Railway Stations: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Construction of the Kalgoorlie railway station and yard was begun in the late 1890s, as part of the extension of the Eastern Goldfields Railway from Coolgardie in January 1897. The station was formally opened by the Governor of Western Australia, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Gerard Smith KCMG, at a ceremony held on the station platform on 8 September 1896. In the early stages of the development of railways in the Eastern Goldfields, it was the junction for railway lines to Boulder (opened 8th November 1897), Kanowna (opened 6th December 1897) and Menzies (opened 24th March 1898).

In 1917, Kalgoorlie became a break-of-gauge station when the Commonwealth Railways' standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway from Port Augusta opened. This ceased on 3th August 1968, when the Eastern Goldfields Railway was gauge converted all the way to Perth.

About Kalgoorlie

A frontier mining town that has refused to lay down and die, Kalgoorlie and its sister city, Boulder, remains one of the most prosperous rural mining cities in Australia.

With the nearby locality of Boulder and surrounding suburbs it forms one local government area, the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. With a current approximate population of 30,000, Kalgoorlie is the largest urban centre in the Goldfields-Esperance region.

Kalgoorlie’s Hannan Street, between Wilson and Porter Streets, is one of Australia’s finest heritage precincts, offering a treasure trove of Federation-era architecture. From the late 1890s through to 1910, Hannan Street was transformed from a dusty track into a sophisticated boulevard, lined with shops, hotels and government buildings, and served every few minutes by a tram network that was then Australia’s most modern. During this period of transformation, Hannan Street was one of the most photographed streets in regional Australia, captured repeatedly by the likes of the great goldfields photographer J.J. Dwyer, whose images are the subject of several books.

Places, famous or infamous, that Kalgoorlie is noted for include its water pipeline, designed by C. Y. O'Connor, which brings in fresh water from Mundaring Weir near Perth; its Hay Street brothels (the street itself was apparently named after Hay Street, Perth); its two-up school; the goldfields railway loopline; the Kalgoorlie Town Hall; the Paddy Hannan statue/drinking fountain; the Super Pit; and Mt. Charlotte lookout. Its main street is Hannan Street, named after the town's founder. One of the infamous brothels has since been turned into a museum and is a major national attraction.

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