Kalgoorlie-Boulder Travel Guide

Right in the middle of nowhere lies the thriving city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Back in 1893 a prospector set out for the town of Coolgardie, but stopped at the site of Kalgoorlie and found enough gold to spark a new goldrush. Soon Kalgoorlie reached fabled heights of prosperity and the sattelite town of Boulder developed to service the mining sites 5 km south of Kalgoorlie. In 1989 the two towns became one. The top of Kalgoorlies wealth was reached around the end of the 19th century, which can still be seen from the great public buildings constructed around that time. Many of these can be seen along Hannan Street, in or around where most of the hotels, restaurants and offices can be found.

Today, the mining industry is still an important factor in Kal, as the locals call it. However, it also houses a busy tourist trade. From late August to the end of September, the town will be packed with visitors because of wildflower tours and horse races, making accomodation hard to find. The best time to visit is probably during the cool winter months.

Most of Kals attractions are somehow related to mining. You can visit Hannans North Tourist Mine (Broad Arrow Road, tel.:9091 4074), the Museum of the Goldfields (Hannan Street), and stand on the Super Pit Lookout (off the Eastern Bypass road) for a great insight in modern mining. Around Kalgoorlie are several (near) ghosttowns. Kanowna, for instance, 22 lm north-east of Kalgoorlie, had a population of 12,000 in 1905, but is now practically deserted. Broad Arrows population droppes from 2400 to 20 in the course of a century.