Sun, 24th Apr, 2016 Gavin & Tonya’s, Kalgoorlie to Lake Douglas Recreation Reserve, near Kalgoorlie, WA (exploring Kalgoorlie)

8am 18.8 degrees in van. Joined others for a cuppa. Steve showed the kids the detector and they went in search of coins in the backyard. Said our goodbyes and headed back into town to explore.

Showing the gold of Kalgoorlie on top of the clock tower.

Parked in the van parking area behind Coles. Walked across the street and found this sign about the telegraph line.

At the corner on the main street (Hannan St – named after Paddy Hannan who found the first gold here, 100 ounces, in 1893) were three pubs. The Exchange Hotel is the town’s longest operating license established in the early 1890s and rebuilt in 1901.

The Palace Hotel, 1897.

The Australia, 1898.

It is great seeing all the old buildings – they are so much nicer than the modern stuff.

Former Western Australian Bank.

In the footpath were plaques for historical and sporting people of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Stopped at the WA Museum which sits underneath the original Ivanhoe Headframe. It is a symbol of the changing skyline of the Golden Centre. With the increase in open-cut mining in the 1980s, the familiar headframe silhouettes are disappearing. Once on the Golden Mile there were over 100 headframes. This headframe, known as the Patterson, came from the Big Bell mine, west of Cue and was modified and installed at the Ivanhoe main shaft in Boulder. The shaft was closed in 1975 when all the gold mines except the Mt Charlotte mine at the top of Hannan Street, were shut down. The Board of Kalgoorlie Mining Associates donated the headframe to the Museum. They also arranged to dismantle, move, restore and erect it again. It contains 120 tonnes of steel and one tonne of high tension bolts and is 39 metres high. It has a lift now to take visitors up to the viewing platform.

In the gardens out front was the Eastern Goldfields Mining Memorial to all those who accidentally lost their lives whilst working in the mining industry here. Lots and lots of names.

A replica of a sandalwood timbercutter’s camp.

An Institution of Engineers’ plaque.

Inside the Museum we made our donation and then caught the lift up to the viewing platform – it is glass so you can watch as you got up. Looking across to Mt Charlotte where the water reservoirs are.

Across the Mt Charlotte Mine, an underground mine but is now access by a decline entrance over in the Super Pit area. The old headframe is still operational but only used for emergencies.

Then across the Golden Mile area to the huge tailing piles of the Super Pit.

Zoomed in on the Super Pit view platform and the big machinery on display.

A couple of trucks carting dirt out of the pit.

Down below is the rest of the museum area.

Across the other side for a view across Kalgoorlie. Zoomed in on the gilded gold leaf dome above the Post Office.

A pamphlet tells more about the views from the headframe.

Looking up to the top of the headframe.

Down the lift again to check out the rest of the Museum. A info board about Carmel Galvin who runs the famous Questa Casa brothel – we will do that tour for sure. Unfortunately it was a bit blurry to read.

Wandered through the Museum reading all the info and taking pictures of bits and pieces. More about the Woodlines. The last woodline train returned to Lakewood on 22^nd December, 1964 and the woodlines ceased to exist by February 1965.

All dressed up for a sail in the yacht.

The Coolgardie Safe – A goldfields invention was invented in the 1890s to keep food fresh in the searing heat of the goldfields. Arthur Patrick McCormick, a Coolgardie contractor, designed a hessian covered open box with a metal tray on top into which he poured water twice a day. Flannel strips hung from the tray to allow water to wet the hessian. Placed in a breeze, the water evaporates and cools the air and food inside. Kerosene in the base tray keeps out the ants.

An amazing story of the rescue of a trapped miner.

A home-made bicycle.

All his worldly possessions.

Through a narrow area in dim light where all the trade union banners hang and into the narrow British Arms Hotel. It was built in 1899 and operated as a hotel until delicenced in 1924. It is reputed to be the narrowest two story hotel in the southern hemisphere measuring only 3.2 metres in width. (Steve thought it was more like 4 metres). From 1924 to 1963 it was used as a boarding house. The Jaycees set up a Museum in it in 1968. In 1989 it became part of the WA Museum. It has a ghostly tale too – Supposedly the spirit of Mrs Edith McKay, the hotel publican’s 37 year old wife who fell down the staircase of the hotel on the 17^th December, 1913 and died three days later in hospital. It has been speculated that her fall was not an accident!! Visitors and staff have reported seeing or feeling Edith’s presence and many unexplained incidents in the Museum have been attributed to her.

