there was wheat in the cup. The packet was purchased several weeks earlier to kill mice. The cascara (used as a laxative) was purchased at a similar time. He had also taken some but did not react to it.
The Laura Standard (SA) [29 July 1904]
Georgina’s brother, Theodore, was told of her death by a family friend, Fanny McGriskin. He telegraphed back, asking whether he should come to Day Dawn. The response simply said not to bother as everything was organised. Sibley admitted in the inquest that he had sent the telegram and signed Mrs McGriskin’s name. He had done so without her permission.
Sibley was asked about Georgina’s mental health and replied that she had not said or acted in a way to make him think that she would take her life. Police then brought up the letters they found in the house. After poring over the contents, they realised that he was corresponding with other women.
On 23 May, he sent £1 to a woman named Mabel Peters, who lived in Perth. The next day, he wrote to Georgina asking her to send him money. He had expected it in a previous letter and berated her for not having sent it. He said, “When I got your letter and no d[amned] money in it I did not know what to do, so I borrowed 5s, and started to batch til I get work.” Georgina was sure she had sent it to him. Sibley countered, “I do not know why you should say in your letter that you sent me £2, when you know d[amned] well you did not.” He called her a liar and ended the letter, “Don’t fool me anymore with that £2.”
Accepting his version of events, Georgina obliged and sent him £2, which he acknowledged in a letter dated 29 May. Five days later, he sent £5 to Mabel. Again, Georgina sent him £1, and he acknowledged it on 8 June. Sibley admitted taking Georgina’s money as well as sending money to Mabel. He said the money sent to Mabel was to help her move to Day Dawn. He had wanted Mabel to come and live with him and “would not have bothered” with Georgina had she done so.
The relationships Sibley held with the women were “examined at considerable length.” One letter, in particular, addressed him as ‘My dearest husband.’ He denied he was married to the author. He was married under the name of Shipley in 1891 but was widowed years later. He could give no reason why he married under the name of Shipley in Tasmania but was using the name Sibley in Western Australia.
Another letter mentioned a future marriage between him and Georgina. Even though he said he had made arrangements for it to take place soon after she arrived, he had taken no steps whatsoever. Detective Mann questioned him about it. Why mention marriage if he had no intention of marrying her? According to Sibley, he only included it at Georgina’s suggestion so she could use it as an excuse to leave her position at the hotel.
The coroner questioned Sibley as to what he thought caused Georgina’s death. The only possibility Sibley could think of was that she had used too many drops of cascara. She was sober on the day of her death and he did not think jealousy would cause her to take her life. He believed she knew about the letters. The fact that the police had found them in her box was proof of that.
With Sibley’s evidence complete, the coroner adjourned the inquest to resume the next day.
The inquest continued on 9 October with evidence from various other witnesses. Janet Clarke was 12 years old and, contrary to Sibley’s evidence, testified that she had seen him leave the house twice after lunch. She was often in their home and never heard them fight. Georgina was “much attached” to him and did not believe he was “carrying on with other women.”
Ellen Clarke gave evidence similar to Sibley’s version of events, but she offered a contradiction: she did not hear Georgina mention having taken cascara. When questioned about the cups on the table, she said that when she arrived, there were two cups containing tea.
Frederick Ridley was a miner at Day Dawn. He saw Sibley at about 5 pm for half an hour on 16 September on the verandah of the Day Dawn Hotel. When he saw him the following evening, Sibley asked whether he had heard about his bad luck. Frederick asked what had happened, and Sibley explained that Georgina had taken some medicine. Frederick had known Sibley for about six years and stated he was not vindictive or violent.
The Day Dawn Hotel circa 1904. Courtesy of State Library Victoria (H91.325/1931)
Maud Lipschutt was Georgina’s friend. She had known her for six years and regularly visited her when she was at Day Dawn. Maud recalled that on 5 September, she and Georgina visited a drapers’ store but did not go to the chemist. She described Georgina as “happy and contented, and was a good-tempered light-hearted woman.”
Maud was there on the night of Georgina’s death. Like Ellen, she saw two cups on the dining room table when she arrived. She tried taking Georgina’s dress off but struggled because she was so stiff. She watched as her friend twitched with pain. She got some whiskey in a glass for her to drink, took one of the cups from the dining room table, tipped the tea out, and filled it with water. She transferred some of the water to the whiskey glass. She recalled that Sibley had told her that Georgina had taken too much cascara.
Chemist Andrew Taite rang Dr Blanchard on Sibley’s behalf and advised of temporary measures to help Georgina. He provided evidence of his sales register for 5 September. It confirmed that someone purchased a packet of Phoenix wheat and a bottle of cascara that day, but he could not specify who it was. According to his records, it was the only sale of the poison for about five or six months. Andrew could not recall seeing Sibley in his shop before the night of 16 September. He explained that cascara was a laxative, and it could cause severe cramps if a person took a large dosage. He did not think that anything worse would happen from using it.
Anthony Moore was the licensee of the hotel east of Mount Magnet. He had employed Georgina from May to July, and while she occasionally had ill health, it was never anything serious. Contradicting Sibley, he stated that Georgina had left the position without giving a reason.
Charles Gray had boarded at Sibley’s home with his father and heard talk of a woman (Sibley called her his wife) coming from Perth to live there. Georgina had lived there with them for two or three weeks before going to Anthony Moore’s hotel. He never saw them fighting. He was still there when she returned in July, and he and his father moved out.
Fanny McGriskin was a married woman who lived in Day Dawn. She first met Georgina in January 1906. Georgina stayed with her for several nights before going back to Mount Magnet. She stayed with her again in May, but when Fanny learned she was keeping company with Sibley, she asked her to leave. Georgina went to live with Sibley and later sent for her box.
When Fanny heard of Georgina’s death, she immediately sent a telegraph to Georgina’s brother, Theodore. At his request, she agreed to arrange the funeral. On her way to Cue, she saw Sibley and asked what had happened. Sibley told her Georgina had taken an overdose of cascara. Fanny retorted, “Oh, that wouldn’t kill her.” Sibley claimed that a doctor had told him that drinking a hot cup of tea with cascara could kill you if you had a weak heart.
Once Fanny reached Cue, she learned that Sibley had already paid for the funeral and the coffin. She also confirmed that she had not given him permission to telegraph Georgina’s brother on her behalf.
Theodore Lynch was Georgina’s brother. Georgina was a widow and went by her married name Hussey as well as her maiden name Lynch. When he heard she was living with Sibley, he offered to help her and arrange transport home if she would leave him. She never gave him an answer.
He confirmed receiving notice of Georgina’s death via a telegram from Mrs McGriskin. He requested that she organise the funeral. Upon asking if he should come to Day Dawn, he received a response stating that he was not needed. He later learned Sibley had sent it.
Constable Laslett went to Sibley’s house on the night of Georgina’s death. He recalled that Sibley told him she had trembled after drinking her tea and went to bed. He looked at the table. There was a plate with meat and beetroot on it (Sibley’s dinner) and a plate with no food on it. There were also scones, pickles, jam, and

