Menzies is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of

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 ...

, east-northeast of the state capital,

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 north-northwest of the 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 ...

. At the 2016 census, Menzies had a population of 108. Aboriginal people have lived in this area since time immemorial, and the local group are the Kaburn Bardu.

History

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 ...

was discovered in the area in 1894, and Leslie Robert Menzies, a Canadian-born prospector, and John McDonald were the first to take up a lease here in October 1894, naming it the "Lady Shenton". It was a rich gold find, and the Mining Warden for the area recommended a townsite be declared in 1895, named in Menzies' honour. The townsite was gazetted in August 1895. Land around the town was sold in 1895 and by 1896 it had become a municipality. A railway line was constructed from Kalgoorlie to Menzies and opened on 22 March 1898. By 1900, Menzies had a population of approximately 10,000 with thirteen hotels and two breweries. There were applications for 320 mining leases, with an average area of , and within a radius of the post office. Water had to be carted to the town from underground supplies and from lakes in the surrounding areas. The government started construction of a dam in 1897 that began to supply water to the town by 1901. The town hall was completed in 1901. The hall tower remained without a clock for over 100 years due to the loss of the original clock in the wreck of the RMS ''Orizaba'' off Garden Island in 1905. A clock was finally installed to celebrate the new millennium in 2000. The prosperity of the town declined shortly after 1901. The gold rush lasted for about 10 years and by 1905 most of the miners had left town to try their luck elsewhere. By 1910 the population of the town had declined to less than 1,000. Gold mining continues in and around Menzies to the present day.

Present day

Menzies is a place that has seen many changes over the years. The population is generally low (less than 100); however this can change - and has changed rapidly as mines open and close in the local area. The town includes a hotel, shire office, a nursing post and a moth-balled police station. There had been a roadhouse that provided a post office and general food items but it is now closed. There is a currently a small general store which sells a wide variety of foods including baked meals, dairy produce, fruit and vegetables and other small goods. The police station was closed in 2007 due to budget cuts. The two officers who patrolled over 145,000 square kilometres were transferred, one to Kalgoorlie and the other to Perth. The Police had built a community relationship with the local town which saw virtually no crime. Community Basketball was a big hit with the children and young adults alike which attributed to the close community ties and work of one of the Senior Constables. The officer and his wife regularly held movie nights at their house for Menzies children who looked forward to Friday nights and a meal. Friendships were formed for the officers which exist to the present day.

Menzies Cemetery

Is located north east of the townsite, ''One of the largest of the 'goldrush' cemeteries, with many graves of typhoid victims''

Notable people

Menzies was the birthplace of: * Sir Thomas Meagher (1902–1979), surgeon and

Lord Mayor of Perth __TOC__ The history of the City of Perth, a local government area of Western Australia is defined over three distinct periods: *From 1829 to 1838 — controlled by the Governor of Western Australia *From 1838 to 1858 — controlled by the ''Per ...

* Sir

Colin Hannah Air Marshal Sir Colin Thomas Hannah, (22 December 1914 – 22 May 1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a Governor of Queensland. Born in Western Australia, he was a member of the Militia before joining the ...

(1914–1978), RAAF officer and

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

* Ted Evans (1939–1981), state Labor MLA

References

External links