Callion is an
abandoned
Abandon, abandoned, or abandonment may refer to:
Common uses
* Abandonment (emotional), a subjective emotional state in which people feel undesired, left behind, insecure, or discarded
* Abandonment (legal), a legal term regarding property
** Chi ...
town in the
Goldfields-Esperance region in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. It is between
Coolgardie and
Leonora, in the
Shire of Menzies
The Shire of Menzies is a local government area in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia located to the north of Kalgoorlie. It covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Menzies.
History
The Shire of Menzie ...
.
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
was discovered here in 1895 and the town was originally known as Speakman's Find after the
prospector
Prospector may refer to:
Space exploration
* Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962
* '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft
Trains
* Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...
who made the original discovery. The lease, owned by Speakman, Cooke and Lukin, was 30 acres in size and contained three reefs. The reefs became the Callion Mine, reportedly named after the local
Aboriginal word for
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
, although it has been speculated that it was the name of another prospector, without any evidence. The town was gazetted in 1897.
One of the first mines established in the area was the Lady Kate, which was operating in early 1896.
A 20 head
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
was erected in the town in 1897 and continued to operate until at least 1902.
A
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
is all that is left of the old townsite, which is now part of
Credo Station
Credo is a former pastoral lease located about north of Coolgardie in the Goldfields of Western Australia.
The station occupies an area of . The pastoral lease was acquired by the Department of Environment and Conservation in 2007 and is no ...
.
References
Ghost towns in Western Australia
Shire of Menzies
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