Flora & Fauna

The Goldfields region boasts 12 exisiting and proposed nature reserves, with a combined area of 8 million hectares. An incredibly high number of bird species flourish here, as well as the threatened Bilby (or Rabbit-eared Bandicoot), Cuditch, Mallee Fowl, Scarlet Chested Parrot, Sandhill Dunnart and Mulgara. The inhabitants of the area include ornate lizards, Emu, Echidna, Carpet Pythons, Honey-eaters, Yellow Throated Miners, Rainbow Bee-eaters and wild Budgerigars.



First time visitors to the Goldfields often find themselves astounded at the diversity and beauty of the region's flora and fauna. In recent times biogeographers have divided Australia's land mass into 80 distinctive biogeographic regions, two of which regions converge in the Goldfields - Coolgardie and the Murchison regions. Both are equally fascinating but very different. The Coolgardie region is characterised by eucalypt woodland, while acacia (or mulga) woodlands dominate the Murchison. The transitional zone (Goongarrie region) is something of an environmental hot spot, being an interface between the two regions, which features flora and fauna that are a blend of both regions.



The remarkable fact is that the majority of today's woodlands around Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie are actually regrowth - generally less than 100 years old in most areas due to clear felling for fuel between 1900 - 1965. In the pioneer decades huge quantities of wood was needed for firing boilders that powered mine sites, generated electricity, pumped water, condensed salt water into fresh water, and for the lining of many shafts and tunnels burrowed into the landscape. By 1904 500,000 tonnes of wood was being felled annually - with most feeding into Kalgoorlie Boulder's Golden Mile.



The Goldfields Wildflower Season runs from July to October (the middle of Winter through to the middle of Spring). Good winter rains see the forests and shrubs burst into colour in the spring time - where you can witness a striking array of native flowers; bright orange grevillea, Sturt's Desert Pea, pureple mulla mulla, yellow cassia, flowering eucalypts and mallees, and breathtaking displays of of wildflowers including pink, yellow and white everlastings, and dainty paper daisies. The region is also one of the few in Western Australia where the distinctive aromatic sandalwood tree can be found. The industry was actually established long before the goldrush and is a valuable export today. Maps and wildflower booklets are available from us here at Kalgoorlie Boulder Pure Gold during Wildflower Season.