Kalgoorlie is Australia’s largest outback city and if cities have personalities then Kalgoorlie is the biggest of them all! Brash perhaps, outspoken and a little bit cheeky, but extremely colourful and undoubtedly with a heart of gold. Which of course is very apt given that Kalgoorlie was at the heart of the gold rush in the late 19th century. Gold is what Kalgoorlie is famous for, in fact it is still mined there in large quantities. 

However, gold is just the tip of the Kalgoorlie iceberg, the city’s big bold character comes from its rather quirky history in other areas too. In fact Kalgoorlie could well be high in the running for taking the title of Australia’s oddest city! Let’s consider the facts: the city’s gold foundation (and hence its fortune) was discovered by a horse who stopped there due to casting his shoe (ok, well it was his owner Paddy Hannan who actually discovered a gold nugget when his horse stopped), subsequently the city became a brothel enterprise with over a dozen brothels lining the infamous Hay Street, known as ‘The Scarlet Mile’. Kalgoorlie now houses the only ‘working brothel museum’ in the world! Adding to this dimension came the phenomenon of ‘skimpies’ – barmaids dressed in little other than their wide smile. Then there’s the simple but famously ‘Kalgoorlie’ game of ‘two up’ (a gambling game that is now illegal but permitted on Anzac Day!), the Super Pit (more about that later), the remains of Skylab spacecraft and the story of the bicycling mayor who rode around in his ceremonial robes. Even Kevin Bloody Wilson, one of the loudest mouthed Aussie comedians derives from Kalgoorlie! If all that has piqued your interest, then read on.... 

In 1893, Irishman Paddy Hannan must’ve felt like the luckiest guy on the planet when he discovered a gold nugget on his way through Kalgoorlie town. His lucky find was pure chance arising from his horse throwing a shoe. Since that fated day, Hannan’s name can be found all over the city – streets, bars, the railway station, even beers are named after him, for he stopped in the city and began the gold prospecting rush there, setting the city’s foundations. The concentrated area of gold mines surrounding the site of Hannan’s original find has since become known as ‘The Golden Mile’. 

Naturally, as the gold rush began, money poured hence and with very few places to spend it. That is, until the brothels started surfacing, one after another lining Hay Street, the cumulative effect of which led to the famous ‘Scarlet Mile’. 

The town of Kalgoorlie and the shire of Boulder amalgamated in 1989, to become the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Kalgoorlie however still remains a separate entity. 

The city is still a major gold mining centre and the biggest mine, known as the Super Pit, still operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You might be surprised to know that a fair proportion of the mine workers are women, often seen driving the trucks – fair dinkum to them, they give the guys a run for their money! 

So get ready for a mind blowing trip to the gold rush town and be prepared for the heady mix of brash and beautiful. Vibrant Hannan Street with its cosmopolitan upmarket cafes and bars sit snugly amidst fabulous colonial architecture and old mining ghost towns. Dominating it all are the colourful characters you will find here – this is as real an Aussie town as you’ll get, where the true grit of Australian outback life shows in the faces, but always with a warm smile. And who knows, when you’re having a yarn with one of the locals over a beer, you may just be talking to a gold prospecting millionaire! 

What to do in Kalgoorlie

Super Pit: The Super Pit is an open cut goldmine of awesome size! Approximately 3.5km long, 1.5km wide and 360 metres deep, it is the hub of Kalgoorlie’s resource mining and the biggest employer of the city. The miners work around the clock in shifts and the mine blasts at 1pm every day, unless the prevailing winds would carry the dust over the city. There is a visitor centre that overlooks the pit and is worth visiting if only to take in the sheer size and work required to mine the estimated 800,000 ounces of gold from the pit every year. The mine is so vast that as you look over it, the big trucks moving along it look like tiny worker ants. It truly is a phenomenal sight.

Australian Prospectors and Miners Hall of Fame: Housed in an award winning 21st century architectural building, the Hall of Fame is a unique combination of a historic goldmine and interactive galleries with changing art displays. You can go on an underground tour and even watched gold being poured. All in all this 25 million dollar interactive development is well worth a visit.

Gold Prospecting: Having taken in the history, the only way to really appreciate it is to have a go at gold prospecting yourself! You too could experience the thrill of finding this most precious of natural resources. There are a number of tours available, most run by experienced prospectors, who will broaden your knowledge of the industry but, most importantly, will teach you how to prospect for the real deal – GOLD!!!! And as the saying goes – Finders Keepers!!! As you dig for your own small nugget, spare a thought for the harsh conditions miners sometimes have to endure – Kalgoorlie is the city with the largest number of residents in the world who have lost a finger!

City Tours: When the history of a city is as fascinating as Kalgoorlies, the best way to get to the bottom of it is to walk round and take in the feel of the place. The grand colonial buildings are still very much in situ and are evidence of the fortunes found in the city throughout the gold rush era. You soon pick up on the vibe that here was a city where many folks were not left wanting and the rewards for all their hard labour were great. The grand Palace Hotel is an infamous local landmark and icon. It was here that US President Hoover was rumoured to have fallen in love with one of the Palace Hotel barmaids (who was quite probably wearing skimpies!).

Brothel Museum: Visitors are often drawn to the region because of its bawdy history and Langtrees has been one of the infamous brothels on Hay Street for decades. However, in 2000 it was redeveloped and at the same time a unique concept was created in that Langtrees was made into a working brothel museum – the only one of its kind in the world! Owned and run by a prior working girl, who knows the business inside out, this 6 million dollar ‘bordello’ is now Kalgoorlie’s premier tourist attraction. Who isn’t a little bit curious about the industry that happens behind closed doors? Well now you can peek through into the eye opening world of a brothel and prepare to be amazed! 

Langtrees is a world away from the brothels of old. For over 90 years, the Kalgoorlie prostitutes were forced to sit exposed to the elements in tiny open cubicles that resembled a row of horse stables. Langtrees however is a series of far more plush ‘themed’ rooms, which are still used for the purposes they always have been – when tours are not taking place of course!

Parks and Reserves: There are numerous national parks and nature reserves in the Kalgoorlie and surrounding regions. In fact it can be a twitcher’s paradise, with an amazing array of different native birds to be spotted. Different types of native bush, trees and flora are also found here in abundance. 

Sleeping

Accommodation options in Kalgoorlie come in varying levels of comfort! Best of all however is the fact that accommodation here is often a large part of the Kalgoorlie experience. For example, you might want to get a taste of old, by staying in one of the original gold rush hotels, or perhaps you might stay at the backpacker’s hostel that used to be a brothel! Or for more traditional sleeping options there are also motels and family holiday parks and even a 5 star luxury resort.

How to get to Kalgoorlie

By Air: Quantas operates daily flights from Perth to Kalgoorlie and returning. Skywest also operates weekly services. 

By Rail: You can also reach Kalgoorlie by train from Perth, again a daily service. If you’re heading to the West of Australia from Sydney or Adelaide, then a wonderful way to reach Kalgoorlie is the twice weekly Indian Pacific rail journey. 

By Road: Reach Kalgoorlie by road in a private hire vehicle or one of the regular West Coast coach services operating via Perth.