Leonora and Gwalia

Leonora and Gwalia are three hours’ drive north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, on the junction of the Goldfields Highway and the road to Laverton.

Leonora

Home to the famous Gwalia Historical Site, Leonora is the largest commercial centre north of Kalgoorlie and offers many services and facilities for travellers to enjoy. Discovered and named in 1869 by the great pioneer of Western Australia, John Forrest, it has a picturesque main street and many historic buildings. Surrounding the town are old gold mining centres and cemeteries that are popular with visitors interested in Australian gold rush history and genealogy.

The town hosts many of the Northern Goldfields’ events, from outback race meetings to the annual Golden Gift – a weekend of entertainment and athletics held on the Foundation Day long weekend in June.

Keen bird watchers should venture out to the Malcolm Dam, built in 1902 to provide water for the railway it is a haven for many native bird species. Also check out the Terraces – a large breakaway formation about 40 kilometres north-east of Leonora, providing good bushwalking and magnificent views.

Gwalia Historical Site

A real gem from the gold rush era is Gwalia, one of the most fascinating places in the Western Australian Northern Goldfields. Its main points of interest include the magnificent State Hotel, a huge open cut mine, the old miners’ cottages and stores as they were left years ago at the end of the Australian gold rush era.

A very special attraction is Hoover House, now a guest house, but originally built as a home for mine manager, Herbert Hoover, who was later to become 31st President of the USA. Hoover designed the Oregon head-frame, displayed in the Historical Museum, believed to be the only wooden incline head-frame left in Australia. The museum also houses the country’s largest steam winder (1000 hp), which was imported from England in 1912, as well as ‘Ken’, a woodline train that carted over 30,000 tonnes of firewood a year to fire the boilers at the Sons of Gwalia Mine.

For more information, contact the Leonora Visitor Centre by emailing visitleonora@bigpond.com or take a look at the Leonora and Gwalia accommodation and attractions pages.