Mount Morgans, known as Mount Morgan until 1899, is an abandoned town in

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 ...

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 ...

and southwest of Laverton on the original Malcolm-Laverton Road, in the Goldfields-Esperance region of

History

The first Europeans to visit the area were the party of government surveyor

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister in ...

who passed through in 1869 while on an expedition in search of the lost explorer

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (; 23 October 1813 – ), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's disappearanc ...

. Forrest named a nearby hill Mount Morgan after the expedition’s cook and shoeing smith, probation prisoner David Morgan. Morgan had arrived in Western Australia as a transported convict on ''Belgravia'' on 4 July 1866. The first gold was discovered in the Mount Morgan area in 1894, with a reward claim granted to prospectors Harry Swincer and Norman Sligo in December of that year. Gold was discovered near the future townsite in 1896 by

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 ...

s Harry Lilley and Samuel McInness. A claim was registered at Menzies on 15 June 1896. The lease was sold in 1897 to Westralia Mount Morgan Gold Mines, Limited whose directors included

Alexander Forrest Alexander Forrest CMG (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament. As a government surveyor, Forrest explored many areas of remote Western Australia, particula ...

(chairman), Sir James Lee Steere and engineer Alf Morgans, and which was developed as the Westralia Mount Morgan Mine. The Mount Morgans Gold Mine produced gold during the periods 1896–1952, 1988–1997, 2010–2011, and 2017–2020. The townsite was selected by the mining warden in March 1899, and surveyed in July 1899. Public comment on the use of the name Mount Morgan for the town included "... something might be done to relieve the monotony of the duplication of this title throughout the colonies...", due to the pre-existence of

Mount Morgan, Queensland Mount Morgan is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was the administrative centre of the Mount Morgan Shire until March 2008, when it was amalgamated with neighbouring local government areas to ...

and Mount Morgan near Widgiemooltha, Western Australia. During 1899 the settlement was occasionally promoted as Morgansville, after Alf Morgans MLA. It was gazetted as Mount Morgans on 29 December 1899. A police station was established in 1899 when the population was 500. By 1903 the

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

had reached 1,250 with over 500 buildings situated in the town. The town boasted six hotels, a hospital, a miners' union hall, two general stores and two chemists, as well as a timber Church (St Mathias

C of E C, or c, is the third letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C ...

). The police station closed in 1928 then reopened in 1935 then closed again for the final time in 1937. The town was in deep decline in 1937 with a visiting

police commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

announcing the town was dead in July of the same year. At its peak the town took up an area of .

References

{{authority control Shire of Laverton Mining towns in Western Australia Ghost towns in Western Australia Populated places established in 1899 Populated places disestablished in 1937