Kalgoorlie

The Centenerary Plaque of 1993, on the wall of the Town Hall in Kalgoorlie

Since 1897, a tree has marked the spot where gold was found on 14 June 1893.

In the winter of 1893, prospectors Patrick (Paddy) Hannan, Tom Flanagan, and Dan Shea were travelling to Mount Youle, when one of their horses cast a shoe. During the halt in their journey, the men noticed signs of gold in the area around the foot of what is now the Mount Charlotte gold mine, located on a small hill north of the current city, and decided to stay and investigate. On 17 June 1893, Hannan filed a Reward Claim, leading to hundreds of men swarming to the area in search of gold, and Kalgoorlie, originally called Hannan's Find, was born.[4]

Hannan Street in September 1930; the Exchange Hotel is at the centre, with the Palace Hotel on the right.

The population of the town was 2,018 (1,516 males and 502 females) in 1898.[5]

The mining of gold, along with other metals such as nickel, has been a major industry in Kalgoorlie ever since, and today employs about one-quarter of Kalgoorlie's workforce and generates a significant proportion of its income. The concentrated area of large gold mines surrounding the original Hannan's find is often referred to as the Golden Mile, and was sometimes referred to as the world's richest square mile of earth.

In 1901, the population of Kalgoorlie was 4,793 (3,087 males and 1,706 females) which increased to 6,790 (3,904 males and 2,886 females) by 1903.[6]

The 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow-gauge Government Eastern Goldfields Railway line reached Kalgoorlie station in 1896, and the main named railway service from Perth was the overnight sleeper train The Westland, which ran until the 1970s. In 1917, a 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge railway line was completed, connecting Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta, South Australia, across 2,000 kilometres (1,243 mi) of desert, and consequently the rest of the eastern states. The standardisation of the railway connecting Perth (which changed route from the narrow-gauge route) in 1968 completed the Sydney–Perth railway, making rail travel from Perth to Sydney possible; the Indian Pacific rail service commenced soon after. During the 1890s, the Goldfields area boomed as a whole, with an area population exceeding 200,000, composed mainly of prospectors. The area gained a reputation for being a "wild west", notorious for its bandits and prostitutes. This rapid increase in population and claims of neglect by the state government in Perth led to the proposition of the new state of Auralia, but with the sudden diaspora after the Gold Rush, these plans fell through.

Places, famous or infamous, for which Kalgoorlie is noted include its water pipeline, designed by C. Y. O'Connor and bringing in fresh water from Mundaring Weir near Perth, its Hay Street brothels, its two-up school, the goldfields railway loopline, the Kalgoorlie Town Hall, the Paddy Hannan statue/drinking fountain, the Super Pit, and Mount Charlotte lookout. Its main street is Hannan Street, named after the town's founder. One of the infamous brothels also serves as a museum and is a major national attraction.

Kalgoorlie and the surrounding district were served by an extensive collection of suburban railways and tramways, providing for both passenger and freight traffic.[7]

In 1989, the Town of Kalgoorlie and Shire of Boulder formally amalgamated to create the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, adjoining the two towns into what is now the fifth most populous city in Western Australia.[8]

On 20 April 2010, Kalgoorlie was shaken by an earthquake that reached 5.0 on the Richter scale. The epicentre was 30 km north east of the town.[9] The quake caused damage to a number of commercial hotels and historic buildings along Burt Street in Boulder. The entire Burt St. precinct was evacuated until 23 April. Work in the Superpit and many other mines around Kalgoorlie was stopped. Two people suffered minor injuries as a result of the quake.[10]

Panorama of Kalgoorlie, with the Airport visible behind and Boulder present behind the headframe

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 29,873 people in the Kalgoorlie - Boulder Significant Urban Area:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 7.3% of the population.
• 65.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand (7.9%), England (2.4%), Philippines (2.2%), South Africa (1.9%) and India (1.2%).
• 78.6% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Afrikaans (1.3%), Tagalog (1.1%), Filipino (0.7%), Mandarin (0.7%) and Hindi (0.5%).
• The most common responses for religion were No Religion (33.4%) and Catholic (22.1%).[11]

Kalgoorlie-Boulder is a regional centre and has a Chamber of Commerce[13] and a Chamber of Minerals and Energy.[14]

Kalgoorlie-Boulder has a dynamic and diverse cultural scene.[19][20]

Attractions

York and Oriental Hotels, c. 1900

Given the wealth of its yesteryear, Kalgoorlie features many elaborate heritage buildings that have been retained. Kalgoorlie-Boulder – the largest settlement for many hundreds of kilometres, with many employees at the Super Pit – is the centre of the area's social life. Of particular interest is the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racecourse, a horse racing venue. Also well known in the area are the Kalgoorlie Skimpies, ladies employed by each pub who walk around in their underwear or burlesque outfits to attract punters and who expect a fee in return.[22] Two grass sports ovals and a cinema showing recent international releases are in the area.

