Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
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Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of
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 ...
, located east-northeast 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 ...
at the end of the
Great Eastern Highway Great Eastern Highway is a road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, it is the western portion of the main road link ...
. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includes the historic townsite of
Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...
and the
local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
is the
City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder The City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder is a local government area in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, about east of the state capital, Perth. Covering an area of , the city is larger than the country of Portugal with a land ...
. Kalgoorlie-Boulder lies on the traditional lands of the Wangkatja group of peoples.The name "Kalgoorlie" is derived from the
Wangai Wangkatha, otherwise written Wongatha, Wongutha, Wankatja, Wongi or Wangai, is a language and the identity of eight Aboriginal Australian peoples of the Eastern Goldfields region. The Wangkatja language groups cover the following towns: Coolgar ...
word ''Karlkurla'' or ''Kulgooluh'', meaning "place of the silky pears". The city was established in 1893 during the
Western Australian gold rushes In the latter part of the nineteenth century, discoveries of gold at a number of locations in Western Australia caused large influxes of prospectors from overseas and interstate, and classic gold rushes. Significant finds included: * Halls Cr ...
. It soon replaced Coolgardie as the largest settlement on the Eastern Goldfields. Kalgoorlie is the ultimate destination of the
Goldfields Water Supply Scheme The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is a pipeline and dam project that delivers potable water from Mundaring Weir in Perth to communities in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, particularly Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. The project was co ...
and the
Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail (also known as the Golden Pipeline Drive Trail) was a project conducted by the National Trust of Western Australia along the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme pipeline at the time the pipeline was being celebrated f ...
. The nearby
Super Pit gold mine The Fimiston Open Pit, colloquially known as the Super Pit, was Australia's largest open cut gold mine until 2016 when it was surpassed by the Newmont Boddington gold mine also in Western Australia. The Super Pit is located off the Goldfields ...
was Australia's largest
open-cut In civil engineering, a cut or cutting is where soil or rock from a relative rise along a route is removed. The term is also used in river management to speed a waterway's flow by short-cutting a meander. Cuts are typically used in road, rail, ...
gold mine for many years. At August 2021, Kalgoorlie–Boulder had an estimated urban population of 29,068, a decline from the recent peak of 32,966 in 2013. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.