An old shot of the pub corner we were on before, with the Loopline Trains transporting the workers and people around town and to the mines.

Outside – it looks so funny when there are no buildings beside it.

In a big shed nearby are replicas of the opulent Kalgoorlie and Perth offices of Claude de Bernales, a mining entrepreneur who made his fortunes in the Goldfields and was responsible for getting a lot of the mines financed.

Claude and others with the famous ‘Golden Eagle’.

An old miner’s cottage of the 1930s era.

The original WA Bank built 1894.

The office of the Golden Mile and Murchison Timber Co (1930s) was situated at the rail siding at Golden Gate until 1955.

Lakewood Woodline Police Office – originally mounted on a railway flatcar for easy transportation with the moving Woodline settlements. From the Lakewood Woodline it was used in the 1970s as a garden shed behind Boulder Police Station quarters.

Back inside the Museum and down to the Gold Vault.

There is over $4 million worth of gold down here – lots of cameras but no security guards. It was all behind glass – obviously very thick glass!!

We would be happy with the little ones but one of those big ones would be amazing.

People put their gold on display here – probably safer than having it under the bed at home.

The Golden Eagle nugget weighed 1135 oz 15 dwts (35.5kg) discovered in 1931 near Larkinville, south of Coolgardie. It was sold to the State Government. Steve has his goal set now!!

In 1995, the second largest nugget currently in existence was discovered in the North East Coolgardie mineral field. This 819 oz (25kg) ‘King of the West’ nugget was found by a prospector using a metal detector. It was buried about a metre beneath the surface of a dry stream bed and associated with other pieces of gold. Renamed the ‘Normanby Nugget’ after its purchase by Normanby Mining Ltd in 2000, it is now on permanent display at the Perth Mint.

Sadly we had to leave the gold in the vault but hopefully we will find out own ‘nuggets’. Very interesting Museum with so much to see and read. Picked up some more pamphlets. There were old photos of the crime scene of the murders of two policeman in 1926.

Paddy Hannan and his mates who found the first gold in Kalgoorlie.

Back outside we wandered down the other side of Hannan Street passed the old newspaper building – a three story building. The first paper was printed on 24^th November, 1894.

The Post and Telegraph Office on the right and the Wardens Court and Registrars Office on the left (1896-1899).

It is a lot hotter today, 33ish. The council is smart here laying artificial turf – saves water and no maintenance and always looks green.

The York Hotel with its unusual domes was established in 1901.

The Kalgoorlie City Markets opened in 1901- not many shops in there now though (Coles is at the back).

Steve stopped for a drink from Paddy Hannan’s waterbag outside the Town Hall.

Drove around to Hay Street – the Brothel Street where there were at least 25 brothels. In those days there was a 10 to 1 ratio of men to women. We are doing a tour of the historic Questa Casa at 3pm. As it was only 2.30 we went across to Maccas for a cuppa. Took my photo looking like a working girl!!

When we got back there were heaps of people waiting outside but the lady at the Info Centre said to go in the gate and press the buzzer. Carmel greeted us and there were already 20 people inside. The tour was $25 adult or $20 concession (we get concession with our National Seniors card!!) I think she is doing a better trade with the tours then as a brothel. We took our seats in the dimly lit waiting room with the others while she dealt with all the people outside. She asked if they could come back at 4.30 and she would do a second tour for them. Her two little dogs wandered around looking for pats while we waited.

