Coolgardie

Built by settlers on traditional Wongutha lands, in 1898 sleepy Coolgardie was the third-biggest town in WA, with a population of 15,000, six newspapers, two stock exchanges, more than 20 hotels and three breweries. It all took off just hours after Arthur Bayley rode into Southern Cross in 1892 and dumped 554oz of Coolgardie gold on the mining warden's counter, sparking the greatest gold rush in Australia's history. The only remaining echoes are stately historic buildings and the old mining equipment and defunct railway carriages liberally strewn about the wide streets – a timeline in steel and rust.