Yerilla is an abandoned town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region 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 ...

. It is found between

Kalgoorlie 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 surroundi ...

and Laverton.

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

was discovered in the area in January 1895 when the Mount Catherine reef was discovered. The reef is located about south of the town and was particularly rich in

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

gold. Another outcrop, the ''Queen of the Earth'' was discovered by the

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 MacGregor, McAuliffe and party further from town. This sparked a gold rush to the field and by 1896 the local miners had joined together and formed a progress association and requested that a townsite be declared. The town was gazetted in November 1896. A

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

situated in McKinery Street commenced operations in July 1897 with Constable L. McDonald initially manning the station. A post office and four hotels were open in town in 1898: * the Commercial Hotel, * the Smith Hotel (later named the Never Never Hotel), * the Royal Hotel and * the Yerilla Hotel. A coach service from Coolgardie via

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

and Yerilla to Pennyweight Point operated weekly in 1898. A

battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

was erected in the area by working leaseholders some time after 1895, but was poorly patronised so by 1900 it was dismantled and taken to Niagara. The abandoned townsite is situated within the boundaries of Yerilla Station.

References

{{authority control Ghost towns of the Goldfields of Western Australia Shire of Menzies