Three Irish prospectors first discovered gold in the place now known as Kalgoorlie. Patrick Hannan, Tom Flanagan and Daniel Shea were forced by chance to make camp overnight in the area, and discovered the first gold in the rich deposit known as ‘The Golden Mile’. An enormous goldrush followed, drawing people from around the country and around the world. Living conditions at that time and that place were poor, with typhoid and dysentery epidemics being common.
 

Today, you can tour the Super Pit, Australia’s biggest open cut mine. With stats of more than 260 metres deep, 2 kilometres wide and 4 kilometres in length, the Superpit is one of the only man-made structures in the world that can be seen from space.

Over 100 years later, conditions have improved considerably and gold production is still expanding. With the explosion of population in that semi-arid area with little or no infrastructure to support it, water soon became difficult to obtain and an expensive resource to buy. Thanks to the genius of the Engineer in Chief C. Y. O’Connor, an ambitious water pipeline was commissioned and in 1903 was opened. It is estimated that since the pipeline was opened, well over 100 billion gallons of water has been piped from Perth to the Goldfields. It was an engineering wonder for its time.

For up-to-date accommodation, attraction, tours and other information contact the local tourism centre: