West Australian Goldfields History
The Goldfields of Western Australia are amongst the richest mineral resource provinces in the world. Originally called Hannan's Find, the discovery of gold near Kalgoorlie by Irish prospector Paddy Hannan in 1893 sparked a famous goldrush, establishing what we now know as the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Golden Mile.
Attracted by stories of massive gold deposits, people from around Australia and the world flocked to the area to seek their fortunes. By the early 1990s the population had skyrocketed to more than 30,000 people while the two towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder sprung up within 10 kilometres of each other.
At their peak, the towns were serviced by trams, a rail link, a major water pipeline from Perth, an electricity supply, a daily newspaper and a respected School of Mines.
Over the years Kalgoorlie-Boulder's population has fluctuated with the changing fortunes in the region, with other resources such as nickel and copper making the region one of the richest and most prospective mineral provinces anywhere in the world.
Today, Kalgoorlie's population has again risen to more than 30,000, due largely to the recent development of large nickel deposits in the Northern Goldfields and spiraling international demand for gold. Kalgoorlie-Boulder's airport is now the busiest regional airport in Western Australia.
Up to 50 mines operate in the Goldfields, extracting a range of resources including nickel, cobalt, copper, silver, granite, chrysoprase, gypsum, lime, salt and mineral sands.
These are complemented by a growing tourism industry, which is actively marketing the history of the area and has led to the refurbishment and preservation of many of the historic buildings established during the initial gold rush over 100 years ago.