Carmel spoke quietly telling us her story. In 1994 she was widowed, living in Queensland and feeling depressed so her doctor suggested she find a business to keep her busy. She started looking in the papers etc and one day a leaflet about the sale of the brothel appeared in her letterbox. She put it aside a few times then eventually decided to ring. She was connected to the police in Kalgoorlie who said she would be interviewed by them first and checked out then she could see the brothel. When she arrived in Kalgoorlie it was not a very profitable time and things were not very nice here. She tried to leave but she couldn’t change her plane flight so she stayed and after investigating further ended up buying the business. She had 10 girls then, now there are only 3. In the early days (1907) as Kalgoorlie was growing the council wanted Kalgoorlie to be a more family orientated town so they moved all the ‘girls’ and brothels into one street and made them put up big high fences so people couldn’t look it. Hay Street was in the industrial section of town. They called it ‘Containment’ where the girls had to stay at the brothel from dusk to sunrise and it worked well. The girls were only allowed in town to shop if they were with their Madam otherwise they had to go to other towns to shop and socialise as they were not allowed in any of the hotels etc in Kalgoorlie. If a girl did marry a Kalgoorlie man then she was never to return to the brothel. Some were married but lived in towns further away with their families. She said in the early days when she started girls would order in lingerie from France etc but now they just buy cheap stuff from Kmart. It was a good system and worked well. The girls paid their taxes – each month the police would come and collect them in the paddy wagon and take them to the Court House to be fined for prostitution then taken back to start work again. Now the girls have their own ABN numbers and pay their taxes like we all do. This brothel started 112 years ago and is possibly the world’s oldest working brothel. The other brothels up and down the street have come and gone, though a new one has opened up next door – The Red House. The one at the end of the street is now a Tappas Bar!! The unique thing about this brothel is its Starting Stalls.

There is a door on the roadside which leads to a ‘stall’ and a grill where the girl waits. They chat and make the deal there before going into the establishment to pay. If she doesn’t like the guy, too drunk etc, she can simply say she is closed and close her gate – then warning the other girls so he will wander down to one of the other brothels.

He heads to the shower and then his time starts when he enters the bedroom. Carmel took us into the first of three rooms on display. It is the biggest room as she had bought the one room brothel next door and added it on making a bigger room. This is the dominatrix room and she had all the bits on display with the stories to go with it!! Bundy Bear likes having his bottom spanked with the wooden paddle!!

A pair of ‘Pretty Woman’ boots.

In the next room which was the ‘sweet and seductive’ room she explained about the rippled tin ceiling (not the flash pressed tin in the Town Hall) saying how it was freezing in winter and boiling in summer. Then the air conditioner man came and after three days he left with a smile on his face and the girls were all smiling too!!

In the last room she told the story of the man that died here. He was only young. He laid on the bed after his shower while the girl prepared herself facing away from him, gently talking to him but then he didn’t answer. She couldn’t rouse him so she found Carmel and said “He’s dead”. After Carmel checked and the girl completely dressed him, except for his boots, they called the police. They checked him over and then called the undertaker. When the girl went back into the room the guy was sitting up in bed asking what’s happening. It was their first case of Narcalepse (not sure how it is spelt). She went on with the story of putting the bell on the finger of people in graves as they used to bury them quickly in the old days – no refrigeration and sometimes they weren’t dead. Hence the saying of ‘dead ringer’ and ‘saved by the bell’. Well it is a good story!!

We went back to our chairs and she talked more about the modern times since ‘Containment’ was stopped 16 years ago. Now with the influx of Asian’s here offering unprotected sex etc, diseases and aids is high again. Gavin was telling us that drugs (Meth Labs) is very bad in Kalgoorlie too.

She said “Now ladies, this is what you are worth, $120 for 15 minutes and $280 for the hour”. I reckon an hour deserves more money!! One girl used to come here for 4 months each year from Holland from when she was 25 to 50 years old. When she was retiring Carmel asked her what was the most men she saw in one night (10 hours) – she replied 70 and she was buggered after that!! The girls can come and go as they please but they are all checked out etc.  I asked where they lived – she said they have apartments next door and she lives there also. She has been running the tours for 8 years now to supplement the income and to show people what brothels are all about. It was all very interesting – well worth the money.

Back outside I took a photo of the ‘other’ brothel. Maybe we should drive back at night to see the action!!

Headed out of town towards Coolgardie to our camp for the night at the Lake Douglas Recreation Reserve. Turned off the highway and followed the dirt road 2km down to the lake which is very brown and then around to the camping area.

As it is Anzac long weekend there are a few families camping – one group with lots of little motorbikes zooming around so we parked far away from them.

Across from us was a lady, Kate, who was at the Centennial Park that Steve chatted to as she prospects too. She and another chap, Jason, were joining forces to track down some gold.

Rang Mum and Dad but they weren’t home so tried Greg and Tracy. Chatted with them about their cruise which they loved. Mum and Dad were there having dinner so chatted with them too.

Rang Erica and Terry too for a chat.

Dark clouds came over and we could see lightning in the distance as we sat around our fire. Hope we don’t get rain as I want to do the washing tomorrow.