Sir Samuel is an
abandoned town located between
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
and
Wiluna in the
Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
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 me ...
was discovered in the area in 1895. Officials lobbied for a townsite to be created in 1896 following the realisation that the area was becoming an important mining centre. The mining warden suggested several names but since the area was already well known as Mount Sir Samuel so the Mount was dropped and the town became Sir Samuel. The townsite was gazetted in 1897.
The name is derived from the nearby Mount Sir Samuel that was named after Chief Justice and
Lieutenant-Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...
of
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 ...
, Sir
Samuel James Way by the explorer Lawrence Wells, who was on a surveying expedition in the area in 1892.
A police station camp was opened in the town in 1899, consisting of tents and brush shelters. The camp was later burnt down in 1901. Tenders were called for to build a new station in 1902; it was completed in 1903 but then closed down in 1910 and the building removed to
Youanmi in 1911.
In 1938, an article in the ''
Western Mail'' estimated that Sir Samuel had a population of 4,000 people at its peak (in about 1908), and included two pubs, three banks, a post office, a school, a rifle range, and a racecourse.
"Mt. Sir Samuel—Then and Now."
– ''Western Mail'' (Perth, Western Australia), 16 June 1938.
References
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Mining towns in Western Australia
Ghost towns of the Goldfields of Western Australia
Shire of Leonora