History

Kalgoorlie-Boulder lies on the traditional lands of the Wangkatja people. Languages including Wangkatja, part of the Wati language family, continue to be spoken there today. In the winter of 1893, prospectors Patrick (Paddy) Hannan, Tom Flanagan, and Dan Shea were travelling to Mount Youle, when one of their horses cast a shoe. During the halt in their journey, the men noticed signs of gold in the area around the foot of what is now the Mount Charlotte gold mine, located on a small hill north of the current city, and decided to stay and investigate. On 17 June 1893, Hannan filed a Reward Claim, leading to hundreds of men swarming to the area in search of gold, and Kalgoorlie, originally called Hannan's Find, was born. The population of the town was 2,018 (1,516 males and 502 females) in 1898. The mining of gold, along with other metals such as
nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
, has been a major industry in Kalgoorlie ever since, and today employs about one-quarter of Kalgoorlie's workforce and generates a significant proportion of its income. The concentrated area of large gold mines surrounding the original Hannan's find is often referred to as the Golden Mile, and was sometimes referred to as the world's richest square mile of earth. In 1901, the population of Kalgoorlie was 4,793 (3,087 males and 1,706 females) which increased to 6,790 (3,904 males and 2,886 females) by 1903. The narrow-gauge
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
Eastern Goldfields Railway The Eastern Goldfields Railway was built in the 1890s by the Western Australian Government Railways to connect Perth with the Eastern Goldfields at Coolgardie, Western Australia, Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. History The Eastern Railway, Wester ...
line reached Kalgoorlie station in 1896, and the main named railway service from Perth was the overnight sleeper train ''
The Westland ''The Westland'' was the name given in 1938 to the overnight train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) with sitting and sleeping cars between Perth and Kalgoorlie, where it connected with the '' Trans-Australian'' se ...
'', which ran until the 1970s. In 1917, a
railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
was completed, connecting Kalgoorlie to
Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, across of desert, and consequently the rest of the eastern states. The
standardisation Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization ...
of the railway connecting Perth (which changed route from the narrow-gauge route) in 1968 completed the Sydney–Perth railway, making rail travel from Perth to
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
possible; the ''
Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, l ...
'' rail service commenced soon after. During the 1890s, the Goldfields area boomed as a whole, with an area population exceeding 200,000, composed mainly of prospectors. The area gained a reputation for being a "wild west", notorious for its bandits and prostitutes. This rapid increase in population and claims of neglect by the state government in Perth led to the proposition of the new state of
Auralia Auralia was a proposed colony that would have been formed out of the south-eastern portion of the colony of Western Australia in the early twentieth century, and would have joined the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia. The name, meaning 'g ...
, but with the sudden diaspora after the Gold Rush, these plans fell through. Places, famous or infamous, for which Kalgoorlie is noted include its water pipeline, designed by C. Y. O'Connor and bringing in fresh water from
Mundaring Weir Mundaring Weir is a dam (and historically the adjoining locality) located from Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Scarp. The dam and reservoir form the boundary between the suburbs of Reservoir and Sawyers Valley. The dam impounds the Hel ...
near Perth, its Hay Street brothels, its
two-up Two-up is a traditional Australian gambling game, involving a designated "spinner" throwing two coins or pennies into the air. Players bet on whether the coins will fall with both heads (obverse) up, both tails (reverse) up, or with one coin ...
school, the goldfields railway loopline, the Kalgoorlie Town Hall, the Paddy Hannan statue/drinking fountain, the Super Pit, and Mount Charlotte lookout. Its main street is Hannan Street, named after the town's founder. One of the infamous brothels also serves as a museum and is a major national attraction. Kalgoorlie and the surrounding district were served by an extensive collection of suburban railways and tramways, providing for both passenger and freight traffic. In 1989, the
Town of Kalgoorlie The Town of Kalgoorlie was a local government area in Western Australia, centred on the town of Kalgoorlie. It was established as the Municipality of Kalgoorlie on 15 February 1895. It was renamed the Town of Kalgoorlie on 1 July 1961. The ...
and
Shire of Boulder The Shire of Boulder was a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in Western Australia. It was established as the East Coolgardie Road District on 15 February 1895. It was renamed the Kalgoorlie Road District on 24 Se ...
formally amalgamated to create the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, adjoining the two towns into what is now the fifth most populous city in Western Australia. On 20 April 2010, Kalgoorlie was shaken by an
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
that reached 5.0 on the
Richter scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
. The epicentre was 30 km north east of the town. The quake caused damage to a number of commercial hotels and historic buildings along Burt Street in Boulder. The entire Burt St. precinct was evacuated until 23 April. Work in the Superpit and many other mines around Kalgoorlie was stopped. Two people suffered minor injuries as a result of the quake.


Population

According to the 2016 census, there were 29,873 people in the Kalgoorlie - Boulder Significant Urban Area: * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 7.3% of the population. * 65.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand (7.9%), England (2.4%), Philippines (2.2%), South Africa (1.9%) and India (1.2%). * 78.6% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Afrikaans (1.3%), Tagalog (1.1%), Filipino (0.7%), Mandarin (0.7%) and Hindi (0.5%). * The most common responses for religion were No Religion (33.4%) and Catholic (22.1%). Material was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License


Geography


Climate

Kalgoorlie has a
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(
BSk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK L ...
) with hot summers and mild winters. The average annual rainfall is on an average of 68 days and, while the average rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, there is considerable variation from year to year. January is the hottest month, with an average maximum temperature of , but temperatures above occur nearly once a week when hot, dry, north to northeasterly winds arrive. Such high temperatures are usually followed by a cool change from the south, and occasionally with a thunderstorm. By contrast, winters are cool, with July average maximum and minimum temperatures being and , respectively. Cold, wet days with a maximum below occur about once every winter. The lowest maximum temperature recorded is , on 19 July 1961. Overnight temperatures fall below freezing about four times in a typical winter. Such events occur on clear nights following a day of cold southerly winds.


Industry and commerce

Kalgoorlie-Boulder is a regional centre and has a Chamber of Commerce and a Chamber of Minerals and Energy.


