-
Discover
Esperance - So Far. So Good. Esperance Ravensthorpe Hopetoun Norseman & Nullarbor Fitzgerald River National Park Cape Le Grande National Park![]()
Esperance, Fitzgerald Coast, Norseman & Nullarbor
DeTour to Spectacular Mount Augustus & Upper Gascoyne Mount Magnet Meekatharra Cue Gascoyne Junction![]()
Gascoyne Murchison
- See & do
- Stay
- Road trips
- Plan
Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail
- Suggested Time: 3 days
- Mundaring to Kalgoorlie
The Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail takes you to Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, rich in gold, history and scenery, revealing the story of a unique engineering feat.
Travel on the old Goldfields Road along which fortune seekers rushed in the 1890s. Stop to explore where they stopped to rest and fill their waterbags.
Prospectors learned that water is more precious than gold - some died of thirst - and a scheme was devised to deliver water further and higher than ever before to supply the goldfields. The well-signposted Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail follows this life-giving water east from its source in the forested Perth Hills, through the golden expanses of the Wheatbelt to the gold boomtown of Kalgoorlie.
This Top Trail is an easy 650 kilometres and is ideal for motorists who have a couple of days or more to explore the history, hospitality and horizons of Golden Pipeline Country. There's plenty to get you out of your car: 100-year old pumping stations, remote sites where workers lived to keep the water flowing, walk trails around massive granite outcrops - 25 interpreted sites in all.
The Golden Pipeline Trail begins only three-quarters of an hour east of Perth at scenic Mundaring Weir.
-
1Day 1: Merredin (260km)
From Mundaring visit the sites of the former steam driven pump stations along CY O’Connor’s water pipeline, built more than a 100 years ago and still the longest fresh water pipeline on earth. Enjoy scenic farmscapes heading into the Wheatbelt. Cross the Meckering Earthquake fault line and visit the Memorial Rose Garden. A stop at Cunderdin Museum…
From Mundaring visit the sites of the former steam driven pump stations along CY O’Connor’s water pipeline, built more than a 100 years ago and still the longest fresh water pipeline on earth. Enjoy scenic farmscapes heading into the Wheatbelt.
Cross the Meckering Earthquake fault line and visit the Memorial Rose Garden. A stop at Cunderdin Museum No. 3 Pump Station is a must for pipeline history as is Merredin Peak Reserve and Railway Dam. Visit the Merredin Military or Railway Museum or a show or tour of historic Cummins Theatre.
See Merredin’s CBH silo artwork the third of FORM’s PUBLIC Silo Art Trail.
Accommodation options: Motels, B&B's, self contained apartments, caravan park, free RV sites, backpackers
-
2Day 2: Kalgoorlie (340km)
Head east crossing the Rabbit Proof Fence at Burracoppin, visit the Hood Penn Museum at Westonia and Yilgarn History Museum at Southern Cross where gold was discovered in the late 1800s. See a rock catchment and timber and iron aqueduct at Karalee Rock and Dam water storage essential for the steam trains. Coolgardie’s heritage buildings, wide…
Head east crossing the Rabbit Proof Fence at Burracoppin, visit the Hood Penn Museum at Westonia and Yilgarn History Museum at Southern Cross where gold was discovered in the late 1800s. See a rock catchment and timber and iron aqueduct at Karalee Rock and Dam water storage essential for the steam trains. Coolgardie’s heritage buildings, wide streets and museums capture history in time. A few days Kalgoorlie to spend taking in its gold mining history, magnificent architecture, local museums and attractions.
Accommodation options: Hotels, motels, outback pubs, apartments, caravan parks, free RV sites, backpackers
-
3Day 3: Return to Perth (600km)
Return to Perth perhaps south to Norseman and take the unsealed Granite and Woodlands Discovery Trail through untouched temperate woodlands, via Wave Rock and Hyden, or return along the Great Eastern Hwy and take the Pioneers’ Pathway from Merredin to Toodyay.
Return to Perth perhaps south to Norseman and take the unsealed Granite and Woodlands Discovery Trail through untouched temperate woodlands, via Wave Rock and Hyden, or return along the Great Eastern Hwy and take the Pioneers’ Pathway from Merredin to Toodyay.
To ensure you enjoy a safe and well-planned journey, take a look at our pages on Traveling to and Around the Golden Outback and Important travel tips. If you have your camping gear or caravan in tow, check out the range of caravan parks and camping sites available in Australia’s Golden Outback.
Driving times and distances intended as a guide only and may vary depending on exact route taken. Accommodation options are indicative as to what is available in the area.
Above map is intended as a guide only. It is highly recommended before heading out on your journey, you purchase a detailed Western Australian road and track map available from the RAC, petrol stations or where good maps of Western Australia are sold.
If you’re taking the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail to Kalgoorlie, why not spend a few days whilst you are there exploring the Golden Quest Discovery Trail.