Kalgoorlie, WA

I would probably have not considered visiting Kalgoorlie if it's not because of the Super Pit. This is a long road trip going eastward along the Great Eastern Highway covering a distance of close to 620 Km. It's miles and miles of land with meagre vegetation and occasionally punctuated by pockets of small towns and settlements.

For this road trip, we were mere passengers and did not provide any advance planning input. And so, we did not know where to stop and what to see along the way. Nevertheless, this uncertainty provided another kind of surprises.

Along the way, the exposed Golden Water Pipeline which runs parallel to the Highway did whip up a bit of my imagination about the teams of engineers and workmen who ventured out to this "no man land" to lay this life giving water conveyance system. It is said that there are a few pumping stations along the route which were built more than 100 years ago.

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Our first stop was at a town called Cunderdin, an old town which was established in 1903. A key and distinctive landmark that greeted us was the Ettamogah Pub, a building inspired by Ken Maynard's comic.

An inscription of "1909" on one of the buildings confirms the age of this town

Download of Ken Maynard's photo with courtesy from website of cunderdin.wa.gov.au.

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We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Merredin, a town 103 Km further eastward from Cunderdin along the Great Eastern Highway. During lunch, my grandkids walked calmly over to a group of police officers and asked for a group photo. The police officers readily obliged and posed for these super friendly kids!

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Posed in front of the Museum of
the Goldfields.

Kalgoorlie viewed from the top of tower at the Museum of the Goldfields

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The Paddy Hannan Statute was erected to honour Paddy, an Irish prospector who was the first person to discover gold in Kalgoorlie in 1893. The original memorial fountain was unveiled by Governor Sir William Campion in 5 September 1929, 90 years ago. It was told that immediately after the unveiling and the Governor was about to take a sip from the fountain pipe, a little boy stamped his foot on the pedal sending a gush of water right into his face. Sir Campion was magnanimous and managed a chuckle even being drenched. 

What we see now is a bronze replica of the original statute. The original has been shifted to the Australian Prospectors and Miners Hall of Fame.

Paddy Hannan Statute and Memorial Fountain.

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The Golden Water Pipeline which commences from the Mundaring Weir in Perth traverses eastwards for close to 580 Km before finally ending at this small hill called the Mount Charlotte Reservoir & Lookout in Kalgoorlie. I had visited the Mundaring weir quite a long time ago which boasts of an acclaimed pizza there (Read here).

Another key landmark, the York Hotel built in 1900-1901.