Around Kalgoorlie

Day 3 – Monday 19 May 2025

 

Superpit Lookout

A change in the Itinerary resulted in a first up visit to the fantastic Superpit Lookout.

The Community Development Officer for KCGM met with our group and explained how the expansion of the Superpit would affect some of the older areas of Kalgoorlie.

Mount Charlotte Reservoir Lookout

Kanowna

The Eastern Goldfields Historical Society has done a lot of work at Kanowna, particularly with interpretive signage.

Discussion about the operation of the puddler/separator was lively and inconclusive. It continued later in the day at dinner after the Presentations at the Tower Hotel.

Broad Arrow

A little hesitantly we took the Six Mile Access Road out of Kanowna, hopeful it would be a shortcut to Broad Arrow. Concerns were dispelled when it intersected with the Goldfields Highway and we made our way to the historic Broad Arrow Tavern for lunch.

Broad Arrow is 38 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie. When prospectors O’Mara, Quinn and Pike headed to what is now known as Broad Arrow they left a trail of broad arrows on the ground so O’Mara’s nephew could follow them later. Although the town was gazetted as Kurawah, the name Broad Arrow prevailed.

Hannans North Tourist Mine

A tour of the popular Hannans North Tourist Mine was the last item on the agenda before the evening’s Presentations.

Presentations

The evening’s program was a series of five short Presentations at the Tower Hotel on a range of topics relevant to the Eastern Goldfields.

Wendy Carter – Tales of some early Goldfields prospectors, the Sons of Gwalia Mine and the Australasian Mining History Association.

Kim Epton – Exploration Eastwards.

Jeff Gresham – History of Kambalda and the Nickel Discovery.

Scott Wilson – Uncovering the Golden Mile.

Wayne Monks – Life in the Eastern Goldfields – Experiences and highlights of the Dundas Goldfields and mining in the Eastern Goldfields.

At the conclusion of the Presentations we moved to the dining room for dinner.

Additional Photographs of Day 3,

Day 4 – Tuesday 20 May 2025

Eastern Goldfields Historical Society

We met at the Eastern Goldfields Historical Society. People joined this Tour for many different reasons. For Rod, whose first few years were spent in Kalgoorlie, one of them was to find out more about his family and their life in Kalgoorlie. As it turned out his forebears were prominent citizens in WA’s gold mining capital. Indeed his grandfather, F.W. Allsop, was the Mayor of Kalgoorlie from 1922 to 1927.

Thanks to the Easatern Goldfields Historical Society.

We headed south out of Kalgoorlie.

King Battery

A visit to the Eastern Goldfields is not complete without seeing King Battery, 47 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie on Woolibar Station. The battery operated for just over two years. Read more in this Journal of Australasian Mining History article.

Kambalda

Nickel Time!

Members of the tour group were treated to first hand information from Jeff Gresham who, as Chief Geologist of the WMC Kambalda Nickel Operations, was instrumental in the development of nickel mining in Kambalda. Such a privilege to have him present on the tour and so willing to answer questions.

Jeff’s book Kambalda. History of a Mining Town is available from the Eastern Goldfields Historical Society.

As a sidenote, Jeff’s painstaking plotting of the routes of H.M. Lefroy’s and C.C. Hunt’s 1863 and 1864 respective exploration has been of great facility to subsequent researchers and was included in To The Golden Land, the Western Australian Exploration Volume dedicated to exploration that opened up the Eastern Goldfields.

Red Hill

Red Hill provides great views over Lake Lefroy.

Lake Lefroy

A 1400 metre circuit walk at the lookout is well worth doing.

Kambalda Art Centre

A visit to the Kambalda Art Centre was a break from the non stop mining history over the past four days.

John Scott’s Paintings

Additional Photographs of Day 4.

Day 5 – Wednesday 21 May 2025

Pitman and Walsh Memorial

On the way out of Kalgoorlie there was the opportunity to visit the relocated memorial to murdered police officers Alexander Pitman and John Walsh.

Coolgardie

Sometimes referred to as the ‘Mother of the Goldfields’ or the ‘Old Camp’, Coolgardie burst into existence with the discovery of gold at Fly Flat by Arthur Bayley and William Ford in 1892.

A book written by the man who was there is:
Coolgardie in 1892 by William Ford.

Another book well worth owning is:
William Ford & Coolgardie by Alice Kathleen Clememeson (Ford’s daughter).

Some years ago Coolgardie shook off its ‘ghost town’ shackles and, while not quite matching its glorious heydays, is once again a vibrant mining centre.

Lions Lookout

Warden Finnerty

John Michael Finnerty was the first resident magistrate, and also the mining warden of Coolgardie.  Finnerty helped plan the town of Coolgardie where he was warden from 1894.

For twenty-five years Warden Finnerty interpreted the mining acts with discretion and his decisions were respected. As a bushman, his authority and leadership were accepted in the camps: no officer of the Crown was held in higher regard in the mining community.

Coolgardie Pioneer Cemetery

The Coolgardie Pioneer Cemetery was used from 1892 to 1894 after which the current cemetery one kilometre to the south-west was established.

After a short visit to the Pioneer Cemetery we moved to the main Coolgardie Cemetery.

Coolgardie Cemetery

Coolgardie Cemetery is often mistaken for the Pioneer Cemetery.

By their very nature cemeteries are sad places. The number of people interred at Coolgardie who died in their prime of life from completely preventable causes makes this place even sadder.

Some notable interments at Coolgardie Cemetery.

Varischetti Rescue

After a few false starts the site of the Varischetti Rescue was located. Given the amount of publicity/exposure directed to this amazing chapter in the early days of the Eastern Goldfields directional signage is very poor.

An additional perspective of this rescue is given in the booklet  Nine Days Entombed. The story of a fight for life by C.A. Jenkins.

 

Back to Kalgoorlie

The Tour returned to Kalgoorlie for the last night there before the focus moved to Widgiemooltha and Norseman.

Additional Photographs of Day 5

Go to Around Widgiemooltha.

Go to Menu.

 

 

© Kim Epton 2025
1362 words, 44 photographs, three images.

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