Coolgardie
The old Railway Station, built in 1896 and closed in 1971 after the Trans Australian railway line was relocated north of the town, is now a transport museum.
Warden Finnerty’s Residence, built in 1895 for the man whose job it was to lay down the ground rules for the miners, has been restored by the national Trust and is open for inspection.
A unique reminder of Coolgardie’s early days is the Gaol Tree, to which prisoners awaiting trial were changed before the town’s first lock-up was built.
Coolgardie Cemetery and the Old Pioneer Cemetery illustrate the dangers faced by the pioneers—not just the ordeal of distance by the risks of primitive mine shafts, unsanitary conditions and lack of water or bad water. It was written that at the time “one half of Coolgardie was busy burying the other half”.
Ben Prior’s Open Air Museum, one of the most unusual museums in Australia, has an assortment of relies from Coolgardie’s pioneering days including machinery, mining equipment and the large covered wagons used by the more fortunate prospectors.
The Coolgardie Battery, just out of town, is the last of the many gold treatment plants built to extract gold from the rock dug out by the thousands of small prospectors. Tour of the Battery include the thrilling sight of gold bars being poured.
Visual source: pleasetakemeto
