The Western Australian Goldfields is a term for areas 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 ...
that have had significant areas of
gold mining
Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...
occur.
Range of goldfields
There are
goldfields across the state of Western Australia, from the
Kimberley region to the
south coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area.
Geographical
Australia
*South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney
* South Coast (Q ...
.
Designated goldfields in Western Australia include:
Mid West region:
* Ashburton Goldfield
* East Murchison Goldfield
* Gascoyne Goldfield
* Murchison Goldfield
Goldfields region:
* Broad Arrow Goldfield
* Coolgardie Goldfield
* East Coolgardie Goldfield
* North East Coolgardie Goldfield
* North Coolgardie Goldfield
Goldfields to Eastern Goldfields
In the 1890s the ''goldfields'' term was used for country between
Southern Cross
Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...
and
Coolgardie, however as the gold fields extended to Kalgoorlie and beyond, the term ''Eastern Goldfields'' was used for the locations in vicinity of Kalgoorlie at that stage.
Sometimes ''West Australian Goldfields'', even ''the goldfields'' or ''
Eastern Goldfields
The Eastern Goldfields is part of the Western Australian Goldfields in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, covering the present and former gold-mining area east of Perth.
Extent and name origin
The region encompasses the town ...
'' is a term that has been used to either identify the region surrounding
Kalgoorlie-Boulder
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 include ...
within the current broader designated region of
Goldfields-Esperance 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 ...
.
The term has been used in books specifically referring to the Kalgoorlie region.
The term has been used in government reports as a reference for all of the goldfields found in Western Australia.
The term has been used in company names.
See also
*
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 ...
References
{{reflist, 30em
Goldfields-Esperance
Regions of Western Australia