Mining

Since 1992, Kalgoorlie has been home to the Diggers & Dealers conference, held annually in August. It is Australia's premier international mining conference.Diggers and Dealers 2010 – The Song Remains The Same
''
ABC Rural ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
'', author: Babs McHugh , published: 2 August 2010, accessed: 26 October 2010
The Fimiston Open Pit (Super Pit) is an
open-cut In civil engineering, a cut or cutting is where soil or rock from a relative rise along a route is removed. The term is also used in river management to speed a waterway's flow by short-cutting a meander. Cuts are typically used in road, rail, ...
gold mine about long, wide, and over deep. Originally consisting of a large number of underground mines, including the Paringa, Oroya, Brown Hill, Chaffers, and Hainault mines, they were consolidated into a single open pit mine in 1989. A visitor centre overlooks the mine, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The mine blasts at 1:00 pm every day, unless winds would carry dust over the town. Each of the massive trucks carries 225 tonnes of rock and the round trip takes about 35 minutes, most of that time being the slow uphill haul. Employees must live in Kalgoorlie; there's no fly-in, fly-out operation. The current life of mine plan covers operation until 2035, with investigations for mine extension ongoing. File:Gold mines Kalgoorlie 2.svg, Gold mines in the Kalgoorlie region Image:Super Pit Mine, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.jpg, The Super Pit that gives the mine its name appears in the centre of this image.


Culture

Kalgoorlie-Boulder has a dynamic and diverse cultural scene.


Arts

Kalgoorlie-Boulder has many arts organisations and practising artists.


Sports

Kalgoorlie-Boulder's location, being roughly 600 km from Perth, enjoys high levels of participation in
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
(the
Goldfields Football League The Goldfields Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Founded in 1896 as Hannans District Football Association, the league enjoyed a seat and full voting rights on the Austra ...
),
netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
, basketball,
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
,
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
, and
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
. Other popular sports in Kalgoorlie include tennis,
lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...
,
roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...
,
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
, and swimming. Kalgoorlie also has an international squash tournament held every year at the YMCA. In a statewide sense, the semiprofessional
Goldfields Giants Goldfields Giants is an NBL1 West club based in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The team is affiliated with Kalgoorlie-Boulder Basketball Association (KBBA), the major administrati ...
basketball team competes in the
State Basketball League NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...
, and were league champions in 2007 and 2008. The
Goldfields Titans The Goldfields Titans was a semi professional rugby league club based in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia, Australia. They compete in the Western Australia Rugby League's Harvey Norman Cup first grade competitio ...
play in the
Western Australia Rugby League NRL Western Australia (abbreviated as NRLWA, and formerly the Western Australian Rugby League) is responsible for administering the game of rugby league football in the state of Western Australia. The NRLWA administers all forms of the game in ...
Harvey Norman Premiership state rugby league competition. Home games are at the Oasis playing fields on Saturday afternoons.
Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
is also very popular in the city, and Kalgoorlie-Boulder is home to the internationally recognised annual "Race Round".


Attractions

Given the wealth of its yesteryear, Kalgoorlie features many elaborate heritage buildings that have been retained. Kalgoorlie-Boulder – the largest settlement for many hundreds of kilometres, with many employees at the Super Pit – is the centre of the area's social life. Of particular interest is the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racecourse, a
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
venue. Also well known in the area are the Kalgoorlie Skimpies, ladies employed by each pub who walk around in their underwear or
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
outfits to attract punters and who expect a fee in return. Two grass sports ovals and a cinema showing recent international releases are in the area.


Historic hotels

Kalgoorlie has historical hotels still in operation: * Broken Hill Hotel – iconic venue in Boulder *
Exchange Hotel, Kalgoorlie – situated at Kalgoorlie's main intersection
Kalgoorlie Hotel
opposite the Kalgoorlie town hall * Palace Hotel – also situated at Kalgoorlie's main intersection * Piccadilly Hotel – suburban pub north of the Kalgoorlie CBD * Recreation Hotel – a two-storied hotel in Boulder Many hotels have been put to private use, including: * Cornwall Hotel, Boulder, extensively damaged during 1934 riots * Mount Lyall (refurbished as a restaurant 2004, currently a Nando's restaurant) Hotels that have disappeared from the city include: * Boulder Block (demolished 1991) (Removed due to Super Pit expansion. This pub had a mine shaft so underground workers could access it.) * Commercial Hotel (burnt down 3 November 1978) * Fimiston Hotel (demolished February 1980) * Foundry Hotel (closed 2005 – damaged by fire 3 July 2008, deliberately lit on fire in 2009, Burnt to the ground 2012) * Glendevon Hotel (burnt down 1986) * Golden Eagle (The collapsed balcony of the Golden Eagle hotel on the corner of Lane and Wittenoom St in Boulder.) Damaged by fire then demolished in 2012 * Home from Home Family hotel (burnt in the riots of 1934) * Oriental Hotel (demolished July 1972)


