Gold and Girls

Friday 20th October to Tuesday 24th October 2023

Leaving Tambellup, our next major destination is the land of gold, and whilst there we checked out the land of girls!

A journey of close to 700km, there were several routes that we could take. Our  preference is usually to take the road less travelled. One way would take us through the town of Hayden, and the iconic Wave Rock, so that’s the route we took. However, we had booked a tour at a location at the eastern end of the Nullabor Plain, about 1,800km away. Would visiting Wave Rock still leave us enough time to get to the eastern end of the Nullabor? A Google search of the Wave Rock website suggested several days at the rock, thus cutting our time to reach the east, and to allow a contingency, meant we visit Wave Rock next time, not to mention that Carol’s shingles wouldn’t allow her to do the walks at the rock.

So, on we pressed towards Kalgoorlie, stopping overnight at a lesser know rock, Karalee, and its associated drainage infrastructure. I was fascinated with the aqueduct that was constructed in 1895. More on that below as captions to the photos.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder council had the foresight to extend their 24-hour free camp to a 72-hour free camp, which gives travellers a more realistic timeframe to explore the town, and spend money therein. It was a large site on the edge of town, and always had heaps of vans, meaning it was relatively safe to leave your van there and drive off into town. We took advantage of the three days and feel we explored the town sufficiently. A fascinating piece of Australian history.

From Tambellup to Kalgoorlie: 1. Lake Grace is both a town and a lake. This is Lake Grace North. The two lakes – Lake Grace North and Lake Grace South – are part of an ancient river system which probably flowed more than 20 million years ago but was reduced to a lake about 5 million years ago and gradual silting made it into the shallow lakes which exist today. As with many inland waterways, the clearing of the land around Lake Grace at the turn of the century has resulted in the whole area experiencing long term salinity problems as the water table rises to the surface bringing dissolved salts with it.
2. Hayden, whilst a very small town, has some creative locals who have created an interesting collection of rural art structures, including this slide-on camper, and 3, a cycle gym class including a whistler.
Karalee Rocks: Built in 1895, the Karalee Rocks water catchment system collected rainfall runoff from two large granite rocks (1). Water flowed along a 6km stone perimeter wall (2, 3) and then downhill along a system of cross country flumes and aqueducts (4, 5) to a dam (8) from where it was pumped 3.6km to tanks at the railway station. When the dam was full (48.3 million litres), the gates (6) could be adjusted to redirect the water to the bush. 128 years later we camped at the site (7).
In September 1892, gold was discovered in Coolgardie. The ensuing gold rush drew thousands of fortune seekers. By 1898 Coolgardie was the third largest town in WA, after Perth and Fremantle. At its peak there were 15,000 residents plus another 10,000 in the immediate area. By WWI the town was in decline as people moved to Kalgoorlie. Only a handful of the buildings remain, as do the people, with only 1,200 residents.
Kalgoorlie is now the major centre of the WA’s goldfields. In June 1893 gold was discovered where the town now stands. This started a gold rush which would eventually lead to the richest gold find in Australian history – the Golden Mile. That find is still one of the world’s largest producers of gold – the KCGM Super Pit. Beautiful historic buildings still remain in the town centre.
Some of the remaining buildings are of course the pubs. Only a handful remain from its heyday. (1) The Exchange Hotel is famous for its saloon doors. What I didn’t realise until we dropped in for lunch, is its infamy as a skimpy pub, with the female bar staff dressed in bra and G-string. I enjoyed lunch that day. Two other pubs we passed but didn’t drop in to were (2) Speed’s Criterion Hotel and (3) Tattersall’s Hotel.
Another pub we ventured in to for a drink was the Palace Hotel. At the time we could only enter the rear bar and dining area, showcasing beautiful leadlight windows and the main staircase, plus the elaborately carved mirror which stands in the foyer of the hotel. This was a parting gift of mining engineer Herbert Hoover to the Hotel where he spent much of his time when he was in Kalgoorlie. He fell in love with one of the barmaids. Hoover is of Gwalia gold fame, and was to become the 19th American President in 1929.
Carol’s favourite pub that we passed was the York Hotel. So we had to stop in there for a drink also. We had heard about its grand internal architecture and staircase. The drinks were cheaper here than at the skimpy Exchange Hotel.
Kalgoorlie City Markets building.
Top: Even the butchers had elaborate building. This is Moher and Smith Butcher’s establishment. Middle: The two-up shed, 7km out of town. It can only be played there on a Sunday. Minimum bet is $50. Huge amounts of cash were being wagered. Asians were the predominant punters, with rolls of $50 notes in their hands. We couldn’t follow what was going on, so after about 15minutes we left the game. Bottom: The dome of the 1899 Public Buildings is covered in gold leaf.
We took a guided tour of the magnificent Town Hall , one of Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s major landmarks. With its grand façade and rich interior decoration, it reflects the town’s immense wealth and civic pride of a community thriving on the 1900’s gold boom. Built as a state-of-the-art theatre in 1908, the Federation Free Classical style building has many beautiful architectural features such as ornate pressed metal ceilings, chandeliers, sweeping staircase, fly tower with original theatre rigging, backstage area with 11 dressing rooms. Costing almost £20,000 ($6m AU today) to construct, the Kalgoorlie Town Hall was officially opened on 8th November 1908.
The Museum of the Goldfields showcases the Aboriginal culture and glittering history of the Eastern Goldfields. We took a guided tour through the museum that sits under the relocated Ivanhoe headframe, and contains a vault that contains hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold and jewellery, plus displays of heritage rooms in the adjoining 1899 British Arms Hotel, said to be the narrowest pub in the southern hemisphere. Outside are historic cottages and a police wagon that was towed along the railway lines.
The Museum of the Goldfields also contains some original hand painted silk banners used by the local trade unions during marches and parades, displayed in a humidity controlled room: 1. The Amalgamated Society of Engineers; 2. Eastern Goldfields Operative Bakers – Industrial Union of Workers; 3. Eastern Goldfields Amalgamated Tailors and Tailoresses Society.
Finally, Yum Yum’s favourite guided tour was at the Questa Casa, a historic operational brothel on the infamous Hay Street. Kalgoorlie has always had a reputation not only for its gold but also its girls. With its world famous corrugated-iron “starting stalls”, Questa Casa is the last of the original brothels built  during Kalgoorlie’s’ gold-rush era of the 1890’s. Yum Yum enjoyed trying on a shapely apron, and lying on a bed in one of the rooms with a new friend. We saw several rooms, and one used by a dominatrix. 

 

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