Visiting Gwalia ghost town
Off on another adventure, this time to Gwalia ghost town in the Northern Goldfields Western Australia. Part of the 
beautiful Shire of Leonora, approximately 240km north of Kalgoorlie. This is your chance to step back in time in Australian history.
There is still a working gold mine here!
If your travelling with kids be sure to check out our Northern Goldfields kids travel worksheet, have them learning about all the towns along the way in this incredible region.
But lets go back, way back, back into time, to 1896 when the 'Sons of Gwalia' reef was discovered by prospectors (a lot more successful than us) Carlson, White and Glendinning. What a find!
A london-based firm, Berwick Moreing and Co, sent a young mining engineer, Herbert Hoover, yes, the same Herbert Hoover that went on to become America's 31st president!
Hoover House
Dining Room
Bedroom
Electric Tram
Murrin Murrin mail truck
Leonora Hearse
See Australia's largest headframe, which was relocated from the open mine in 1987.
The original was made of Oregon pine and built in 1899.
Back when the mine was first opened, you won't believe the working conditions that those
willing to work underground, had to endure.
There are two lookouts within the Gwalia Museum to look out over the mine, ran by St Barbaras Mines since 2006.
The open cut is almost 300m deep, the underground shafts go down nearly 1700m!!
The deepest gold mine in the world, with vehicle access. I can't say I would like to go down that far.
When the mine closed down in December of 1963 and the town went from a population of 1700 to just 40!
Gwalia Old State Hotel
The old State Hotel was built by the Government in 1903. A brick two story hotel, one of only four brick buildings remaining in the town. A bit of funny history, Gwalia had what is thought to have been the State's first Beer strike! Fifty residents voted for a beer strike and vowed not return to the hotel until their conditions were met.
During the period of the boycott, Gwalia was hit by a pneumonic influenza epidemic and the Health Department used the hotel as a hospital.
You can then take a walk through the Gwalia ghost town. This was way better than we had expected and hats off to 
the project in 1995-1996 of adopt-a-cottage. Locals took on the project to maintenance the cottages so they remain accessible for those who visit today.
Patroni's guest house
Patroni's guest house. Multiple dwellings or buildings that provided meals not only to guests or lodgers here but also many locals. Many of the homes in Gwalia at the time did not have kitchens or water facilities.
The average cost of the meals was around 30 shillings a week, roughly one third of the average miner's wage!
Patroni’s Guest House
Kitchen meal prep
Miners Quarters
Walking through the town filled with iron sheeting, you can only imagine the heat they were dealing with, in Summer.
Let alone the ones who did have kitchens having to burn wood to cook dinner.
There is about twelve left to meander through and reminisce (depending on how old you are).
A large number of Gwalia residents and mine workers were migrants from Italy and the former Yugoslavia.
Mazza’s Store
Inside miners cottage
Rare kitchen
There is no major supermarkets, there is only a grocery store in Leonora (similar to a small IGA). So, if your 
heading up here for an extended period, be sure to stock up the pantry.
The country up here is so beautiful and rugged. Very popular destination for prospectors for obvious reasons, we ducked out with friends but alas, was not a strike it rich story for us, on this occasion.
Roads into Leonora and Gwalia are sealed and no problem for any size rig.
Depending on the time of year you are looking at visiting, please keep in mind in Summer it gets VERY hot.
Bird watching in Leonora
The area of Leonora is famous for Eagles too. They are stunning to watch and if you are lucky enough to get close to them, their sheer size will astonish you. When we were heading back to Kalgoorlie, we were lucky enough to stumble on a few of them ‘dining’ with crows on some roadkill. Unfortunately our presence scared them off, only one came back which we share with you below. They are magnificent animals.
If your heading up there don’t forget to check out our post on Menzies and Lake Ballard too, well worth checking out on the way there. We will be back very soon!
Be sure to grab our Northern Goldfields kids travel worksheet, if arriving from the south it adds perfectly to our Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie, Boulder kids travel worksheet.
Making learning on the move easier for travelling families.
[…] you loved this post, don’t forget to check out our post on Gwalia Ghost town, just down the road another not to be missed Australian outback […]
[…] This town also has it’s own post, basically because there is so much to see in Gwalia. Check it out here. […]