Suburbs

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder metropolitan area consists of the following suburbs: * Boulder Known as the home of the Super Pit, it is one of Kalgoorlie-Boulder's historical suburbs featuring many buildings and landmarks dating as far back as 1882. It was once the central business district for the Town of Boulder, but since amalgamation with Kalgoorlie, it is now more of a historical local centre. Boulder has its own post office, town hall and many hotels along its main thoroughfare, Burt Street. A significant refurbishment has been commenced as part of the 'Royalties for Regions' initiative. * Broadwood (aka – Hampton Heights) A new housing suburb located next to the
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport is an airport in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The airport is south of the city. The airport handled 299,055 passengers in the 2021–22 financial year. The airport is a major hub for fly-in fly-out service due t ...
, which was recently expanded. * Fairways This area derives its name from the golf course that once occupied the area. It was released to provide affordable property to a growing population in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Fairways features a private primary school, church, caravan park and small business. * Golden Grove (formerly Adeline) Adeline was originally constructed around 1970 by the State Housing Commission. The suburb was built on the "
Radburn concept Radburn design housing (also called Radburn housing, Radburn design'', ''Radburn principle, or Radburn concept) is a concept for planned housing estates, based on a design that was originally used in Radburn, New Jersey, United States. History ...
", with houses facing away from the street and common pathways linking homes. The area has been plagued by antisocial problems. In 2003, a significant urban renewal project was commenced, including the renaming of the suburb to ''Golden Grove'' and re-aligning of homes. The project has seen some success but has yet to fully eliminate antisocial problems within the area. * Hampton Heights See Broadwood. * Hannans Located in Kalgoorlie's far north. Hannans was the first suburb to have its own independent shopping centre ("Hannans Boulevard") which includes a
Coles Supermarket Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of the Coles Group. Founded in 1914 in Collingwood by George Coles, Coles operates ...
. The area also has a primary school and an 18-hole golf course. The original course was not formally grassed but was recently refurbished. Several surrounding golf clubs joined together to form one club known as 'The Goldfields Golf Club'. A dam has been constructed to service what is now a luxury desert golf course and club. Alongside the golf course project has been the development and release of Greenview estate. It lies on the western border of Hannans. This ongoing project has been designed as an environmentally friendly estate, and will eventually consist of over 2000 homes, apartments and facilities such as parks and schools. As one of Kalgoorlie's highest growth areas there has been a proposal for a new alternative route, out of the suburb onto the Kalgoorlie Bypass, to avoid traffic problems on the already heavily used Graeme Street which is a direct route to the city centre. Other developments include 'Karkurla Rise' and 'Karkurla View' which have added an additional 400 homes to the area. * Kalgoorlie The central business district. Hannan Street, named after Paddy Hannan, is Kalgoorlie's main street and stretches the length of the suburb. The western side of the suburb consists of housing and some light industry. The eastern side contains retail chains, banks, the police station, court house, restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, schools, university, and a TAFE. * Lamington One of Kalgoorlie's oldest suburbs. Much like other older suburbs, almost every street is parallel with Hannan Street in Central Kalgoorlie. Streets are noticeably wide. It houses North Kalgoorlie Primary School, small businesses, a medical practice, a hotel, tavern and a non-maintained 18-hole golf course. * Mullingar Much smaller today than it originally was before the Super Pit expansion, Mullingar is located at the far east end of Lamington, between the northern Goldfields railway and Goldfields Highway. * O'Connor Officially O'Connor is the south-east section of the suburb of Somerville. Much of the area is increasingly now known as O'Connor. It is home to a primary school (O'Connor Primary School), a private high school (Goldfields Baptist College), and shopping facilities. It also houses the city's only recreation centre. * Piccadilly A narrow suburb following Piccadilly street between Central Kalgoorlie and Lamington. It features the city's regional hospital, small businesses, a hotel, sporting arena and two grassed ovals. * Somerville Somerville marks the end of Great Eastern Highway that stretches between Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Perth. Much of the area is now referred to locally as O'Connor. Somerville contains a residential area, schools, retail shops, light industry and some horse stables. In the past it also contained market gardens. * South Kalgoorlie Stretching from Boundary Street, Kalgoorlie to Holmes Street, Golden Grove and bordering with Central Kalgoorlie, O'Connor and Golden Grove, South Kalgoorlie is mostly residential but also contains the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racecourse, schools, some light industrial and small businesses. The suburb was expanded in the mid-1990s to include a sub-division named "Sport of Kings" on Maxwell Street, using a surplus of land from the racecourse. * Victory Heights A residential-only subdivision within Fairways estate along Burt Street. * West Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie's main industrial area, it is the first suburb as you approach Kalgoorlie on the Great Eastern Highway. It features the city's airport, as well as small, medium, and heavy industrial areas. Currently under expansion further west (ANZAC Drive Industrial Estate). * West Lamington The western tip of Lamington was built in the 1980s. It includes one shop, sporting facilities and an
arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
nature reserve. * Williamstown This small existing area features mostly housing with one small primary school. It is also home to the Mount Charlotte gold mine (past production of about 5,000,000 ounces of gold), the Cassidy Shaft and Nanny Goat Hill (Mt Gleddon). Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, owner of the Super Pit to the south on the Golden Mile, from 2015 mined the ''Hidden Secret'' orebody, between and below the surface of Williamstown, using Mount Charlotte's Cassidy Shaft as access.


