THE SOUTHERN OUTBACK the landscape, bearing eerie witness to the victory ofthelandoverthe landscape,bearingeeriewitness tothevictory itsearlycolonists. for thatelusive miningendeavoursscatter nugget.The ghosttownsoftheseless-fortunate constant threat ofdrought,andtedious hardshipfortheshanty-dwellingminers,searching feel ofacityontheedge. Settlementofmore remote goldfieldswasmore difficultwiththe brought, withitswidestreets andsubstantialVictorian buildings;itretains theWildWest regional istestament to thewealththatgold centre, thehandsomecityofKalgoorlie-Boulder, ofgold–anditsminersrequired.the constantsupplyofwater thattheextraction The ment tobeviable. This ledtothecreation ofapipelinesome 600kminlengthtoensure as newsofthediscovery ofgoldinthelate 19thcenturyfiltered out. More recently, European settlerspushedthrough,slowlyatfirst,andtheninseethingmasses tlement bytheAboriginal people,whoselandsstretch ingreat swathsthroughthecentre. the relentless NullarborPlainleadson(andandon)toSouthAustralia. dune countryfrontsuptothelonelywaters oftheGreat Australian Bightwhere, fringing it, to clear,coldwinter daysandaninlandhorizonthat reaches forever. Along thecoast,wild Welcome toiconicoutbackAustralia, where thesearingred sandscapesofsummergive way Outback Southern The 152 © LonelyPlanetPublications The goldrush becameagoldboom,creating populationenoughforpermanentsettle- This wildernesscountry,more isremarkable sobecauseofitslonghistoryhumanset-

„ „ „ HIGHLIGHTS „ „ „ „ „

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SA NT 153 THE SOUTHERN OUTBACK OUTBACK SOUTHERN THE THE SOUTHERN OUTBACK a foreigner. tobe andshooting atanyonedeemed nesses fireangrily setting toforeign-owned busi- workers of southern-European descent,and beinggiven to ence supposedly byshiftbosses tralians roamedthestreets, attheprefer- upset January thatyear,mobs of disgruntledAus- towns Kalgoorlie andBoulder. On29and30 Kalgoorlie’s slowbutsteady decline. goldpricesledto production costsandstatic boom period.After increasing WWI,however, gold wasfound,leadingthearea intoalong Kalgoorlie theminers andmore wentdeeper places, thesurfacegoldsoondriedup,butat surface tosparkanotherrush.As insomany Kalgoorlie. He gold lyingonthe foundenough couple of Irish mates andstoppedatthesite of from Coolgardieforanothergoldstrike witha wealth andcolourfulhistory. Victorian buildingsare testament toitsearly outposts. Itswidestreets andwell-preserved for theburgeoning miningindustry’sremoter centre aswellservice town initsownright, remains aprosperousandproductive gold A long,dryanddusty600kmfromPerth, it of Australia’sgreat outbacksuccessstories. Kalgoorlie-Boulder (‘Kal’ tothelocals)isone % KALGOORLIE-BOULDER EASTERN GOLDFIELDS 154 In 1893Paddy Hannan, out aprospector,set In 1934there were bitter raceriotsintwin brochure from any visitors centre or checkout www.goldenpipeline.com.au. Heritage Trail, whichrunsalong theGreat Eastern pickupa Hwy betweenPerth andKalgoorlie; than ayear before his schemeproved operational. long delaysandcontinual criticismbythoseoflesservision resulted inhissuicide1902,less sion ofthesamesystem stilloperates today.ForO’Connor,however, there wasno happyending: wasapprovedPerth). theproject Nevertheless, andthepipelinelaidatbreakneck speed. is400mhigherthanimpossible, especially asthewater hadtogouphillalltheway (Kalgoorlie long