GOING FOR GOLD

It’s been a long time since our last blog but not a lot has happened either.  Des spent several weeks in Perth Hills National Park where he achieved many improvements to their drainage both around the buildings and out on the walking trails.  This is a very nice park for a stay, but is only available for tent sites.  The facilities are really first class for anyone wanting to experience camping for the first time.  Since leaving Perth in late July we again spent time with some travelling friends at Toodyay and then headed for the goldfields.  About 130kl from Coolgardie we went into a rest area to look at an old dam and how they trapped the water running off a huge rocky outcrop, diverting it into a large flue then into the dam.  We have some photos of the construction and when  you consider this was built before 1900, it is quite an engineering achievement.  Had an overnight stay at Coolgardie and  went through their very interesting museum.  Next day we headed south on to the dirt to explore a place called Burra Rock and Cave Hill.  Both of these locations are quite remote but worth the visit. Quite extraordinary rock formations at both. This area was milled for timber for railway tracks in the early 1900’s and catchment walls were made along the rocks to supply water to the many dams so that steam driven engines always had supply. Completed the loop and finished up at Kalgoorlie.  We had been there in 2002 but it was still amazing to see the huge Super Pit (open cut gold mining area). This mine is worked 24x7 and is so big it can be seen from space. Trucks working here are the size of houses and extract hundreds of tons of earth in the hope of getting a few ounces of gold.  It is the richest square mile of gold bearing earth in the world.  While in Kalgoorlie, we decided to do the tour of the oldest operating brothel in town.  What a laugh!  There were 20 people on tour and the comments were unbelievable.  Not enough space to give much history here.  After collecting supplies we headed north  on the first leg of our Goldfields Loop to Broad Arrow.  What an interesting old pub they have there. Built of wrought iron in 1896, there is not one square inch of space on the walls and bar that is not covered in writing.  Boy if the walls could talk.  Next, on the dirt (mud in some parts) off to Ora Banda.  Once again nothing much more that a pub, first built in 1911, but renovated a couple of times.  On the walls there were photos of gold nuggets found within 7km of the pub.  One was almost the size of a bread and butter plate.  There was two Swedish backpackers doing the barmaid work there.  They were very interesting and had been taken out prospecting by a local lad and were lucky enough to find a nugget to take home.  We did some prospecting a few km out of town and stayed overnight, but found nothing.  Headed north to Siberia and once again found no gold. Lots of history in these deserted mining towns.  Headed west and then south to Credo homestead.  This is a National Park and we had an overnight stay before completing the first loop to Ora Banda, Broad Arrow and then went on bitumen again north to Menzies where we had four nights. The wildflowers are starting to come out and we see many varieties along the way now. Menzies is a very tiny town with a pub, tourist info centre/post office, town hall, school and a few houses. Along the main street there are many steel cut-outs depicting  life on the goldfields as it was in the 1890’s. We also visited the Menzies cemetery where there were graves dating back to 1895.  Some of the headstones were made from tin which was the only material available on the goldfields.  Others were made elsewhere and brought to Menzies and placed on graves.  We have included photos of each type from the cemetery.  Note the year on the marble headstone.  Very many of the graves were of small children. We have included a couple of photos of these figures. We met some really interesting people here and did more prospecting - yep- no gold.  From Menzies we headed north on all sealed roads to Niagara Dam.  What a lovely spot.  This dam wall was built in 1897 and they carried the cement from Kalgoorlie by camel.  The natural rock walls on three sides was a perfect place to trap water from surrounding country.  Once again it was built to supply water for the steam trains working this area.  We did more prospecting around this old town and saw some abandoned mine sites which appeared bottomless.  You wouldn’t want to cross the wrong person out here, or  you would finish up at the bottom of one.  So many abandoned mines that you wonder how much gold has been taken from the earth in this area.  Hope you enjoy this section of our journey.   Next blog won’t be soooooooooo long in coming.

Perth Hills campground

Large flue which diverts water run-off from a large rocky outcrop (at the top of photo) into storage dam built approx 1900.

Cave which gives the name to Cave Hill.  Des is dwarfed by its size.

More caves in the huge wave rock formations at Cave Hill.

This is one of many dams built in early 1900.  At the far end of the stone wall you can see the rock line diverting all the flow into the dam.

Kalgoorlie's Super Pit.  We photographed this from a magazine. The only other way to get this photo would be from an aircraft. The small white marking about half way up on the left side of the pit is the parking area for the observation platform.  That parking area is approx 5 acres in size.  The huge machines bringing fill to the top look like matchbox toys from the observation platform. 

Des outside the brothel we toured.  Behind each of the pink door is where the "girls" would sit and wait for the proposition.

The bondage room in the brothel.  The whips were lying on the right hand bottom corner of the bed which I couldn't get in the photo.

The Broad Arrow hotel bar.  This pub gives grafitti a whole new meaning.

The Broad Arrow Hotel, built before 1900

The Ora Banda Hotel in the goldfields north of Kalgoorlie

These photos show some of the gold found near the Ora Banda Hotel.  The lower left hand side shot shows an uncleaned nugget the size of a bread & butter plate 7oz in weight.

One of a few remaining old tin headstones remaining at Menzies Cemetery. Dated 1923.

The more wealthy headstone and grave surrounding fence (made from steel) in Menzies cemetery.

One of many steel cut-outs depicting the ruins in Menzies.  This was where the baker's shop once stood.

Another steel cut-out showing the nurse and another stretcher-bearer carrying someone for medical help.

The view from our van window where we camped at Niagara Dam.

Our campsite at Niagara Dam.  The dam was approx 3 times the size of what is shown here.