Hay Street is a street in

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just 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 referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surrounding ...

. For most of the history of Kalgoorlie, it was a notorious red light area. The prevalence of brothels was part of the law and order issue of an isolated mining town, where

two-up Two-up is a traditional Australian gambling game, involving a designated "spinner" throwing two coins, usually Australian pennies, into the air. Players bet on whether the coins will both fall with heads (obverse) up, both with tails (re ...

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

and gold stealing were all regularly reported forms of criminality. The street and its associations would regularly be reported in mainstream media. Towards the end of the twentieth century the prostitution was less infamous, and photographs and stories were more public than in earlier times. Regulation and prohibition of the prostitution in the street have been publicly discussed a number of times by the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

and citizens of Kalgoorlie. one brothel continues to operate. The street, being close to the town centre, has a number of important administration buildings, and other businesses.

References

{{reflist , refs= {{cite web , title=Prostitution , year=2017 , website=Western Australian Museum , publisher=Government of Western Australia , url=https://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/wa-goldfields/life-on-fields/prostitution , access-date=2024-03-06 , quote=Prostitutes appeared on the streets of Kalgoorlie from its earliest days. ..In 1902 west Brookman Street was re-gazetted as Hay Street and became the famous ‘red light district’ of Kalgoorlie. Prostitutes had to register with the police, live in the brothels where they were employed and could not socialise with the local community. The regulations were enforced by local police in cooperation with brothel madams, despite a lack of formal authority. It was not until 1995 that prostitutes were allowed to live in private accommodation and be part of the community. Roads in Kalgoorlie–Boulder Red-light districts in Australia