Back in November my trusty sidekick moved to the other side of the world. This therefore meant that I would have to go out and visit him in his new place: Kalgoorlie-Boulder, in Western Australia. This city was founded in 1889 during the the Coolgardie gold rush and sits 595km outside of Perth.
The centre of the eastern goldfields of Australia, Kalgoorlie is situated on the famous golden mile which is home to a number of large gold mines, including the Superpit. Now while Kal may not seem like a real tourist destination, there are still plenty of things to do.
Take a tour around the Superpit
The Superpit, officially named Fimiston Open pit, is the biggest open pit in Australia and the third largest in the world. At around 3km in length, 1.5km wide and 700m deep, its a biggun and is being expanded more and more every day. Kalgoorlie Tour & Charters offer the most amazing tour of the mine site, taking you right through the front gate and onto the roads used by trucks and other mine machinery. This takes you to the in-house viewing platform and also through their huge mill and past the illusive gold room.
Head to Mount Charlotte
The Mount Charlotte Reservoir and Lookout offers fantastic views over the whole of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and even takes in one of the nearest mines, also named Mount Charlotte. Dotted around the site are a number of information signs detailing a brief history of the area along with the famous Golden Pipeline which was established to pump fresh water from Perth to Kalgoorlie.
Hannan's North Tourist Mine
Owned and operated by KCGM, the same guys from the Superpit, this absolute gem sits just north of Kalgoorlie. Opened in 1991 as a tourist attraction on the old Hainault site, it features a large number of old mine buildings, equipment and various records relating to gold mining in the area. The real beauty of this site is that you have free reign to explore it as you want – all of the old bits and pieces are still there with the more dangerous bits having been fenced off; you can wander to your hearts content.
Visit the Museum of the Goldfields
On the western side of town, you can spot the prominent read headgear belonging to the local museum. This is a great stop, free to enter and packed with information about the area. Down in the basement you can find their vault, with a large collection of gold items. There was a special display on shipwrecks off the Western Australian coast, replica buildings outside and the first floor is mainly dedicated to the history of the eastern goldfields. You can also take the lift up to the top of the headgear, giving another perfect view of the city.
References
About Us – Hannans North Tourist Mine (2020). Available at: http://www.hannansnorth.com.au/about-us/ (Accessed: 12 February 2020).
Hannans North Tourist Mine (2020). Available at: http://www.hannansnorth.com.au/ (Accessed: 12 February 2020).
Kalgoorlie Tours & Charters (2020) Kalgoorlie Super Pit Tour the only tour that goes into the Super Pit Operations. A must see on your Kalgoorlie visit. Bookings in advance are strongly recommended. | Kalgoorlie Tours & Charters. Available at: https://www.kalgoorlietours.com.au/tours/super-pit-tour-2-5-hours (Accessed: 12 February 2020).
Museum of the Goldfields (2020). Available at: http://museum.wa.gov.au/museums/museum-of-the-goldfields (Accessed: 20 February 2020).