A cardboard box sitting up on the wardrobe, a wooden chest on the floor, or an old tin tucked safely away filled with nik naks, newspaper clippings, magazines or photos of a time gone by.
Bring down the box, open the tin, and rifle through the contents. Join me as we sweep away the cobwebs, blow away the dust and uncover the stories of the past.
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© Jessica Barratt and The Dusty Box, 2016. All rights reserved.
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[H6] ● About Me
Bring down the box, open the tin, and rifle through the contents. Join me as we sweep away the cobwebs, blow away the dust, and uncover the stories of the past.
[H6] ● Recent Articles
[IMG: Moving to Substack]
[H2] Moving to Substack
[IMG: The Māori Whaler]
[H2] The Māori Whaler
23 December 2022
[IMG: Poisoned at Day Dawn]
[H2] Poisoned at Day Dawn
31 December 2022

Jessica Barratt is currently recording stories for ABC Mid West and Wheatbelt’s Saturday Breakfast with Nat. Tune in via radio or listen online or on the ABC Listen App from 6:00 am on Saturdays.
Jessica is also a freelance writer for Traces magazine and contributes a regular article for the ‘Vintage Vernacular’ section of the magazine. Launched in December 2017, Traces is a quarterly print magazine which provides information, news and research relating to all aspects of history in Australia.
In 2019, Jessica appeared on Great Australian Railway Journeys, sharing the story of Prince Edward’s 1920 visit to Western Australia with Michael Portillo. You can read it here.
[H3] On the ABC…
Watch Wildflowers of the Midwest of WA: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/wildflowers-of-the-midwest-of-wa
The monster in the Avon River – with Gillian O’Shaughnessy

[H3] Lost Yarns of the Outback
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[H6] ● About Me
Bring down the box, open the tin, and rifle through the contents. Join me as we sweep away the cobwebs, blow away the dust, and uncover the stories of the past.
[H6] ● Recent Articles
[IMG: Moving to Substack]
[H2] Moving to Substack
[IMG: The Māori Whaler]
[H2] The Māori Whaler
23 December 2022
[IMG: Poisoned at Day Dawn]
[H2] Poisoned at Day Dawn
31 December 2022

[H4] 01 – A bomb at the Yalgoo post office
[H4] 02 – The snake and the thief
[H4] 03 – The ‘lost’ tin of gold
[H4] 04 – Mount Magnet murder
[H4] 05 – Skeletons lay rest under a tree
This project would not have been possible without the immense talent of Chris Lewis. He will always have my eternal gratitude. If you would like to see more of Chris’s work please visit: https://vimeo.com/undawaterguy
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[H6] ● About Me
Bring down the box, open the tin, and rifle through the contents. Join me as we sweep away the cobwebs, blow away the dust, and uncover the stories of the past.
[H6] ● Recent Articles
[IMG: Moving to Substack]
[H2] Moving to Substack
[IMG: The Māori Whaler]
[H2] The Māori Whaler
23 December 2022
[IMG: Poisoned at Day Dawn]
[H2] Poisoned at Day Dawn
31 December 2022