29 April – 1 May. 5572kms.
Wongatha Country.
We found a little slice of magic for ourselves here. After days of driving, a decision to change the itinerary so as to reduce driving in the coming week, we decided to set up camp outside Kalgoorlie. Took a punt on a Wikicamps recommendation, ‘Old Diggings’. Perfect, just the tonic. A free camp in the bush, all to ourselves. Time to slow down and connect. Chop wood, build fires, play games, read books. Strangely it was set amidst a series of individual gold mine shafts from the turn of last century, piles of white sand peppered throughout a red leather gum forest, new (old) growth springing from once deep, deep mine shafts. A memorial tells a tale of an Italian miner trapped down below by flooding rains, rescued by divers 9 days later. Stories everywhere.
This gold mining town, curious, another world. So much of this documented, celebrated. Stories of colonisation, foundation, resources, extraction. A formative time in the colony. Hard to find much on the richer stories of country and connection that existed long before. Nevertheless, important to understand this contemporary history. We visit the Museum of the Goldfields and then the Super Pit, a working gold mine, so expansive, bigger than entire suburbs. Giant haul trucks chugging up from the depths, appear like ants. Hannan’s North Tourist Mine, a chance for kids to get interactive, pan for gold, hop in a haul truck, play some two-up. Fascinating to get into the hearts and minds of those settler prospectors seeking out their fortunes. A rough and ready time, rife with aggressive competition for riches, and racism, black and white, anglo and wog. Much to ponder, best to do so with a sleep beneath the stars back at Old Diggings.
Old Diggings
Museum of the Goldfields, The Super Pit & Hannan’s North Tourist Mine
