Gnarlbine Rock is a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

rock located approximately east of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and approximately southwest of Coolgardie in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is found within a heritage listed reserve. The word Gnarlbine is used to describe a number of things in the Coolgardie area; originally Coolgardie was called Gnarlbine. The rock is located along the Holland Track between Broomehill and Coolgardie and has camp sites available. The nearby soak was the principal water supply during the Coolgardie gold rush. The waterhole on the eastern side of the rock was also important to

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

peoples as a water source. The explorer

Henry Lefroy Sir Henry Bruce Lefroy (24 March 1854 – 19 March 1930) was the eleventh Premier of Western Australia. Biography Lefroy was born in Perth, Western Australia on 24 March 1854. His father was Anthony O'Grady Lefroy, Colonial Treasurer of Weste ...

came to the soak in 1863 and it soon became a vital stopping place for explorers and prospectors in the area.

Charles Cooke Hunt Charles Cooke Hunt (1833 – 1 March 1868, Geraldton) was an English explorer who led four expeditions into the interior of Western Australia between 1864 and 1866. Hunt was born in Sussex to John Hunt and Mary Ann (''née'' Cooke) and baptised ...

camped by the rock in 1864, noting that the water might prove useful. Gilles McPherson, an explorer and prospector, was saved by an Aboriginal named Toobey in 1888, who brought him to the well after he could find no water. Charles Cooke Hunt returned in July 1865 when under his direction a well was dug out and stoned up.Exploration Eastwards 1860-1869. Page 367. Extract from Hunt's Journal.

References

{{coord, 31.1482, S, 120.9595, E, display=title Goldfields-Esperance Rock formations of Western Australia

See also

References