Transport


Rail

The town is located on the main East-West rail corridor across Australia. The ''
Transwa Prospector ''The Prospector'' is a rural passenger train service in Western Australia operated by Transwa between East Perth railway station, East Perth and Kalgoorlie railway station, Kalgoorlie. On this service, two trains depart almost at the same tim ...
'' operates once to twice daily passenger train services from Kalgoorlie to Perth. The ''
Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, l ...
'' train also stops here, operating weekly in each direction.


Buses

Town bus services are provided by
TransGoldfields TransGoldfields is the brand name of the bus system in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Ticketing Paper tickets can be bought on the buses. The SmartRider SmartRider is the contactless electronic ticketing system of the Public Transport Authority of We ...
, there are three town routes as well as school services.
Transwa Transwa is Western Australia's regional public transport provider, linking 240 destinations, from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south west to Esperance in the south east. The Transwa system provides transport to the major regional ...
also operates road coaches that service the town.


Air

Commercial air services connect Kalgoorlie-Boulder with Melbourne and Perth, operating out of the
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport is an airport in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The airport is south of the city. The airport handled 299,055 passengers in the 2021–22 financial year. The airport is a major hub for fly-in fly-out service due t ...
. Airlines that provide regular flights include
Alliance Airlines Alliance Airlines Pty Limited based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia with operational bases in Adelaide, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth, Townsville, Darwin and Rockhampton. Alliance Airlines owns and operates a fleet of Fokker and Embraer aircra ...
,
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
,
QantasLink QantasLink is a regional brand of Australian airline Qantas and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is a major competitor to Regional Express Airlines and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines. As of September 2010 Qantas ...
and
Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an Australian-based airline. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin Group, Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as ''Virgin Blue ...
. There is a locally owned and operated charter company with a flight school, Goldfields Air Services.


Road

Kalgoorlie is linked to Perth by the
Great Eastern Highway Great Eastern Highway is a road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, it is the western portion of the main road link ...
, and is also on the
Goldfields Highway Goldfields Highway is a generally northwest–southeast highway in central Western Australia which links the Great Northern Highway at Meekatharra with Coolgardie-Esperance Highway south of Kalgoorlie. The highway is approximately in length ...
.