Kalgoorlie Town Hall

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder metropolitan area consists of the following suburbs:[30]

• Boulder

Known as the home of the Super Pit, it is one of Kalgoorlie-Boulder's historical suburbs featuring many buildings and landmarks dating as far back as 1882. It was once the central business district for the Town of Boulder, but since amalgamation with Kalgoorlie, it is now more of a historical local centre. Boulder has its own post office, town hall and many hotels along its main thoroughfare, Burt Street. A significant refurbishment has been commenced as part of the 'Royalties for Regions' initiative.

• Broadwood (aka – Hampton Heights)

A new housing suburb located next to the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport, which was recently expanded.

• Fairways

This area derives its name from the golf course that once occupied the area. It was released to provide affordable property to a growing population in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Fairways features a private primary school, church, caravan park and small business.

• Golden Grove (formerly Adeline)

Adeline was originally constructed around 1970 by the State Housing Commission. The suburb was built on the "Radburn concept", with houses facing away from the street and common pathways linking homes. The area has been plagued by antisocial problems. In 2003, a significant urban renewal project was commenced, including the renaming of the suburb to Golden Grove and re-aligning of homes. The project has seen some success but has yet to fully eliminate antisocial problems within the area.[31]

• Hampton Heights

See Broadwood.

• Hannans

The Kalgoorlie street in Hannans dedicated to Tom Flanagan in September 1981

Located in Kalgoorlie's far north. Hannans was the first suburb to have its own independent shopping centre ("Hannans Boulevard") which includes a Coles Supermarket. The area also has a primary school and an 18-hole golf course. The original course was not formally grassed but was recently refurbished. Several surrounding golf clubs joined together to form one club known as 'The Goldfields Golf Club'. A dam has been constructed to service what is now a luxury desert golf course and club. Alongside the golf course project has been the development and release of Greenview estate. It lies on the western border of Hannans. This ongoing project has been designed as an environmentally friendly estate, and will eventually consist of over 2000 homes, apartments and facilities such as parks and schools. As one of Kalgoorlie's highest growth areas there has been a proposal for a new alternative route, out of the suburb onto the Kalgoorlie Bypass, to avoid traffic problems on the already heavily used Graeme Street which is a direct route to the city centre. Other developments include 'Karkurla Rise' and 'Karkurla View' which have added an additional 400 homes to the area.

• Kalgoorlie

The central business district. Hannan Street, named after Paddy Hannan, is Kalgoorlie's main street and stretches the length of the suburb. The western side of the suburb consists of housing and some light industry. The eastern side contains retail chains, banks, the police station, court house, restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, schools, university, and a TAFE.

• Lamington

One of Kalgoorlie's oldest suburbs. Much like other older suburbs, almost every street is parallel with Hannan Street in Central Kalgoorlie. Streets are noticeably wide. It houses North Kalgoorlie Primary School, small businesses, a medical practice, a hotel, tavern and a non-maintained 18-hole golf course.

• Mullingar

Much smaller today than it originally was before the Super Pit expansion, Mullingar is located at the far east end of Lamington, between the northern Goldfields railway and Goldfields Highway.

• O'Connor

Officially O'Connor is the south-east section of the suburb of Somerville. Much of the area is increasingly now known as O'Connor. It is home to a primary school (O'Connor Primary School), a private high school (Goldfields Baptist College), and shopping facilities. It also houses the city's only recreation centre.

• Piccadilly[32]

A narrow suburb following Piccadilly street between Central Kalgoorlie and Lamington. It features the city's regional hospital, small businesses, a hotel, sporting arena and two grassed ovals.

• Somerville

Somerville marks the end of Great Eastern Highway that stretches between Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Perth. Much of the area is now referred to locally as O'Connor. Somerville contains a residential area, schools, retail shops, light industry and some horse stables. In the past it also contained market gardens.

• South Kalgoorlie

Stretching from Boundary Street, Kalgoorlie to Holmes Street, Golden Grove and bordering with Central Kalgoorlie, O'Connor and Golden Grove, South Kalgoorlie is mostly residential but also contains the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racecourse, schools, some light industrial and small businesses. The suburb was expanded in the mid-1990s to include a sub-division named "Sport of Kings" on Maxwell Street, using a surplus of land from the racecourse.

• Victory Heights

A residential-only subdivision within Fairways estate along Burt Street.

• West Kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie's main industrial area, it is the first suburb as you approach Kalgoorlie on the Great Eastern Highway. It features the city's airport, as well as small, medium, and heavy industrial areas. Currently under expansion further west (ANZAC Drive Industrial Estate).

• West Lamington

The western tip of Lamington was built in the 1980s. It includes one shop, sporting facilities and an arboretum nature reserve.

