Leonora—The Gwalia Mines—In a Gingerbeer Cart—More Nuggets—Gold Blocks—Pastoral Land—Swampers—Scarcity of the Fair Sex—Saturday Life—Alas, poor Prospectors!
From Mount Malcolm to Leonora I drove 12 miles through very pleasant country spread with wild flowers of all colours. About 2½ miles before reaching Leonora lie, a little off the main road, the great mines called the Gwalia Group, which seem likely to develop shortly into a second Kalgoorlie. Leonora is a new place, and its great importance has not yet been fully realised, but some managers told me that there are belts of richness there similar to those in Kalgoorlie and Boulder City, so that, when the railway is finished, no doubt thousands will flock to Leonora, which by coach is now at a distance of 80 miles from Menzies. The Gwalia Group occupies about a mile of ground, and is a leasehold of some 477 acres. Over that expanse all the miners’ huts, camps, and tents are scattered. I stopped at several and found a great many women and families there, and some of their places were very comfortable inside, although the outside was not much to look at. The men who work in this mine are chiefly from Victoria, and they are bringing over their wives and families every week. As the mine is evidently likely to be permanent, and the men see a prospect of years of work before them, the people there are very happy and have quite a little township of their own. The principal mine of the group, the Sons of Gwalia, is on a hill, from which place you look down over a mile of Bush dotted about with various camps. The smoke rising from the chimneys, the poppet-heads of the other mines lying beyond, with a blue haze of hills behind them, combine to make up a good picture of life on the goldfields.
There are 500 men working on this mine who turn out some thousands of ounces of gold per month, independent of the tailings, which are almost sure to give 1½ ounces to the ton. No doubt in a short time there will be a tremendous boom here.
The small town of Leonora very much resembles Mount Malcolm, except that the main street is longer, and that there are a few more buildings. It boasts of three hotels, one made of wood and two of mud bricks, but withal not ungainly looking, and tolerably comfortable. Expenses are heavy but wages are good, and there are so many lucky prospectors that there is always plenty of money there. On Saturday nights a great deal of business is done, especially on the pay Saturday, which at the Gwalia mines arrives once a month; then most of the men come in and have some amusement in the way of visiting the hotels and playing billiards; there is nothing else for them to do. There is no good hall for amusements yet, and if there were the men would have to provide their own play, for no company of any calibre has yet ventured so far into the “back-blocks.” A handsome semi-grand piano had just arrived at Thompson’s Hotel from Perth, and the son of the landlady, who was an excellent musician, played a selection from several new operas for my pleasure, as well as that of the crowd who thronged the place. There is not much music to be had in Leonora, but the inhabitants are quite able to appreciate it when it comes. There is one luxury here, however, which is generally denied to the people on the fields lower down towards Kalgoorlie—the luxury of bathing at the public shower-baths. The men can have three baths daily by paying the weekly fee of 2s. 6d. There are three splendid wells in the town, with windmills, giving good supplies of fresh water. Horses are very scarce; I had great difficulty in getting a horse and trap in order to drive out and see the different mines; in fact, I had one day to enlist the assistance of the local baker to take me out to one mine that I wished very much to see, while another day the driver of the gingerbeer carriage gallantly gave me a lift.
Another day I had quite an adventure. I started in a cart, but the animal called a horse, after jog-trotting for a mile or so, refused to go any farther. The driver explained: “You see, ma’am, he’s an old ’un, and knows at this time he ought to be going towards home, so he won’t go any farther away from it.” All coaxings and persuasions were vain, so I had to get out and walk. The day was intensely hot, and after walking some distance I had to sit down on a log, feeling that I could go no farther. At last in the distance a conveyance appeared coming from the place to which I wanted to go, and proved to be that of the butcher. I stopped the cart, and, with the sweetest smile I could call up, asked the young man to take me to the mine. “But I am just going away from there.” “Oh, never mind, turn back; I will pay you any money to take me there.” After much hesitation he consented to do so, but would not accept payment. I am glad to say that from the mine the manager sent me back in one of their own buggies. The only people who kept horses for hire had let theirs out to graze during the night and could not find them in the morning. At last, in desperation I telegraphed to Mount Malcolm for a buggy and horse, which were brought down to me, and I finished my inspection in comfort. However, on my second visit to Leonora I found that the place had advanced with great strides, and that now I had no difficulty in obtaining a nice horse and buggy in the township to take me to the different places I wished to visit.
Going into one of the banks (there are two there), I collided at the door with a rough-looking man carrying a canvas bag. This he emptied out upon the counter. It proved to contain some splendid nuggets of gold and a quantity of gold-dust. Seeing my eyes full of admiration, the man, rough as he was, picked out a pretty little piece, and holding it towards me, said, “Will you accept this, ma’am, from a rough miner who hasn’t spoken to a lady for two years, and may I shake hands with you?” You may be sure I did not refuse either of these offers, made in a most kindly spirit.
We were now nearly 600 miles from Perth in a different direction to Laverton.
The Great Boston Reward Claim is only two miles from Leonora. Here O’Brien and party made a vast profit out of the gold and nuggets they obtained from their rich claim. The same party have another claim at a place called Savannah, where they are also getting great results.
Farther along the same road, which is the main road to Diorite and Lawlers, is the Trump Mine, which has a small battery of its own, for which the proprietors paid out of their first crushing of 10 ounces to the ton. There are dozens of working-parties of men about this particular part, which is exceptionally rich. Close to the Trump are the Leonora Gold Blocks, which for richness have not been surpassed in the district. This mine also has its own battery, bought and paid for out of its first profits, so now the lucky owners have nothing to do but raise the stone and extract the gold on the premises, independent of everybody. The ample water supply makes work here comparatively easy, and I came to the conclusion that this was an excellent place to look for gold. When one looks back and thinks of the difficulties miners have had to contend with at Hannan’s, I should say that a man would rather work in the Leonora district, even for lower pay, than down below, where there is no fresh water and few vegetables; and the fact is that wages are higher here. There can be no doubt that a very great future lies before the Leonora, or, I should say, Mount Malcolm goldfields, and probably in two years from this time, instead of 1000 there will be 10,000 people on the field. There are now scores of mines there, about which nobody hears anything. Steady work is in progress everywhere in the district; there are no unemployed men, the country, all the way from Menzies, is being rapidly opened up, and so many improvements have been decided on by the various mining companies, that thousands more men will shortly be required to do the work. There is, therefore, nothing to prevent this rich field, which has the advantage of being extensive, consistent, and well watered, from developing shortly into a great community. Mr. Morgans, who should be a good authority on mines, says that he sees no reason why the Gwalia Mine should not shortly turn out 10,000 ounces of gold per month, and that there are fully a dozen mines in the neighbourhood of Leonora with striking lode formations which in the future will be as rich as any in the district.