Coolgardie Coolgardie is a small mining town located
557km east of Perth in the Western Australia Goldfields.
The wide streets of Coolgardie, built for camels to
easily turn around, hint at a once thriving mining town
that became the centre of the State's greatest gold rush
during the 1890's.
Brief History of Coolgardie The Coolgardie area was first explored in
1863, by explorer H.M.Lefroy and then by C.C.Hunt the
following year.In 1892 two gold prospectors Aurthur
Bayley and his mate William Ford pegged out a claim and
struck gold at Fly Flat. They returned to Southern Cross
to record their claim of 554 ounces (16.8kg). The local
warden, John Finnerty, gave the "Bayleys Reward" claim
the Aboriginal name, Coolgardie.The townsite was gazetted
in 1893.There are several theories about the meaning of
the name, some believe it comes from the Aboriginal word
"coolgabbi" meaning "tree near a watering hole" and
others "Coorgardie" an Aboriginal word for a bungarra
lizard.  The discovery of gold by Bayley and Ford
created a mass movement of people from around Australia
to the Western Australian goldfields.At the peak of the
gold rush the population of Coolgardie boomed to 15,000
and boasted 2 stock exchanges, 3 breweries, 14 churches,
6 newspapers, over 26 hotels and a very large courthouse!
Wide streets were built to handle the teams of camels and
horses that arrived and by 1896 a railway had arrived. In
1898, Coolgardie was the third biggest town in the State
(after Perth and Fremantle ). The water pipeline arrived in
1903 carrying precious water from Mundaring to the
goldfields. However by the onset of World War I, the town
was in decline, as many moved to Kalgoorlie where gold was more plentiful.
It became somewhat of a "ghost town" with the population
dropping to under 200 but during the 1980's a number of
small gold operations started up in the area and today
the town boasts a population of over 2,000, thanks
largely to tourism.
Things You May Not Know About Coolgardie The postcode for Coolgardie is 6429
Prior to the building of a gaol unfortunate prisoners were chained to what was known as the gaol tree (located on Hunt Street). The Pizza and Hamburger shop along the main street proudly boasts that Paddy Hannan had once slept there. As you drive past the BP petrol station have a look on the roof. There is a huge Ned Kelly replica for reasons I have yet to uncover(maybe he slept there too!). Important Links To CoolgardieShire of Coolgardie |
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