• Williamstown

This small existing area features mostly housing with one small primary school. It is also home to the Mount Charlotte gold mine (past production of about 5,000,000 ounces of gold), the Cassidy Shaft and Nanny Goat Hill (Mt Gleddon). Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, owner of the Super Pit to the south on the Golden Mile, from 2015 mined the Hidden Secret orebody, between 215 metres (705 ft) and 440 metres (1,440 ft) below the surface of Williamstown, using Mount Charlotte's Cassidy Shaft as access.[33][34]

Radio

Radio Services available in Kalgoorlie:

• ABC Goldfields-Esperance: 6GF 648 AM \ 94.3 FM (Part of the ABC Local Radio Network)
• ABC Classic FM: 6ABCFM 95.5 FM;
• ABC Radio National: 6ABCRN 97.1 FM
• ABC Triple J: 6JJJ 93.5 FM \ 98.7 FM
• ABC News: 6PNN 100.3 FM
• Hit 97.9 (Commercial Station) 6KAR: 91.9 \ 97.9 FM – Contemporary hit radio format
• Triple M (Commercial Station) 6KG: 981 AM \ 92.7 FM – Adult Contemporary / Classic Hits / Talk radio format
• Vision Radio Network 1431 AM : Community Narrowcast Station – Christian praise, worship music and talk.
• Tjuma Pulka (Media) Aboriginal Corporation : 96.3 FM (Aboriginal Community radio service)
• 6TAB Racing Radio – 88FM (Live broadcasts of Horse Racing, Greyhound Racing and Harness Racing, with talkback and music played at other times).

Television Television services available include:

• The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) – ABC, ABC Comedy/Kids, ABC Me, ABC News (digital channels)
• The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) – SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS Food, NITV (digital channels)
• GWN7 (Golden West Network), an affiliate station of the Seven Network
• WIN Television, an affiliate station of the Ten Network
• West Digital Television, an affiliate station of the Nine Network (provided jointly by Prime Television and WIN Television)

The programming schedule is mainly the same as the Seven, Nine and Ten stations in Perth with variations for news bulletins, sport telecasts such as the Australian Football League and National Rugby League, children's and lifestyle programs and infomercials or paid programming.

GWN7 maintains a newsroom in the city. The GWN7 bureau provides coverage of the surrounding area for the station's nightly 30-minute news program, GWN7 News, at 5:30pm on weeknights.

A Foxtel subscription television service is available via satellite.

Newspapers

The local newspaper for the Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Goldfields region is The Kalgoorlie Miner.

Newspapers from Perth, including The West Australian and The Sunday Times, are also available, as well as national newspapers such as The Australian and The Australian Financial Review.

There are 10 primary schools, four high schools and one university in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder area.

Notable people from or who have lived in Kalgoorlie include:

• Thomas Axford, VC, First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross[37]
• Matt Birney, former WA Leader of the Opposition[38]
• John Bowler, Australian politician from Western Australia
• Leonard Casley, founder of the Hutt River Province.[39]
• John Carroll, VC, First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross[37]
• John Cornell, actor and movie producer, best known for playing Strop on The Paul Hogan Show.
• Wendy Duncan, Australian politician from Western Australia
• Rica Erickson, historian, botanist and author[40]
• Dean Fiore, V8 supercar driver
• Brian Hayes, British radio personality[41]
• Steve Johnston, speedway rider
• Eileen Joyce, pianist
• Dean Kemp, former Australian rules footballer[38]
• Wallace Kyle, Air Marshall, last leader of RAF Bomber Command[42]
• Walter Lindrum, champion professional billiards player[43]
• Ron Manners, prominent ex–local businessperson
• Barry Marshall, Nobel Prize winner[44]
• Bob Marshall, champion billiards player
• Bert Nankiville, swimmer[45]
• Michael Patrizi, V8 supercar driver
• James del Piano, businessman, Italian diaspora aficionado[46]
• Melissa Price, Liberal member for Durack
• Tim Rogers, singer/songwriter[47]
• Dom Sheed, Australian rules footballer
• Grant Stewart, cricketer
• Jenny Talia, singer/songwriter[48]
• Ian Taylor, Deputy Premier of Western Australia 1990–1993
• Elizabeth Truswell, former Chief Scientist at the Australian Geological Survey Organisation
• Terry Walsh, field hockey striker and coach[49]
• Kevin Bloody Wilson, singer and comedian[50]

• 
  Exchange Hotel.
• 
  Mt Charlotte Mine and Cassidy Shaft, Williamstown
• 
  York Hotel.
• 
  The Super Pit, Australia's largest open-cut gold mine until 2016.
• 
  The Kalgoorlie Courthouse, previously the Post Office.
• 
  The Kalgoorlie Hotel/Judds Pub.

• Auralia (proposed Australian state with its capital in Kalgoorlie)
• Yilgarn Craton

• Casey, Gavin and Mayman, Ted.(1964) The Mile That Midas Touched Rigby, Adelaide..

• 100th anniversary of rail link (History of the Eastern Goldfields railway, officially completed on 1 January 1897, to the present, including introduction of the Prospector train on 29 November 1971) Kalgoorlie Miner 1 January 1997, p. 2
• Early Railways in the Kalgoorlie Area, Shepley, W.H. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, November 1965

Kalgoorlie-Boulder travel guide from Wikivoyage

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

• City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder official website
• Kalgoorlie official tourism website