Mount Morgans, known as Mount Morgan until 1899, 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

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 ...

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 ...

and southwest of Laverton on the original Malcolm-Laverton Road, in the Goldfields-Esperance region of

History

The first Europeans to visit the area were the party of government surveyor

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister i ...

which passed through in 1869 while on an expedition in search of the lost explorer

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

. Forrest named a nearby hill Mount Morgan after the expedition’s cook and

shoeing smith A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjus ...

, probation prisoner David Morgan. Morgan had arrived in Western Australia as a transported convict on ''Belgravia'' on 4 July 1866. The first gold was discovered in the Mount Morgan area in 1894, with a reward claim granted to prospectors Harry Swincer and Norman Sligo in December of that year. Gold was discovered near the future townsite in 1896 by

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 ra ...

s Harry Lilley and Samuel McInness. A claim was registered at Menzies on 15 June 1896. The lease was sold in 1897 to Westralia Mount Morgan Gold Mines, Limited whose directors included Alexander Forrest (chairman), Sir James Lee Steere and engineer Alf Morgans, and which was developed as the Westralia Mount Morgan Mine. The Mount Morgans Gold Mine produced gold during the periods 1896–1952, 1988–1997, 2010–2011, and 2017–2020. The townsite was selected by the mining warden in March 1899, and surveyed in July 1899. Public comment on the use of the name Mount Morgan for the town included ... "something might be done to relieve the monotony of the duplication of this title throughout the colonies...", due to the pre-existence of

Mount Morgan, Queensland Mount Morgan is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Mount Morgan had a population of 1,963 people. The town was the administrative centre of the Mount Morgan Shire until March 2008 ...

and Mount Morgan near

Widgiemooltha, Western Australia Widgiemooltha is an abandoned town in Western Australia east of Perth between Kambalda and Norseman in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is found on the southern shoreline of Lake Lefroy. The location of the original ...

. During 1899 the settlement was occasionally promoted as Morgansville, after Alf Morgans MLA. It was gazetted as Mount Morgans on 29 December 1899. A police station was established in 1899 when the population was 500. By 1903 the

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

had reached 1,250 with over 500 buildings situated in the town. The town boasted six hotels, a hospital, a miners' union hall, two general stores and two chemists. The police station closed in 1928 then reopened in 1935 then closed again for the final time in 1937. The town was in deep decline in 1937 with a visiting police commissioner announcing the town was dead in July of the same year. At its peak the town took up an area of .

References

{{authority control Shire of Laverton Mining towns in Western Australia Ghost towns in Western Australia Populated places established in 1899 Populated places disestablished in 1937