Gold country
Crossing into Western Australia our car is filled with sighs of relief as warm air lifts morale and the feeling of distance traveled is now as much behind us as it is still in front. We creep slightly north to avoid the run of cold, wet and windy weather that has been torturing the southern coast all the way from Perth to Melbourne. Everything is completely new for us as we head for the twin cities famous for making or breaking anyone who digs around in their bone dry red earth. Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s days of glory began in 1893 when three “down on their luck” Irishmen stumbled across 100 ounces of alluvial nuggets when they were forced to stop to replace a shoe for their horse.
The Kalgoorlie Goldrush that followed was staggering in size. Men came in their thousands from all over the world to live in shacks made of hessian, canvas and corrugated iron in their search for golden riches. But the human cost was high as many came ill prepared for the harsh conditions, inadequate food, scarcity of water, lack of sanitation and meager medical supplies. Thousands died from thirst, starvation and disease from drinking contaminated water. It was a time when water was more precious than gold. Never the less, stories of fame and fortune continued to spread. Within a few short years 93 hotels and 8 breweries had been established and the population of the twin towns swelled to over 30,000. The “diggers” that poured into the Goldfields from all over the world had secured the fortunes and future development of Western Australia.
Through necessity one of the major developments came in 1903 from an innovative engineer called Charles Yelverton O’Connor. O’Connor was responsible for the design and construction of a pipeline which would supply fresh, clean water from Mundaring just outside of Perth, all the way through to Kalgoorlie. A distance of almost 600km. The “Golden Pipeline” is still in use today and continues to be the lifeline of the region. From the early prospectors hessian tents to the modern brick and tile houses of today, the twin cities of Kalgoorlie-Boulder continue to brim over with excitement and vitality, and are still considered a city of wealth and opportunity. Kalgoorlie-Boulder, a history so rich and raw in a land vastly transformed by man for wealth and glory.
