Paynes Find, also called Paynes, is a settlement approximately northeast of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in the

Mid West The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is a sparsely populated region extending from the west coast of Western Australia, about north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton and inland to east of W ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It is reachable by the

Great Northern Highway Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...

. It was originally founded after the discovery of a gold bearing quartz vein; a roadhouse, a

battery Battery or batterie 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 * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

, and a few other buildings remain today. Alongside its fluctuating gold activity the area is known for its annual everlasting bloom, and

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

History

The townsite was gazetted in 1911, the same year the gold

was constructed. The battery is the only currently operational battery left in the state. The town is named 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 ra ...

, Thomas Payne, who was the first to discover

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the area and was the first to register a lease for gold mining with the Mines Department. He was rewarded with free use of the state's gold battery and his ore was the first to be crushed using the battery. The ghost town of Paynesville is also named in his honour. Water supply was an ongoing issue for mining at Paynes both for drinking and for the operation of the battery. By the 1930s the town had prospered and the population was estimated at 500. In 1987 the battery was sold to the Taylor family, who use it as a tourist attraction. Paynes Find 030923 Gnangarra-13

Climate

In popular culture

The character "Dar Dar" in '' The Numtums'' was named after Dar Dar Spring near Paynes Find.

References

External links

Payne's Find
at Tourism Western Australia {{authority control Mining towns in Western Australia Towns in Western Australia Shire of Yalgoo