Location: Norseman, Kalgoorlie, Southern Cross Perth.

Region: Goldfields – Esperance, wheatbelt

Dates: 17 – 19 August

Temperature: 7 – 20 Degrees

We leave Norseman early with a shortish drive to Kalgoorlie (187 km). Not long after we leave we pass Dundas Rocks, then Lake Cowan so we pause for photos. The scenery is peppered by water which we weren’t expecting and the Great Western woodland continues for miles. I found out that this woodland covers over 16,000,000 hectares, a region larger than England and Wales!

I’ve been looking forward to visiting Kalgoorlie – Boulder, two neighbouring towns that I’ve always thought of as frontier towns, both with rich histories steeped in the gold-rushes of Western Australia.

We chose to stay at the RV stop as we are only here one night. After unhitching we head for the town centre to stock up and have lunch somewhere. The day is warm and I look forward to the walk. We visit the information centre and pick up brochures on everything WA – so much to see and do in this large state!

Kalgoorlie is bustling and we decide to lunch at the Kalgoorlie Hotel, pictured below and very nice. Afterwards we walk Hannan Street admiring the early architecture and the towns obvious commitment to preserving many of the buildings.

“Patrick Hannan was a gold prospector whose lucrative discovery on 14 June 1983 set off a major gold rush. The resulting gold mine has been mined ever since and is renowned as “The Golden Mile”, the richest square mile in the world!” – ref: Wikipedia.

The modern open-cut mine is a vast, astonishing sight that we visited later in the day.

Late in the afternoon we visit Mt Charlotte Reservoir and lookout, with views over the area and then race to the 5:00pm blast at the Superpit!

I like Kalgoorlie’s vibrancy and wish we could stay longer to explore further but our next stop is Southern Cross then onward to Perth by Saturday to catch the next Matilda’s game with friends.

Southern Cross is another town with it’s history steeped in mining with the first major discovery of gold there in 1887. These days most of the workers in the surrounding mines are FIFO (fly in, fly out) so the town is much quieter than days gone by. Charming with historical pubs and an interesting museum.

“Its historic importance lies in the fact that in 1887 it became the first major gold discovery in the Eastern Goldfields and therefore, for a time, it was seen as the mother town of Coolgardie and the grandmother of Kalgoorlie.” Ref: AussieTowns.com.au

Another interesting snippet is in the name. “Southern Cross was reputedly named after the famous constellation which Thomas Risely and Mick Toomey, who discovered the gold which led to the settlement of the area, claimed had been led to their discovery. They named the goldfield Southern Cross and the name of the town followed.” Ref: AussieTowns.com.au

On the way into Southern Cross I received the news that my Great niece Clare had just given birth to her second child, a son named Darcy Allen Green so after we arrived and set down we went for a walk around the Main Street to find a pub to “wet the baby’s head”. Our first choice, The Palace was closed but The Club at the other end of the street was open. Congratulations Clare and Ryan on the safe arrival of Darcy.

Another fun fact about Souther Cross, most of the streets are named after constellations.

After our overnight at Southern Cross it’s onward to Perth. The drive continues through the Goldfields and into the Wheatbelt region that surrounds Perth. Soon we are met with stunning fields of Canola and Wheat.

We arrive safely in Perth just in time for the Matilda’s game against Sweden for third place. Sadly they lost the game but wow what effort. Well done Matilda’s