Mon, 2nd May, 2016 Bush camp on hill, 50km south of Meekatharra, WA (exploring Meekatharra)

A bit warmer this morning, 17 degrees and the wind has dropped off.

Headed into Meekatharra for fuel and to chat with the Mines Office chap. Spotted a wedged tailed eagle on some roadkill in the distance so Steve slowed down so I could get a photo. Got him but missed him flying off.

Got all the info and a few more spots to check out from the nice chap at the Mines Office. Stopped at the Information Bay to fill up with water and have a cuppa. Chatted with some others as they pulled in for a cuppa too. The old stamper from the State Battery and other mining relics around the parking area. 

In 1890 JF Connolly discovered gold 50km south of here – wonder if that is where we are!! Meekatharra was gazetted in 1903 and as usual lots of hotels, churches and basic houses sprang up as the gold prospectors came to find the gold. ‘Meeka’ is now a major service centre for local mining and pastoral industries. Its central position in the State has made the airport an important refuelling stop for light aircraft as well as the RFDS. The airport has a huge 2181 metre runway which was built by the Americans during the war. There is even an outdoor picture theatre.

It is part of the Gascoyne Murchison area and there are a few trails to follow from here too.

One is the Kingsford Smith Mail Run from here to Mt Augustus and out to Carnarvon. Hard to imagine bouncing over the old dirt roads in this old truck.

The Meeka Rangelands Discovery Trail (3km) heads off from here so on with our hats and off we wandered along the Meekatharra/Lukes Creek (it shares two names). Will have to keep a lookout for a euro/bigurda.

This billabong is kept full with water pumped from the old abandoned open cut mine nearby. The creek is normally dry but flows well during heavy rain.

Followed the boardwalk (needing repairs) passed an old headframe but no signage about it.

The boardwalk runs beside old Belele Road. You can still see the rock edge.

Certainly warming up as we walk along the creek. Nice and cool in the shade of the trees though.

Unfortunately the Council provides lovely brochures about this trail but they haven’t maintained the signs and the boardwalks. No. 6 board was missing which was about the bakery which still continues today. Paddy Durrigan’s ‘Smithy’ sign was nearly unreadable.

The telegraph line.

Some are getting so faded. The Camel Soak.

Crossed over the dry creek bed and headed back down the other side. An old mine used to be here.

The vast Red Rangelands covers 850,000 square kilometres.

We walked past quarters etc for a mining company completed protected by high fences and electric fencing.

It is near the old sporting grounds – the old cricket pitch.

Luckily we have our toilet in the van otherwise we would be just like the old days with a hole dug in the ground for our toilet!!

The school looks bright and fresh a lot different to the first school here in 1904. They didn’t even have water or a toilet.

The info board was missing from this one which was about the local policeman patrolling the streets on his bicycle. Looks like they have a road training area here for the kids on their bikes.

Interesting plant with pretty flower but nasty looking spikes.

Don’t think it an edible one like this one.

How the fish and frogs survive in the dry creek before the billabong was created.

Back to the truck then we drove up to the lookout. Got a text from Rochelle who is enjoying all the Kalgoorlie photos are she and her husband Lindsay worked there for a while. It is on the tailings dump from the open cut mine where the water for the billabong comes from. Another nice lookout picnic area like the one at Norseman.

Great cut outs though I don’t think they have finished pushing out all the bits.

Lots to read. Interesting to note that by 1910 there were 2400 people living here in 870 ‘dwellings’ but by the 1960s is was all over. Gold had bottomed out to $32 an ounce in the early 1970s. Glad it has risen again.

In 1994 Luke’s pit was dug below us and a new hill was created that we are standing on. They got 18,000 ounces of gold.

The view over the new sports grounds, over town and across the pit.

We walked around the edge of the hill following the path. Looking south over the red land towards the massive tailing dumps of Bluebird mine in the distance.

Further around looking west.

Steve and I were discussing this big power plant as I had read that Meeka was the first town in Australia powered by solar energy. In 1982 a solar-diesel power station was built near the town. It was the largest of its kind in the world but it has since been decommissioned. I would have thought solar would be everywhere out here as the cost of transporting the diesel is a lot more expensive. As we headed back around the other side of the hill we found the answer on the info board.

Back to the truck then we headed down to the road again and a bit further out of town to the turn off to Peace Gorge. Originally called ‘the Granites’, its name changed after a picnic to welcome the servicemen returning home was held here. The flat area opens up with a ridge on the right then huge boulders sticking up everywhere. Lots of area to camp but in the main area there were heaps of smashed bottles so maybe we won’t stop here.

Continued around the tracks where there were plenty of other cleaner areas to camp.

Back out to the main road we went across the road to a big cave which the ‘locals’ use a lot.

Heading over to the ‘cliff’ area – this one looks like Australia.

We climbed up onto the ridge.

Good view over the ‘gorge’. Lots more granites further on.

On the other side we look back to the lookout on the man-made hill.

Steve thinks these are goanna holes.

