Kalgoorlie-Boulder

Introducing Kalgoorlie-Boulder

Kalgoorlie-Boulder (‘Kal’ to the locals), some 600km from Perth, is an outback success story. It’s a prosperous, humming metropolis and the state’s second-largest town, with wide streets and well-preserved historic buildings. The most enduring and productive of WA’s gold towns, today it’s the centre for mining in this part of WA.

Kal still feels like the wild west: a frontier town where workers come straight from the mines to spend their disposable income and sit at the bars in their overalls. The ‘skimpie’ staff serve beer in their underwear. There are tattoos and gambling and brothels. The electronic display high on the Palace Hotel constantly flicks shares and the price of gold and nickel in a red horizontal stream. But ultimately this is still a country town, with churches, schools and a community that these days relies as much on tourist gold as the mines’.

Due to eastern Australians migrating here for some warmth, Kal’s peak season is actually in winter.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009