Media

Radio Radio Services available in Kalgoorlie: * ABC Goldfields-Esperance: 6GF 648 AM \ 94.3 FM (Part of the
ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
Network) *
ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. ...
: 6ABCFM 95.5 FM; *
ABC Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...
: 6ABCRN 97.1 FM * ABC Triple J: 6JJJ 93.5 FM \ 98.7 FM *
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
: 6PNN 100.3 FM * Hit 97.9 (Commercial Station) 6KAR: 91.9 \ 97.9 FM –
Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
format *
Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...
(Commercial Station) 6KG: 981 AM \ 92.7 FM – Adult Contemporary / Classic Hits / Talk radio format *
Vision Radio Network Vision Christian Radio is an Australian narrowcast radio station owned and operated by Vision Christian Media, an affiliate of United Christian Broadcasters. It broadcasts a Christian radio format of music and talk from studios in the Brisban ...
1431 AM : Community Narrowcast Station – Christian praise, worship music and talk. *Tjuma Pulka (Media) Aboriginal Corporation : 96.3 FM (Aboriginal Community radio service) *6TAB Racing Radio – 88FM (Live broadcasts of Horse Racing, Greyhound Racing and Harness Racing, with talkback and music played at other times). Television Television services available include: *The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
(ABC) – ABC TV, ABC TV Plus/ABC Kids, ABC Me, ABC News (digital channels) *The
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...
(SBS) – SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS Food, NITV (digital channels) *
GWN7 GWN7 was an Australian television network serving all of Western Australia outside metropolitan Perth. It launched on 10 March 1967 as ''BTW-3'' in Bunbury. It was an affiliate of the Seven Network and served one of the largest geographic tel ...
(Golden West Network), an affiliate station of the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
*
WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television station covering the Wollongong region. The WIN Netwo ...
, an affiliate station of the
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
* West Digital Television, an affiliate station of the
Ten Network Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
(provided jointly by Prime Television and WIN Television) The programming schedule is mainly the same as the Seven, Nine and Ten stations in Perth with variations for news bulletins, sport telecasts such as the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
and
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
, children's and lifestyle programs and infomercials or ''paid programming''. GWN7 maintains a newsroom in the city. The GWN7 bureau provides coverage of the surrounding area for the station's nightly 30-minute news program, ''GWN7 News'', at 5:30pm on weeknights. A
Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
subscription television service is available via satellite. Newspapers The local newspaper for the Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Goldfields region is ''
The Kalgoorlie Miner ''The Kalgoorlie Miner'' (commonly known as ''The Miner'') is a daily newspaper circulating in the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the Goldfields-Esperance region, in Western Australia. It is published Monday to Saturday by Hocking & Co. Pty L ...
''. Newspapers from Perth, including ''
The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' and ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'', are also available, as well as national newspapers such as ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' and ''
The Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...
''.


Education

There are 10 primary schools, four high schools and one university in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder area.


Primary schools

* Boulder Primary School * East Kalgoorlie Primary School * Goldfields Baptist College ''(private)'' * Hannans Primary School * Kalgoorlie Primary School * Kalgoorlie School of the Air * North Kalgoorlie Primary School * O'Connor Primary School * O'Connor Education Support Centre * Saint Joseph's Primary School ''(private)'' * Saint Mary's Primary School (Kalgoorlie Catholic Primary School) ''(private)'' * South Kalgoorlie Primary School


High schools

*
Eastern Goldfields College Eastern Goldfields College is a public co-educational high day school, located in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It is located on the Curtin University campus in Kalgoorlie and shares many facilities with the University. The College accepts y ...
(formerly the Eastern Goldfields Senior High School Senior Campus) * Eastern Goldfields Education Support Centre * John Paul College (formerly Prendiville College & Christian Bros. College (amalgamated)) ''(private)'' *
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School is a comprehensive public co-educational high day and boarding school, located in Kalgoorlie, a regional centre located in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. Along with Eastern Go ...
(formerly the Eastern Goldfields Senior High School Middle School Campus) * Goldfields Baptist College (Year K–10) (private)


Universities

* Curtin University of Technology – Kalgoorlie Campus (includes th
Western Australian School of Mines
an
Curtin VTEC
formerly Kalgoorlie College) * University of Western Australia and University of Notre Dame Australia – Rural Clinical School of Western Australi