Back through town to check out the Eastern Loop Drive Trail though I don’t have any info on it other than the signs we saw coming into town. Turned off at the first sign which was to the old cemetery. Very neat and tidy and had lovely clean toilets. Lots of flowers on the graves and obviously they are respected as the graves are covered in lots of ornaments etc and they are all still there!! Didn’t actually find the ‘old’ section.

Next stop was the old Government Battery site. So sad it wasn’t kept as a tourist attraction. It was here for the little miner and ran the depression and the wars crushing the rock for the miners. 208,000 ounces of gold was produced out of all the rock crushed here.

Now it is just a mess of broken bits and pieces. What is left of the battery, ball mill and workshop. The stamper is now at the Info Park we saw before.

A plaque shows where things used to be.

Tailings, cyanide treatment plant and the carbon-in-pulp treatment sands.

Mind you with all the cyanide treatment plants here it’s amazing it is open to the public.

The Moment of Truth when the miner waits for the manager of the battery to announce how much gold was in the ore they just crushed for him. Some were happy, for others it was the end of them.

Hard to imagine how it was from the direction plaque.

But the solid concrete seat was still there where they weighed the gold in the main office.

Back towards town and the sign pointed us up a track to where the water reservoirs are. The biggest challenge for everyone in the outback – getting enough water.

Good view over the town from here too.

Looks like a ‘local’ hangout. Across from it we saw fenced houses with a sign about ‘alcohol free zone’. Though a lot of the fencing was missing as it was a plastic panel that the kids must use to slide down Tank Hill as there were panels everywhere.

Headed into town passed the old railway area where a 24hr fuel bowser was. The couple we saw at the lookout were there filling up so we enquired. It was 135.8c/l which is 10cents cheaper than the Coles Express, unless you spend the $20 instore to get the 10cents off!! So we topped up here. Headed back out of town passed the Blue Bird Mine. We stopped at the end of the open pit where we could climb up for a look in – no fences here.

Decided to drive back to the entrance as I had seen a big rock with a plaque. Didn’t go in though.

On the other side of the road was another big open cut but it had a fence around it.

Stopped to check out the Vermin Proof Fence. It was marked on the Hema map so it has been there for a while but looks like it has just been redone. Will have to google it. Looks like the dingo would follow the fence along then end up corralled here but they haven’t finished the corral section yet so they can just run back out.

There are special gates to allow the cattle in but not out.

Looks like it’s not just dingos – this looks like an emu feather.

Passed the old Caledonian Mine.

Turned off the highway following the Nannine Township sign. Through a new fence here too.

At the railway station we found an info board and lots of bits and pieces people have lined up on the concrete platform. The old sandstone under the platform is still hanging in there. Lake Annean in the distance.

Another trail to follow – the Miners Path.

The chap at the Mining Office said that most of the township is now under the tailing piles.

Kate and Tony we met in Laanecoorie told us about a shed they camped in around here while they detected. They found a heap too. Drove around following the old railway line on the Hema map. A couple of old cars are all that’s left.

Around another tailings pile we found the shed. Someone had their camper there so we drove down to see if anyone was home.

No one was so we went for a walk. Looks like this was the site of the mess or something as there was plenty of concrete slabs and paths.

Walked to the edge of the area to look over the salt lake area. Had to tell what is natural and what has been created from the mining.

Inside the shed people had marked their ‘gold’ scores. Found Kate and Tony’s tallies.

Someone else isn’t happy about people prospecting here.

Drove further around following the rail line then up another ‘hill’. Nice view.

Went back towards the ‘township’ and climbed up to check out the pit.

Looking back up to the road where I took the photo from before.

A car headed back towards us from the salt flats and headed down to the shed so we went down to say hello. Jeff and (forgot her name) were from Rocky and have been here before. He told us of a story of a chap with a special salt coil on his detector who found 30 ounces of gold in the salt. Unfortunately his son was sick so he had to leave. He sold the coil to his mate for $400 and that guy went out and found a further 26 ounces!! We wish.

The sun is setting so we headed back to camp as Steve still had to cook tea in the bushcooker!! Snapped a couple of photos as we drove home.

Certainly was a hot day, it was 30 degrees in the van when we got back at 6pm, though I did have all the windows closed and only the roof vents open.

Watching the trucks zoom by we saw flashes to the north. After a while we realised it was lightning low on the horizon. Hope it stays there!!

Googled the Dingo Fence – Found this from a news item in March 2015.

A West Australian grazier is warning there will be nobody left grazing sheep in his area, unless funding for a new wild dog fence is confirmed.

A group of shires in the Murchison region have requested just over $4.5 million from the WA Government through the Royalties for Regions program to build part of a 480 kilometre vermin proof fence.

The cell is a proposal to build a fence connecting the Number Two Barrier Fence, south-east of Meekatharra, across to the State Barrier Fence north-east of Mullewa, fencing off 88,000 square kilometres of land. The cell would enclose 55 pastoral properties.