The Kalgoorlie-Boulder area was first explored in 1863 by HM Lefroy, with further expeditions led by CC Hunt during 1864-68. Both men were seeking pastoral land and rode over the gold-bearing earth oblivious to the riches below.
It was not until the decline of the gold rush in the north-west of the State that miners began to explore the tracks established by Hunt. To stimulate searches, the Government offered a reward of 500 to 1000 pounds for the first discovery of payable gold in a new region.
In 1892, Arthur Bayley registered his Reward Claim with a find of 554 ounces of gold from Fly Flat in Coolgardie. The Western Australian Goldfields were officially discovered.
In June 1893, three Irish prospectors, Patrick Hannan, Tom Flanagan and Daniel Shea rode out east of Coolgardie on their quest. They were forced to camp overnight at Mt Charlotte, 20 kilometres short of their destination, when one of their horses lost a shoe. It was a stroke of luck – in the next few days they collected 100 ounces of alluvial nuggets. Hannan registered the reward claim in Coolgardie on June 17 1893 and so began the Kalgoorlie-Boulder gold rush. Two other prospectors soon located large gold deposits 5 kilometres to the south, the start of the famous "Golden Mile".
The gold rush that followed was staggering in size. Men came in their thousands from all over the world and hundreds of mining companies were floated to speculate on the rich reefs. In the space of a few years, the Goldfields were the economic and political centre of Western Australia.
But the human cost was high. Many were ill prepared for the harsh conditions they encountered, having severely inadequate supplies of food and water. Living conditions were appalling, with most miners living in hessian or canvas huts. There was no sanitation and few medical supplies. Life was incredibly strenuous and lonely. Diseases such as scurvy, dysentery and typhoid were common, claiming the lives of many.
Water soon became more valuable than gold and sold for one shilling a gallon, equivalent to 50 cents per litre by today’s standards. Many thousands died from thirst or from drinking contaminated water. The shortages were finally solved in 1903, with the completion of the Perth-Goldfields Pipeline, planned and supervised by the brilliant State Engineer in Chief CY O’Connor. Just months before completion, unable to cope with the widespread criticism of his scheme, O’Connor tragically took his own life.
On January 24,1903 his vision was finally realised when the first water supplies reached the Mt Charlotte Reservoir, driven by eight steam pumping stations through 557 kilometres of pipeline, transforming the quality of life overnight and guaranteeing the survival of the region.
While the early 1900s marked the boom time for individual prospectors, the big companies quickly followed. Excavating deep into the ground, they built headframes, tailings and mullock dumps that soon became the iconic symbols of the Goldfields. Since 1893, the Kalgoorlie-Boulder gold deposits have produced over 50,000,000 ounces (1400 tonnes) of gold, by far the most to be extracted from any one source in Australia.
In its heyday, the population of Kalgoorlie-Boulder reached 30,000, with 93 hotels and 8 breweries. Today, Kalgoorlie-Boulder is living history, with the past conspicuous in every part of the city, from the public buildings, pubs, cemeteries, wide streets and the houses in the suburbs to the many tourist attractions. Each provides its own fascinating insight into the history in Australia’s gold capital.
"Lovely Welcome. Great Community Spirit. Historical."
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Visitor, 2009
