John Baker / Explore Australia Publishing
Kalgoorlie is the centre of Western Australia's goldmining industry. It was once known as Hannan's Find in honour of Paddy Hannan, the first prospector to discover gold in the area. In June 1893 Hannan was among a party of about 150 men who set out from Coolgardie to search for some lost prospectors near Yerilla. After a stop at Mt Charlotte the main party continued on, leaving Hannan and two others behind as one of their horses had lost a shoe. Some idle 'specking' (looking on the ground for nuggets) led them to stumble on the richest goldfield the world had known – it soon grew to encompass the 'Golden Mile', which is reputedly the world's richest square mile of gold-bearing ore. Hannan returned to Coolgardie to report his find and other prospectors soon located large gold deposits. Rapid development of Kalgoorlie and nearby Boulder followed with thousands of men travelling to the field from all over the world, reaching a maximum population of about 30 000 in 1903. The shortage of water was always a problem, but in 1903 the genius of engineer C. Y. O'Connor enabled a pipeline to be opened that pumped water 560 kilometres from Perth. In its heyday Kalgoorlie and Boulder boasted eight breweries and 93 hotels. The two towns amalgamated in 1989 to form Kalgoorlie–Boulder, and today the population is again close to peak levels due to the region's second gold boom.
Visitor Information
250 Hannan St, (08) 9021 1966 or 1800 004 653; 106 Burt St, (08) 9093 1083
