The Cornish Abroad Archives - Explore Cornwall

Rottnest Island

Caitlin — Sat, 26 Sep 2020 14:11:09 +0000

Just off the coast of Perth is the small island of Rottnest, originally named by Dutch travellers, an idyllic nature reserve that is home to the unique marsupial the quokka.

Once home to the Whadjuk Noongar people, this island has a wealth of history, dating from the aboriginal oral histories to heavy use during both world wars. Even when the island was cut off, it remained a site of cultural significance for the Aboriginals who believed it was a place souls travelled to on their way to the afterlife. However, the most recent Aboriginal history was not so great, with the island becoming a prison colony for those who broke the new laws that came with the colonists. It remained a prison and labour camp until 1931, where efforts to turn it into a tourist attraction took a forefront. Rottnest played a small role in both world wars but following this military use eventually dwindled and the tourism took over, turning the island into the paradise it is today.

Scott and I took the ferry across from Fremantle, a quick trip that lands you right in the centre of the settled area that surrounds the jetty. After a quick stop for coffee and a snack from the Rottnest Bakery we nipped straight to the Pedal and Flipper to rent bicycles; this was one of the best decisions of the day and allowed us to really take the island in.
We headed south out of the village, following the main road down and around the airport. This took us to our first salt lake of the day, a feature on the island that makes up 10% of its surface, many of which are permanent with beautiful white beaches. Just around the bottom corner of the I spotted an old building on a hill to the south; we hopped off our bikes and walked them up to Jubilee Hill Battery, a remnant from WWI.

Back on the main road, we next stopped off at Henrietta Rocks where we stumbled upon a lovely shipwreck just back the surf. This metal frame is all that is left of Shark, a barge that ran aground on the beach at Porpoise Bay in 1939. After a quick paddle out to it, we got back on the bikes and took the road all the way around the bay to Parker Point.

Next stop on our random self-led tour was Wadjemup Lighthouse. Built in 1896 at the centre of the island, it offers views of the entire landmass. You can pay to go to the top, but we chose not to as lunch time was fast approaching.
Wizzing on our bikes down the central road towards the town, we stopped at Frankie’s on Rotto for some seriously good pizza, chips and milkshake. While eating we were joined by a little quokka hopping around under our tables, much to our delight.

Before heading off again, I rented a snorkel, something I should have done earlier considering Rottnest is surrounded by beautiful coral reefs. This time we went out the north side of the island, following the road until we got to Little Parakeet Bay, by which point it was too hot to keep cycling. A dip in the sea was definitely in the card, and this bay did not disappoint. I took my snorkel for a spin, spotting several different kinds of fish and even a little stingray.

We then braved the heat again as we followed Defence Road all the way to Oliver Hill Battery. The steep hill up to it is where Scott met his quokka soulmate, the quokka that features at the head of this article. Once reaching the top, we explored the Battery, another leftover from the war that provides stunning views.

Having reached the end of our amazing day on the island, we went back to the town to catch the ferry back to Perth, stopping for icecream on the way of course.

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Fremantle Prison

Caitlin — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 19:29:02 +0000

In the middle of Fremantle you can find the convict built prison that is now a World Heritage site. First built in 1855 for the ever increasing number of convicts being sent from the British Isles. First named the Convict Establishment, criminals were put to work in a limestone quarry, the materials from which went into the very walls.

I was honestly very excited to visit this prison, never having had the opportunity to visit a completely conserved 19th century prison before and the reviews for the tours were really positive. Scottie and I arrived just after they opened on a very very hot Sunday morning and quickly booked onto all three of the main prison tours.

The first of these tours, the Convict Prison tour, covers the beginnings of this huge place right from its inception up until 1886 when it came under local control. Between 1855 and 1868, just shy of 10,000 convicts were housed within the walls. Up to 1868 the majority of its residents had been imperial convicts until transportation stopped. The year prior to this the prison was renamed Fremantle Prison.

The next twenty years were slower, with fewer that 60 inmates being housed there; this lasted until the Perth Gaol closed which causing a new wave of convicts being sent to the prison. The majority of this tour was spend in the cell blocks, where they have several of the tiny rooms open for viewing. We also took a detour out to the solitary confinement in one of the yards.

