Kambalda is a small mining town about from the mining city of

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

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 t ...

, within the

Goldfields Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United Sta ...

. It is split into two townsites apart, Kambalda East and Kambalda West; and is located on the western edge of a giant

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre) ...

Lake Lefroy Lake Lefroy is a large ephemeral salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is north of Lake Cowan and approximately south of Boulder. The town of Kambalda is on the northern shore and the hamlet of Widgiemooltha ...

. At the last census, Kambalda had a combined population of . Kambalda was established in 1897 at the base of nearby Red Hill during a mining boom when

prospectors Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by Mining engineering#Pre-mining, exploration) of a territory. It is the search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking. ...

from all over Western Australia came into the area. The location owed its existence to Percy Larkin, a prospector who discovered gold in the vicinity. For many years Kambalda was mined for its

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 ...

but soon after

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 t ...

was discovered.

History

Kambalda is situated in a semi-arid environment on the land of the Galaagu people, approximately southeast of Coolgardie and 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 ...

. Kambalda's determination to keep as much native

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

as possible separates them from other similar mining towns. Kambalda West is approximately from Kambalda East and is the location of the tourist bureau and the shire offices. The original settlement of Kambalda grew up in the area after Percy Larkin discovered

in December 1896. The town was officially gazetted on 10 December 1897 and laid out by the Government surveyor W. Rowley, who chose the name Kambalda. The Red Hill Gold Mine, which began operations in 1897, was relatively short-lived. It was closed by 1907 and the small settlement had become a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

. One memory of the original town is the old well in George Cowcill Street. New interest in the area occurred in 1954 when George Cowcill took samples of what he thought was

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

. Later analysis found large deposits of

and by 1966

Western Mining Corporation Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

had established Australia's first nickel mine. It is fair to describe Kambalda East and Kambalda West as Australia's first nickel mining towns. Apart from the Red Hill Lookout with its views over Lake Lefroy, and the opportunity to drive across the causeway, the town offers historical attractions and modern amenities, with a 24-hour RV stop area, shops and a skate park. Kambalda is known for its feral goats.

Present day

The first mining company that established the town was the

(WMC), which in 2005 was taken over by

BHP Billiton BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

. Other mining companies in the area include

Gold Fields Gold Fields Limited (formerly The Gold Fields of South Africa) is one of the world's largest gold mining firms. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company is listed on both the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the New York Sto ...

, Lightning Nickel, and GHB. The town population has more recently been receding, thought to be due to increasing

fly-in fly-out Fly-in fly-out is a method of employing people in remote areas by flying them temporarily to the work site instead of relocating employees and their families permanently. It is often abbreviated to FIFO when referring to employment status. This is ...

operations by mining companies.

Attractions

Kambalda's best attraction is the Red Hill Lookout, which is accessed by following Gordon Adams Road. Red Hill has a bushwalking trail (Red Hill Walking Trail), and from the top travellers have a bird's eye view of nearby Lake Lefroy, a large salt pan which stretches to the horizon and is rarely filled with water. The Lake is often used for land-sailing. Kambalda's Memorial Garden and Miners Memorial Wall are situated behind the Shire office in Kambalda West. The Garden has a shady gazebo surrounded by native plants and scented roses. The Memorial Wall was built to honour those who had lost their lives while working in Kambalda's mines. Also located within the Kambalda area are the remains of King Battery. Located on Woolibah station, the King Battery was employed to process gold-bearing ores from local gold mines. Today all that remains of the original operation is a tower and some brickwork which housed a tailings wheel which is often mistaken for a water paddle wheel. The King Battery area also provides a venue for bushwalking and picnic activities. Each year, Kambalda hosts these and many other events: * December: Community Christmas Tree

Services

The town is serviced with a supermarket, post office, newsagency, public library, hotel, recreation centre, a petrol station and two schools. The local bank, operated by ANZ, closed in September 2018. Flights to and from Kambalda via Perth are operated by Cobham. (The airport closed commercial flights in October 2015.) The Kambalda Health Centre is open six days a week and is staffed by nursing staff; St John Health has rolled out its first regional medical practice, with a Doctor available Monday to Saturday, including until 9 pm Thursday evenings. The Health Centre has emergency resuscitation facilities as well as pathology services. There are also a number of defibrillators located around both town sites.

Notes

References

{{authority control Goldfields-Esperance Nickel mining in Western Australia Mining towns in Western Australia