Day 104: Sun 30 Jun 24 - Kalgoorlie

Sun 30 Jun 24 - Kalgoorlie 

9 Deg and rain, with a mid-afternoon top temperature of 14 Deg - not what we expected at Kalgoorlie. It was a wet and cold day, but it didn't stop us from getting out and making the most of our visit. At 09:30am, we drove 10km across to the other side of the city to Hannan's North Tourist mine in time for the Sunday weekly gold pouring demonstration at 10:00am. After the gold pour which was interesting and informative, we walked around the large museum for  another two hours. This is a well set out open air museum with many attractions that provide a good interactive experience and great insight to the history of gold mining in region. The vast array of buildings from a bygone era, and gold mining equipment including trucks, crushers, diggers, drillers and head frames are very interesting. Climbing aboard a Haul Truck and wheeled front end loader was awesome to experience. We ended our visit with a walk through the tranquil Chinese gardens, providing a reminder of the contribution of Chinese and other nationalities in the goldfields. 

From the Tourist Mine, we drove a short distance to the Mount Charlotte Reservoir lookout. The visit here fulfils two purposes - firstly for views across Kalgoorlie and secondly to see the end of the pipeline that supplies the region's water from 560km away from Mundaring Weir near Perth. The engineering fete involved in bringing water so far across such a harsh landscape is staggering. The signage around the reservoir is very informative. 

From here we continued a short distance into the city for a late lunch at Dome, a European cafe style franchise (mostly WA). We have quite happy with the food and coffee at Dome during our visits in WA, but another attraction is their location in restored old buildings and heritage sites - the Dome franchise appears to turn old buildings into restored sites with beautiful fit outs.

After lunch, Noel went for some retail therapy, while I visited another museum - the Museum of the Goldfields in Hannan Street. This is another interesting, mostly indoor museum showcasing the history of the gold fields.  The highlight of the visit was stepping down into the Gold Vault which has an amazing collection of gold nuggets, jewellery and historical items. Other interesting attractions included a collection of trade union banners from the Kalgoorlie region dating from the 19th to early 20th centuries and the British Arms Hotel, built in 1899, said to be the narrowest pub in the southern hemisphere. 

By the time I walked away from the museum to meet with Noel again, the rain had finally cleared and we saw some glimpses of sun, but it was still quite fresh. We returned to the van for a late coffee, and that's where we stayed for the afternoon. At 06:00pm, it was 8 Deg outside, and forecast to drop to 6 Deg overnight. I don't mind the cold, but hopefully we have seen the last of the rain for a while.

Hannans North Tourist Mine

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Gold Pour

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Gold Pour (Heated to 1300 Deg C)

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Gold Pour

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Haul Truck

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Haul Truck

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Loader

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Haul Truck

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Miners Hut

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Miners Hut

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Miners Hut

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Prospectors Tent

Hannans North Tourist Mine 

Hannans North Tourist Mine 

This flattened utility resulted from a 2005 safety demonstration illustrating the consequences of breaking the strict driving rules in The Super Pit (KCGM). A 793C haul truck was driven over the utility to show how difficult it is for a truck driver to see a light vehicle in The Super Pit (KCGM) and how devastating an "interaction" can be. The truck driver did not even feel the impact of the utility under the truck's tyres. This display was originally placed at the boom gates after the entrance to KCGM, deliberately confronting staff and visitors of the very serious consequences of accidents. A fully loaded 793C haul truck weighs approx 376,000 kg.

Check it out: Youtube Video


Hannans North Tourist Mine 

Hannans North Tourist Mine 

Hannans North Tourist Mine 

Hannans North Tourist Mine

Hannans North Tourist Mine

Hannans North Tourist Mine - A Stope

Stoping is the process of extracting ore or other mineral from an underground mine, leaving behind an open space known as a stope. Stoping is used when the native rock is sufficiently strong enough not to collapse, although in most cases, artificial support is also provided. 


Hannans North Tourist Mine - A Stope
The earliest forms of stoping were conducted with hand tools or fire-setting; later gunpowder was introduced. From the 19th century onward, various other explosives, rock tools, and machines came into use. As mining progresses the stope is often backfilled with a mixture of tailings and cement. In old mines, stopes frequently collapse leaving craters in the surface.

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Chinese Gardens

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Chinese Gardens

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Chinese Gardens

Hannans North Tourist Mine - Chinese Gardens

Mount Charlotte Reservoir Lookout

Mount Charlotte Reservoir Lookout over Kalgoorlie with the water pipeline leading into the reservoir. 

The water in Mount Charlotte Reservoir has been lifted a height of 390 metres and travelled a distance of 560 km from Mundaring Weir near Perth. Water enters the reservoir through the inlet pipe and is stored in the tank that can hold 9 million litres - as much as four and a half Olympic swimming pools.


Kalgoorlie Street Art

Kalgoorlie Street Art

Kalgoorlie Street Art

Museum of the Goldfields - The Ivanhoe Headframe
Stands 39m high and originally part of the Big Bell Mine in Cue before being moved to the Ivanhoe Mine at Kalgoorlie

Museum of the Goldfields - The Ivanhoe Headframe at the entrance to the museum


Museum of the Goldfields - British Arms Hotel

Museum of the Goldfields - British Arms Hotel

Museum of the Goldfields - Gold Display in the Vault

Museum of the Goldfields - British Arms Hotel Display

Museum of the Goldfields - British Arms Hotel Display

Museum of the Goldfields

EASTERN GOLDFIELDS AMALGAMATED TAILORS & TAILORESSES SOCIETY

Painted canvas with leather corners made in Kalgoorlie by a union member, George Carman, 1908 and repainted in 1911


Museum of the Goldfields

ASTERN GOLDFIELDS OPERATIVE BAKERS INDUSTRIAL UNION OF WORKERS painted canvas with a pink silk border, metallic thread fringe made by Kalgoorlie signwriter,

W.F. Ramage, 1911


Museum of the Goldfields

AMALGAMATED SOCIETY OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS, KALGOORLIE BRANCH painted canvas with blue silk border made by Perth artist, Richard Fellows, 1915, probably the most prolific maker of union banners and illuminated certificates ever to work in Western Australia


Museum of the Goldfields - Wooden Bike !


Kalgoorlie Street Art

Kalgoorlie Street Art

Kalgoorlie Hannan Street





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