Timeline
1863
Early explorer Henry Lefroy leads an expedition through the site where Coolgardie stands today. Lake Lefroy, near Kambalda, was later named after him.
1864
Explorer/surveyor Charles Hunt makes four separate trips into the Hampton Plains, leaving strategically-placed watering points along the track. These greatly assist prospectors and explorers travelling into the area now known as the Eastern Goldfields.
1869
John Forrest leads a mission to discover the fate of the 1848 Leichhardt expedition. They find no trace of Leichhardt, but travel through what is now the Northern Goldfields naming various landmarks, almost as far as the present site of Laverton.
1892
Arthur Bayley and William Ford find more than 500oz of gold at Fly Flat near the present site of Coolgardie, now known as the "Mother of the Goldfields".
1893
Irish prospectors Paddy Hannan, Thomas Flanagan and Daniel Shea discover gold near the present site of Mt Charlotte, sparking a major rush. Hannan's Find is later renamed Kalgoorlie.
1893
A few weeks after Hannan's Find is pegged, South Australian prospectors Will Brookman and Sam Pearce peg the Ivanhoe and Great Boulder leases.
1894
A horse named Hardy Norseman is credited with turning up a nugget at the campsite of the horse's owner, Laurie Sinclair, who is prospecting with his brother George and Jack Allsop. Norseman is later named after the horse.
1894
Incredibly rich gold specimens are discovered on the surface at Londonderry, south of Coolgardie. Lord Fingall purchases the mine from the prospectors and floats it on the London stock market for an exorbitant amount. But when the mine is reopened the gold is found to have petered out.
1896
The first gold lease in the Leonora area, the Johannesburg Lease, is pegged by Edward Sullivan and Harry Widdick. In the same year, the Sons of Gwalia lease is pegged by J. Carlson, F. White and A. Glendinning.
1896
Railway connects Kalgoorlie and Boulder to Perth.
1898
Young American mining engineer Herbert Hoover is appointed manager of the Sons of Gwalia mine. He recruits mine workers in Italy to reduce operating costs.
1898
Kanowna's population booms with the discovery of alluvial gold in buried ancient river beds (deep leads).
1901
Kalgoorlie and Boulder are pivotal in the referendum debate and the resulting ballot, bringing Western Australia into the Federation.
1903
The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme designed by State Government engineer C.Y. O'Connor secures the future of Kalgoorlie and Boulder as the gold capital of Australia.
1903
Kalgoorlie School of Mines (now the Western Australian School of Mines) opens in Kalgoorlie. The school is relocated from Coolgardie where it opened in 1901.
1907
Italian miner Modesto Varischetti is trapped for nine days in the flooded Westralia mine at Bonnievale near Coolgardie, surviving in an air pocket until rescued.
1908
Town Halls are built in Boulder and Kalgoorlie.
1913
Work on the Trans Continental railway line begins simultaneously in Kalgoorlie and Port Augusta, South Australia.
1914
The entire Eastern Goldfields region is affected as men leave the mines and other industries to serve in World War I.
1917
The Trans Continental Railway links WA's Eastern Goldfields to the Eastern States when the final rail dog is driven into the line at Kalgoorlie.
1926
Two detectives from the Kalgoorlie Gold Stealing Detection Unit, Inspector John Pitman and Sergeant Alexander Walsh, are murdered during an investigation into gold theft. William Coulter and Phillip Treffene are arrested, along with an accomplice, Evan Clarke. Coulter and Treffene are hanged.
1929
Herbert Hoover is elected the 31st President of the United States of America.
1929
A copper statue of Paddy Hannan is unveiled at the corner of Hannan and Wilson streets. This original statue is now in the Kalgoorlie Town Hall.
1931
Jim Larcombe, aged 17, discovers the Golden Eagle nugget at Larkinville near Widgiemooltha; it weighs 1,135oz (35.325kg).
1932
Mining entrepreneur Claude de Bernales acquires defunct mines and registers many mining companies, giving new lease of life to many Goldfield communities.
1934
Riots break out on 29 January after a fight between an Italian barman and an Australian, Edward Jordan, tragically results in Jordan's death. After two days of riots against the migrant population, two more men lie dead, businesses and homes in Kalgoorlie and Boulder are looted or wrecked, and migrant families flee into the surrounding bush.
1939
World War II disrupts gold production throughout the Eastern Goldfields as, once again, many men leave to serve. Italian and German migrants are interned.
1950
Following a series of lease amalgamations that began in the early days of mining, the Golden Mile is under the control of four major companies: Lake View and Star, Great Boulder Mines, North Kalgurli and Gold Mines of Kalgoorlie (Australia).
1963
The Sons of Gwalia Mine closes soon after Christmas, throwing hundreds of men out of work. Most find jobs on the Golden Mile and Gwalia becomes a ghost town.
1966
Western Mining Corporation establishes Australia's first nickel mine at Kambalda. Nickel pegging boom across the Goldfields
1969
A huge nickel deposit is found in the Laverton area, instigating the famous "Poseidon share market Bubble"; the Windarra Nickel Project closes in 1994 and reopens in 2006.
1970
Carbon in pulp technology developed in South Africa revolutionises gold extraction, making many old workings economical.
1971
The US Government floats gold on the international market; the price is slow to rise.
1975
Golden Mile mines are at a standstill; the Mt Charlotte mine is still operating.
1980
Gold price peaks at $US850/oz. New metal detecting technology creates a nugget gold rush for prospectors.
1980
A new industry comes to town when Western Mining Corporation establishes a pilot plant outside Kalgoorlie to conduct test work on uranium ore from the Yeelirrie deposit 70km SW of Wiluna.
1980
Western Australian entrepreneur Alan Bond begins buying Golden Mile leases for large-scale open pit mining.
1989
Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to become the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
1989
Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd is formed. Bond fails to complete the takeover of the Golden Mile leases, but the deal goes ahead between Homestake Gold of Australia Ltd and Normandy Mining. Work begins on the Fimiston Open Pit, initially by amalgamating several smaller pits.
1995
Australian Prospectors and Miners Hall of Fame is founded as a memorial to those who made a significant contribution to the Australian mining industry.
1995
Western Mining Corporation officially opens the large Mt Keith Nickel operations south of Wiluna
1996
Gas pipeline from Dampier distributes gas throughout the Goldfields.
1997
The Sam Pearce Decline is commissioned, linking the Mt Charlotte underground mine with the Fimiston Open Pit (Super Pit). The decline is named for Pearce in recognition of his role in the discovery of the Golden Mile in 1893.
2000
KCGM pours its sixth millionth ounce of gold.
2010
Boulder bears the brunt of a 5.0 magnitude earthquake that damages many of its fine old buildings, including the Town Hall.
2017
KCGM pours its 60 millionth ounce of gold.