Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is located 40 kilometres east of Coolgardie, 595 kilometres east of Perth and 200 kilometres north of Norseman. The traditional landowners of the Kalgoorlie area are the Maduwangka people and the name Kalgoorlie is said to mean “Silky Pear Bush” in the local aboriginal language.
European settlement of Kalgoorlie began in June 1893 with the discovery of rich alluvial gold deposits near Mount Charlotte. The three Irish gold prospectors credited with the discovery were Paddy Hannan, Dan Shea and Tom Flanagan. Paddy Hannan later reported discovering 8 pounds of gold nuggets to the mining warden in Coolgardie, and within a matter of days 700 gold diggers were frantically pegging out mining claims around Kalgoorlie. Kalgoorlie’s gold rush had begun and by 1903 the town boasted a population of 30,000, along with 93 hotels and 8 breweries.
For Kalgoorlie’s pioneering gold diggers the pickings were rich indeed, but if the pickings were rich, so too were the costs of essential miner’s supplies. Early reports of the time indicate that Kalgoorlie’s miners were forced to live on overpriced “tinned dog” – a commonly eaten but universally detested canned meat product. For the digger even basic foodstuffs such as flour were extravagantly priced. At the time Kalgoorlie’s wholesale price for flour was 120 pounds per ton whilst the going rate in Perth was a mere 10 pounds. Water too was almost more precious than gold. Chronic water shortages allowed owners of water desalination plants to sell water for anywhere between 6 pence and one shilling and sixpence per gallon. It was little wonder then, that many diggers died of typhoid – the inevitable result of drinking contaminated water.
By the late 1890s Kalgoorlie’s rich alluvial gold deposits had been largely worked out. With the discovery of deep gold reefs and rich telluride minerals at nearby Boulder the age of the independent digger soon drew to a close.
1897 saw the Kalgoorlie Boulder gold fields riding the crest of an investment wave largely financed by British speculators. The stage was set for the creation of a highly capitalised modern gold mining industry. Literally hundreds of companies were floated, fortunes were won and lost, and for many years Kalgoorlie’s metallurgists led the world in developing commercial treatments of gold bearing ores.
By 1902 deep underground mining of gold leads had become the norm with the Great Boulder Mine continuing to discover payable gold 1500 feet below the surface. Later Boulder Mining leases came to be known as “The Golden Mile” and by all accounts this area contained the richest square mile of gold reserves in the world.
Today the Golden Mile continues to be actively worked by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines. During the past 20 years the use of modern open cut mining technologies has seen the Golden Mile transform itself into a Super Pit. Current dimensions of the “Super Pit” are 290 metres deep by 1.5 kilometres wide and 4 kilometres long. At current extraction rates KCGM has proven reserves that should last beyond the year 2013 – by which time the Super Pit will have expanded considerably.
Kalgoorlie Goldfields Visitor Centre
When visiting Western Australia’s Goldfields Nullarbor Net recommends your first port of call should be the Kalgoorlie Goldfields Visitor Centre. The Goldfields Visitor Centre has 2 branch offices, one naturally enough located in Kalgoorlie, and the other in nearby Boulder. From the Kalgoorlie Goldfields Visitor Centre travellers can obtain a free copy of the Kalgoorlie Boulder visitors guide and map. This brochure will definitely be an indispensable aid in helping you navigate your way about town. Marked on the map are a number of business services and all attractions that would be of interest to the traveller. Opening hours for the tourist information bureaus are 8-30am to 5 pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm on weekends.
Transport – W.A. Goldfields
Kalgoorlie is definitely well served by an extensive network of bus, rail and air services linking through to Perth, the eastern states, Esperance and other points in south western australia. Please click here to view the Kalgoorlie Goldfield’s Visitor Centre’s current timetables for bus and train services between Kalgoorlie and Perth.
Bus Services
McCafferty’s Express coaches operate services connecting destinations between Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. MCCafferty’s reservations can be made by telephoning 131499 or visiting www.greyhound.com.au. Goldrushtours operate the Perth Goldfields bus service between Perth and Kalgoorlie. Services run 3 days a week.
Rail Services
Westrail operates the newly upgraded Prospector train service which links Perth to Kalgoorlie several times a week and the journey takes about 6 hours. Westrail’s booking office is located in Forrest Street Kalgoorlie and reservations can be made by telephoning . For those of you crossing the Nullarbor, the Indian Pacific Rail service may well be a transport option. Stopovers can be made in Kalgoorlie and Nullarbor Net suggests you consider doing this for a couple of days or so. Reservations for the Indian Pacific service can be made by telephoning Great Southern Railways. Reservations can also be made in most Australian capital cities.
Air Travel
Kalgoorlie is well served by air routes with connections through to both Adelaide and Perth. Airlink is a subsidiary of Qantas and has a daily service linking Adelaide to Kalgoorlie, with connecting flights to Perth and return. If you are in Kalgoorlie bookings can be made at the Kalgoorlie Goldfields Visitor Centre or the Kalgoorlie Office of Flight Centre.
