View Map

Widgiemooltha

Shire of Coolgardie
98km S of Kalgoorlie-Boulder

Gold was discovered in the area not long after the establishment of Coolgardie and the town was gazetted as Widgiemooltha in 1897.

The name is Aboriginal in origin and is variously thought to be the name of a hill or nearby rock hole, or related to the beak of an emu.

By 1898 the town, on the southern shores of Lake Lefroy, had a population of 100 men and 12 women.

The spelling was changed to Widgiemooltha in 1944. Other spellings of the name found on old documents include Wedgemulla Hill, Woodgiemoola, Wadjiemoultha, Wagemulla, Widjimoultha and Widgiemoultha.

Today the Coolgardie-Esperance highway bypasses the original townsite, which is at the rear of the Widgiemooltha Tavern and Roadhouse.

Gold and nickel are still mined in the region.

Near Widgiemooltha:

Larkinville
On 15 January 1931, 17-year-old Jim Larcombe discovered a massive gold nugget at Larkinville while prospecting with his father.

Named the Golden Eagle for its resemblance to a bird with outspread wings, the nugget weighed 1,135oz (35.325kg).

Amid the hardship of the Great Depression, the find sparked a gold rush and the population of the tiny settlement soared to 1,000 within weeks.

The Golden Eagle still holds the record for the largest gold nugget found in Australia in the 20th century and the largest nugget ever found in Western Australia.