Notable people

Notable people from or who have lived in Kalgoorlie include: *
Christian de Vietri Christian de Vietri (born 1981, Kalgoorlie) is an Australian artist. Education Christian de Vietri attended a boys' secondary school, Hale School located in Australia's northern suburbs of Perth. In 2001, De Vietri completed a Bachelor of Fin ...
, artist *
Thomas Axford Thomas Leslie "Jack" Axford, (18 June 1894 – 11 October 1983) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life Thomas Ax ...
, VC, First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross *
Matt Birney Matthew John Birney (born 10 June 1969) was an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2008, serving as Leader of the Opposition from 2005 to 2006. Birney was born in Sydney but ...
, former WA Leader of the Opposition * John Bowler, Australian politician from Western Australia *
Leonard Casley Leonard George Casley (28 August 1925 – 13 February 2019), better known as Prince Leonard, was the founder of the self-proclaimed micronation, the Principality of Hutt River, within the Australian state of Western Australia. He governed Hutt R ...
, founder of the
Hutt River Province The Principality of Hutt River, often referred to by its former name, the Hutt River Province, was a micronation in Australia. The principality claimed to be an independent sovereign state, founded on 21 April 1970. It was dissolved on 3 Augus ...
. *
John Carroll John Carroll may refer to: People Academia and science *Sir John Carroll (astronomer) (1899–1974), British astronomer *John Alexander Carroll (died 2000), American history professor *John Bissell Carroll (1916–2003), American cognitive sci ...
, VC, First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross *
John Cornell John Cornell (2 March 1941 – 23 July 2021) was an Australian actor, director, producer, writer, and businessman. He was best known for his role as "Strop" on ''The Paul Hogan Show'', and he was instrumental in the introduction of World Serie ...
, actor and movie producer, best known for playing Strop on ''
The Paul Hogan Show ''The Paul Hogan Show'' was a popular Australian comedy show which aired on Australian television from 1973 until 1984 for a total of 12 seasons and 60 episodes. It made a star of Paul Hogan, who later appeared in ''Crocodile Dundee.'' Hogan' ...
'' *
Wendy Duncan Wendy Maxine Duncan (née Tonkin; born 7 October 1954) is an Australian politician who was a National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2013 to 2017, representing the seat of Kalgoorlie. She was previously a m ...
, Australian politician from Western Australia *
Rica Erickson Frederica Lucy "Rica" Erickson , née Sandilands, (10 August 1908 – 8 September 2009) was an Australian naturalist, botanical artist, historian, author and teacher. Without any formal scientific training, she wrote extensively on botany and b ...
, historian, botanist and author *
Dean Fiore Dean Fiore (born 1 December 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver. Fiore competed in the 2022 Bathurst 1000 for Brad Jones Racing as a co-driver alongside Bryce Fullwood in the No. 14 Holden Commodore (ZB). Racing career Fiore is o ...
, V8 supercar driver * Brian Hayes, British radio personality *
Steve Johnston Steven Paul Johnston (born 12 October 1971) is former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. Career Born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Johnston signed for the Sheffield Tigers for the 1992 British League Division Two se ...
, speedway rider *
Sophie Garbin Sophie Garbin (born 6 April 1997) is an Australian netball player. She was a member of the New South Wales Swifts teams that won the 2019 and 2021 Suncorp Super Netball titles. In 2017 she was also a member of the Western Sting team that won ...
, Netball player for the
Australian Diamonds The Australia national netball team, also known as the Australian Diamonds, represent Netball Australia in international netball tournaments such as the INF Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Constellation Cup, the Netball Quad Se ...
and
Collingwood Magpies The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...
*
Eileen Joyce Eileen Alannah Joyce CMG (died 25 March 1991) was an Australian pianist whose career spanned more than 30 years. She lived in England in her adult years. Her recordings made her popular in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly during World War I ...
, pianist * Dean Kemp, former
Australian rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
footballer *
Wallace Kyle Air Chief Marshal Sir Wallace Hart Kyle, (22 January 1910 – 31 January 1988) was an Australian who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a senior commander and later as the 24th Governor of Western Australia. Born in Kalgoorlie, Western Aus ...
, Air Marshall, last leader of
RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
*
Walter Lindrum Walter Albert Lindrum, OBE (29 August 1898 – 30 July 1960), often known as Wally Lindrum, was an Australian professional player of English billiards who held the World Professional Billiards Championship from 1933 until his retirement in 1950 ...
, champion professional billiards player *
Ron Manners Ronald Brown Manners , (born 8 January 1936) is an Australian businessman. He is the founder and formerly the chairman of Croesus Mining, at one point Australia's third largest gold producer. He is currently the executive chairman of Mannwest G ...
, prominent ex–local businessperson *
Barry Marshall Barry James Marshall (born 30 September 1951) is an Australian physician, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Professor of Clinical Microbiology and Co-Director of the Marshall Centre at the University of Western Australia. Marsha ...
, Nobel Prize winner * Bob Marshall, champion billiards player * Zaneta Mascarenhas,
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
member for
Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
* Bert Nankiville, swimmer *
Michael Patrizi Michael Patrizi (born 4 May 1984) is an Australian racing driver. Biography Starting off in karts in his native Western Australia, he moved to Formula Ford in 2004, then to Formula BMW in Asia 2005, then UK in 2006. In 2007 he joined the compet ...
, V8 supercar driver * James del Piano, businessman, Italian diaspora aficionado * Melissa Price,
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
member for Durack * Tim Rogers, singer/songwriter *
Dom Sheed Dom Sheed (born 10 April 1995) is an Australian rules footballer, playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life From Kalgoorlie, in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, Sheed played underage f ...
, Australian rules footballer * Grant Stewart, cricketer *
Jenny Talia Jenny Talia (born as Tammy-Jo Bryant) is an Australian-born United States-based comedy singer-songwriter. She also performs country music as T. J. Dennis. Talia is the daughter of Kevin Bloody Wilson, an Australian comedian and entertainer, for ...
, singer/songwriter * Ian Taylor,
Deputy Premier of Western Australia The deputy premier of Western Australia is a role in the Government of Western Australia assigned to a responsible Minister in the Australian state of Western Australia. It has second ranking behind the premier of Western Australia in Cabinet, ...
1990–1993 *
Elizabeth Truswell Elizabeth Marchant Truswell (also known as Elizabeth Kemp) is a former Chief Scientist at the Australian Geological Survey Organisation and is known for her application of recycled palynomorph distribution as an indicator of sub-ice geology. ...
, former Chief Scientist at the
Australian Geological Survey Organisation Geoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian Government. It carries out geoscientific research. The agency is the government's technical adviser on all aspects of geoscience, and custodian of the geographic and geological data and knowle ...
* Terry Walsh, field hockey striker and coach *
Kevin Bloody Wilson Kevin Bloody Wilson (born Dennis Bryant; 13 February 1947) is an Australian musical comedian who performs comical songs with his heavy Australian English accent and often including sexual themes. He has won one ARIA Music Award. Early career ...
, singer and comedian


