Thomas Wills and Henry Lewis Conran: gold mine owners, S Australia, 1890s onward

[queencorgi1]

I really don't want to get too deeply into what I'm sure is a complex subject, but I'm trying to understand what was going on with the gold mines these two brothers apparently owned in South Australia at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. I'm not looking for a huge amount of detail.
My reason for doing this is actually because Henry enrolled his son Eric at Cheltenham College, England, in April 1903, but the school records show that Eric was actually absent for most of the school year. He left in 1904. I wondered whether this was because his father found himself in some financial difficulty, and couldn't afford the fees? Of course this could have been illness, but the College archivist feels in this case the entry would have read 'absent through illness' not just 'absent'.
I realise this is a niche question, but any thoughts would be appreciated. I've had a look at newspapers in Trove but nothing's leapt to the eye.

[jorose]

It seems like in this period, the Conrans may have been travelling in Europe. Perhaps it was simply that they decided to bring him along rather than leaving him at school.

France:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4995471?searchTerm=%22Harry%20%20Conran%22

Switzerland:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/138762655?searchTerm=%22Harry%20%20Conran%22

[queencorgi1]

Thank you so much!
Two thoughts on this -- why enroll him in a British public school and then swan off to the Continent with him .. and secondly, I'd looked 'Henry Lewis Conran' up solely under that name. Never thought of him as 'Harry'  -- another salutary lesson in using search terms.

[Neale1961]

..... with the gold mines these two brothers apparently owned in South Australia at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie.

Just a small issue - Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie are in Western Australia (not South Australia).


In case you don't have - Obit for Harry Conran
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58260270?searchTerm=Conran%20AND%20mine

Gives an interesting outline of Harry and his business
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/251439548?searchTerm=Conran%20AND%20mine

Suggested additional searches on Trove
"Conran's Gold Mining Company"  and "Tom Conran"

[queencorgi1]

Yes sorry about the geographical mix up! Many apologies!
Thank you for Harry's obit. I have been exploring the other options you suggest and got increasingly confused, so I hope the obit will give a simple summary.
It's actually his son I'm interested in. Yesterday I was tracking the family's activities through the 1900s equivalent of social media on Trove -- astonished that they travelled between England and Australia three or four times a year.