The inside of several of the cells, with the central belonging to notorious escapee Moondyne Joe. After several successful attempts, he was housed in a jarrah sleeper lined cell, although he ultimately escaped again from the yard in 1867.

The next tour was the Behind Bars tour which took us up to the closure of the prison in 1991. We started by heading through the prison kitchens on the south side of the compound and out into the courtyards out the back. Prisoners would have be allocated a period of time in which they spent outside, however the yards offer very little shelter, creating an uncomfortable heat we definitely felt that day. The guide then took us through to the gallows, where 44 individuals met their end.

Sitting in the centre panel of glass is rumoured to be an imprint of Martha Rendell, the only woman to be hung at the prison.

As the prison population again increased, in 1907 New Division was built on the north side of the property. This allowed new prisoners to be held here for the first three months of their stay and also housed death row and the private cell of David Birnie. It was New Division that was used by the Australian Army to house military prisoners during WWII.

The inside of solitary confinement, with the only light in the cell coming from my camera.

West of New Division is the Women’s Block, although any women were transferred to Bandyup Prison in 1969. Throughout the 20th century, very little was done to update the prison and conditions remained dire and overcrowded. Riots became more frequent, with the largest occurring in 1988. The majority of main block was set on fire and several officers were taken hostage until the situation resolved the following day. While several recommendations had already been made to shut the prison down, it wasn’t until 1991 that the remaining convicts were moved to Casuarina Prison.

The gallows were first built in 1888, with the final execution being of Eric Edgar Cooke in 1964.

The final tour, True Crime, covered the lives and incarceration of several notable inmates, including Martha Rendell, the only woman executed here, Erik Edgar Cooke and David Birnie.

Some of the prisoners housed here were incredible artists, with the renovations following the prisons closure unveiling some beautiful artwork.

Inside death row in New Division, with the separate cell of David Birnie in the top left corner.

If you’re in Fremantle, the prison is definitely a must see. All of our tour guides were incredible knowledgeable and covered the vast history of the establishment neatly and succinctly.

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The Perth Mint

Caitlin — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 09:26:29 +0000

On our recent trip to Perth, Scottie and I popped into the Perth Mint, not only a fine example of a colonial-era monument, but also hosts a fantastic tour about the history of the mint and gold mining in Western Australia.

The Perth Mint was opened in 1899 following the discovery of large quantities of gold in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields, particularly as it was taking the prospectors a long time to cash in their treasure at the other ‘local’ mints in Sydney and Melbourne.

In 2011 the Mint made the largest gold coin in the world, weighing in at over 1000kg of 99.99% pure gold. Its legal tender is A$1 million.

The Mint was only built after the first Premier of Western Australia, Sir John Forrest, lobbied the British Government for WA to have its on mint; he laid the foundation stone in 1896. The beautiful building itself was designed by George Temple Poole and is very impressive. It continued to make gold sovereigns until 1931 when they were no longer used by the British empire and carried on refining until 1990.

The exhibition holds a number of the worlds largest golden nuggets.

Coin Production

1899-1931: over 106 million sovereigns and 700,000 half sovereigns were made.
1940-64: hundreds of millions of pennies and half pennies.
1946: 1.3 million shillings.
1966-73: 829 million 2c coins and 26 million 1c coins.

A key part of the exhibition involves watching a live gold pour in the original 1899 melting house, using the same gold that has been poured since the inception of the tour.

Modern Times

Since 1990 all of the refining in WA has been done in a modern facility in the east of the city. It refines around 90% of all the gold in Australia and still mints coins and bars from metals from Australian and abroad.

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A Trip to the Superpit

Caitlin — Sat, 21 Mar 2020 14:33:51 +0000

The first thing we did on my arrival in Kalgoorlie (apart from sleep off the flight) was head to the centre of town to the Kalgoorlie Tours & Charters office for a tour of the Superpit (Fimiston Open Pit). Now considering I’d left the UK at a tepid 9°C, and Kal was building up to a wonderful 44°C I packed my bodyweight in water and a big hat for this trip.