Images

Image:Kalgoorlie Exchange Hotel DSC04484.JPG, Exchange Hotel. File:Kalgoorlie Gold Mine.JPG, Mt Charlotte Mine and Cassidy Shaft, Williamstown Image:York Hotel, Kalgoorlie.jpg,
York Hotel York Hotel may refer to: * York Hotel, Kalgoorlie, a heritage hotel in Western Australia * York Hotel, Adelaide, a 19th century Australian hotel developed by C. A. Hornabrook * York Hotel, Redcar, an English hotel that was the site of the York ...
. Image:Kalgoorlie The Big Pit DSC04498.JPG, The Super Pit, Australia's largest open-cut gold mine until 2016. Image:Kalgoorlie Post Office Clock.jpg, The Kalgoorlie Courthouse, previously the Post Office. Image:Kalgoorlie Judds Pub.jpg, The Kalgoorlie Hotel/Judds Pub.


See also

*
Auralia Auralia was a proposed colony that would have been formed out of the south-eastern portion of the colony of Western Australia in the early twentieth century, and would have joined the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia. The name, meaning 'g ...
(proposed Australian state with its capital in Kalgoorlie) *
Yilgarn Craton The Yilgarn Craton is a large craton that constitutes the bulk of the Western Australian land mass. It is bounded by a mixture of sedimentary basins and Proterozoic fold and thrust belts. Zircon grains in the Jack Hills, Narryer Terrane have b ...


Notes


References

* Casey, Gavin and Mayman, Ted.(1964) ''The Mile That Midas Touched'' Rigby, Adelaide..


Further reading

* 100th anniversary of rail link (History of the Eastern Goldfields railway, officially completed on 1 January 1897, to the present, including introduction of 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 ...
train on 29 November 1971) Kalgoorlie Miner 1 January 1997, p. 2 * Early Railways in the Kalgoorlie Area, Shepley, W.H.