Outback Holiday Destinations & Towns
Western Australia WA
Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie's
days
of
golden glory
began
in
1893
when
Paddy
Hannan
and
his
fellow
Irish
prospectors
Thomas
Flanagan
and
Dan
Shea
found
gold
near
Mt
Charlotte.
Other
prospectors
soon
discovered
the
immense
deposits
of
the
Golden
Mile,
the
richest
square
mile
of
gold-bearing
earth
in the
world,
and
thousands
of
men
came
from
all
over
the
world.
The
major
problem
holding
back
the
area,
the
lack
of
water,
was
solved
in
1903
with
the
completion
of
a
563km
water
pipeline
designed
by
the
engineering
genius
C.Y.
O'Connor.
The
echoes
of
Kalgoorlie-Boulder's
boisterous
past
are
still
to
be
witnessed
everywhere.
Hannan
Street,
Kalgoorlie,
and
Burt
Street,
Boulder,
offer
an
insight
into
the
way
things
were
in
the
1890's.
There
are
many
attractions
and
activities
in
this
area
and
travellers
are
advised
to
allow
a
minimum
of
3-4
days
to
explore
and
discover
the
charm
of
the
Goldfields.
Coolgardie
Once
the
centre
of
Australia's
greatest
gold
rush,
Coolgardie
is
now
the
nation's
best
preserved
gold
mining
town.
Prospector
Arthur
Bayley,
and
his
friend
William
Ford,
found
a
fabulous
reef
of
gold
in
1892,
which
they
named
"Bayley's
Reward"
By
1900,
Coolgardie
had
a
population
of
15,000
with
two
stock
exchanges,
60
stores,
23
hotels,
3
breweries,
many
churches,
and
6
newspapers.
Now
a
lovely
town
of
approximately
1,400
People,
Coolgardie
has
carefully
preserved
the
best
of
its
past.
Its
wide
streets
are lined
by
grand
stone
and
brick
buildings
mixed
with
corrugated
iron
and
timber
homes,
reflecting
both
the
wealth
and
impennanence
of
the
gold
rush.
Kambalda
The
town
was
born
in
1887
with
the
discovery
of
gold
and
the
establishment
of
the
Red
Hill
Mine,
near
the
shores
of
the
giant
salt
pan,
Lake
Lefroy,
but
the
gold
ran
out
by
1907.
Nearly
60
years
later,
Western
Mining
Corporation
announced
the
discovery
of
a
massive
nickel
deposit
and
the
establishment
of
Australia's
first
nickel
mine
at
Kambalda.
Menzies
In
1894,
a
prospector
named
Robert
Menzies
stubbed
his
toe
on
the
rich
gold
bearing
rocks
that
later
became
the
Lady
Shenton
Mine
and
the
town
of
Menzies
was
born.
The
population
peaked
in
1905
with
an
estimated
10,000
people,
13
hotels
and
3
breweries but
the
decline
in
gold
mining
meant
Menzies
rapidly
diminished
and
many
satellite
towns
disappeared
altogether.
Today,
many
reminders
of
Menzies
former
glory
still
remain.
Leonora
Explorer
John
Forrest
led
the
first
party
into
this
area
in
1869
while
searching
for
the
lost
Leichhardt
Expedition.
He
named
an
isolated
peak,
Mount
Leonora
in
honour
of
the
wife
of
the
then
Western
Australian
Governor.
In
1896
the
first
gold
claims
were
pegged at
Leonora,
and
its
twin
town
Gwalia
(the
Gaelic
name
for
Wales).
Kookynie
This
small
ghost
town
lies
on
an
unsealed
road
69km
south
east
of
Leonora.
Kookynie
has
declined
from
1,500
to
fewer
than
10
people,
but
the
1894
vintage
Grand
Hotel
survives
with
its
big
verandahs
and
spacious
rooms.
The
town
is
surrounded
by
old
mine workings
and
tail
dumpings.
Of
special
interest
is
the
Kookynie
Museum,
open
daily,
with
its
collection
of
photographs,
memorabilia
and
antique
bottles.
Art,
crafts
and
souvenirs
available.
Niagara
Within
10km
of
Kookynie,
Niagara
has
declined
even
more
sharply.
The
population
in
1905
was
1,000
and
is
now
nil.
Almost
nothing
remains
of
the
buildings,
but
visitors
may
find
many
old
bottles
and
small
relics
of
the
gold
rush
days.
Niagara
Dam,
was
built in
1897
with
cement
carried
from
Coolgardie
by
camel-back.
The
surrounding
area
is
rugged
and
scenic
with
good
bird
life,
and
is
ideal
for
picnics.
Please
note
the
access
road
is
not
suitable
for
caravans.
Leinster
Drawing
its
name
from
the
nearby
pastoral
station
"Leinster
Downs"
the
town
was
established
in
1977
to
service
the
nickel
mining
industry.
Since
the
re-opening
of
Agnew
Nickel
Mine
in
1987,
Leinster
has
gradually
increased
in
importance.
Within
a
35km
radius
there
are
three
operational
gold
mines.
Laverton
Gold
was
discovered
in
1896
near
the
present-day
town
of
Laverton.
The
town
declined
when
surface
gold
gave
out,
but
revived
in
the
1970s
following
the
discovery
of
nickel
at
nearby
Windarra.
Norseman
The
gold
mining
town
of
Norseman
is
Western
Australia's
"Golden
Gate
to
The
Western
State".
All Photos courtesy of Tourism Western Australia
|