We were greeted by the super friendly tour guide, who introduced himself as Wes, who guided our little group onto his wonderfully airconditioned bus before giving us the safety talk.

Following this we were off, heading through town towards the main entrance to the mine.

On our way we passed by the Museum of the Goldfields, the conveyer belt linking Mount Charlotte Mine with Fimiston’s processing mill and several trucks pulled over on the side of the road.

After the guide took us through the gate, he drove the bus past the truck workshop and a number of old and new bits of machinery. Here he showed us the different between the well-worn tracks from an excavator compared with new ones that were off to the side, waiting for their new assignment.

We then headed down the main track towards the lookout post, stopping for fully laden trucks on the way and passing other smaller light vehicles with various roles. Once we got to the lookout, we were allowed out of the bus to really take in the scale of the Superpit.

At 3km long, 1.5km wide and 700m deep, it’s the biggest open pit in Australia and the third largest in the world. As this pit remains active, this size is increasing every day and the company expand the outer edges. We were also able to clearly see the wall slip from May 2018 on the eastern side of the pit, which took out the main route to the bottom of the pit. Work to remove this slip is estimated to take 3.5 years and will require the removal of a lot of earth so that company can get back to the high ore grade just below it.

After a quick talk about the superpit, its ore and fault zone, we headed back onto the bus and down the track towards the mill. On the way we got to drive past the decline to Mount Charlotte, follow a truck as it finished its journey to the ore dump and watch materials being put into the big crusher.

We then went down into the mill, taking the narrow track under all of the machinery as our guide gave us a quick breakdown of each part of the process.

Following this, it was back to the front gate and into town to be dropped off again.

This was a really fabulous tour, giving great insight into the goings on of a large gold mining company working along the Golden Mile of Kalgoorlie. Scott and I had both anticipated that the tour would just involve looking at the mine from an extensive distance in the name of health and safety, but instead we were able to get up close and personal with the mine itself, follow the trucks around as they went about their work and see the mill in action (while still being safe!). Real credit to Wes as well who was full of information about the mine, its equipment and the mining process.

A Bit of History

Following the western goldrush of 1892, mining began in earnest in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. In 1988, Bond International Gold bought control over Gold Mines Kalgoorlie (GMK), a major owner of smaller ventures along the Golden Mile. With this new ownership, work began on creating this open pit and building the new Fimiston processing plant.
1989 saw Homestake Gold of Australia take control of 50% of the stake, turning into a new venture called Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM); these then owned Fimiston, Mount Charlotte, Aroya, Mount Percy, Superpit and Croesus mines, along with their respective mills.
As the years went on, there were several merges involved Poseidon Ltd, Barrick Gold Corporation and Newmont Mining Corporation. At the end of 2019, Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd and Northern Star Resources Ltd became the new joint owners of the mine, making it 100% Australian owned. The company now work Fimiston open pit and plant, Mount Charlotte and Gidji processing plant.

Since its discovery all those years ago, its estimated that over 60 million ounces of gold have been mined, and KCGM itself produces 8% of Australia’s gold, second only to Boddington Gold Mine.
Current projects see the companies estimated life lasting until 2034, with Fimiston finishing in 2026, Mount Charlotte in 2024. KCGM is a major employer in the area, contributing over 1000 jobs and supports local businesses.

References

Kalgoorlie Tours & Charters (2020) Kalgoorlie Super Pit Tour the only tour that goes into the Super Pit Operations. Available at: https://www.kalgoorlietours.com.au/tours/super-pit-tour-2-5-hours (Accessed: 12 February 2020).

KCGM (2019) History – KCGM. Available at: http://www.superpit.com.au/about/history/ (Accessed: 12 February 2020).

Mennell, J. (2019) Option revealed for KCGM Super Pit wall collapse fix, Kalgoorlie Miner. Available at: https://www.kalminer.com.au/news/kalgoorlie-miner/option-revealed-for-kcgm-super-pit-wall-collapse-fix-ng-b881386293z (Accessed: 21 February 2020).

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