On September 17, 1892 Arthur Bayley rode into Southern Cross and deposited with the Mining Warden 554 ounces of gold that he and his partner William Ford, had found at an area called Fly Flat (part of what was to become Coolgardie). Within hours the frenzied rush to Coolgardie began and with it the greatest movement of people in Australia's history. While the lucky found gold and fortune, many more only found hardship, sickness and death. Despite this, within a decade Coolgardie became the third largest town in Western Australia, with a population of over 16,000 and many more people settling in the surrounding areas. While the surface gold ran out and the original mine, Bayley's Reward, closed in 1963. Coolgardie now with a population of around 800 people and viewed by many as a ghost town has retained many of it's magnificent buildings associated with it's rich and colourful past. So Coolgardie was my destination today, to have a look around and get some photos of the towns magnificent historic buildings.
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| Wardens Court Building |
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| This was a very imposing building on the main street |
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| One of the two remaining old pubs |
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| Denver City Hotel |
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| Coolgardie RSL - This was my favourite |
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| Main Street of Coolgardie |
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