Reflections on Kalgoorlie history

15/6/93

Mines Minister George Cash today paused during his busy work routine to ponder the significance of an event that transformed Western Australia from a struggling colony into one of the brightest jewels in the British Empire.

Mr Cash was reflecting on the day 100 years ago (June 17, 1893), when Irish gold prospector Paddy Hannan applied for the most famous reward claim in Australian mining history.

"The reward claim sparked the nation's biggest goldrush and led to the development of Kalgoorlie and the richest square mile on earth - the famous Golden Mile," Mr Cash said.

"To date, the Golden Mile has yielded almost 1,400 million tonnes of gold worth more than $24,000 million."

Mr Cash had the opportunity to scan the original Lands Department register that logs the reward claim by Hannan and his friend, Tom Flanagan.  A third member of the famous prospecting team, Dan Shea, is not mentioned in the claim.

The entry, dated June 17, 1893, is made on page 42 of a register marked 'Residence and Business Areas' for the Coolgardie district.

Another interesting document that Mr Cash viewed was government surveyor Robert Gledden's field book from the Kalgoorlie goldrush era.

"The pencil and ink drawings in this book pin-point notable leases around Hannan's reward claim," the Minister said.

"Surveyor Gledden is, in some respects, one of the forgotten figures of Goldfields history.

"In 1892, he took charge of mining surveys for the vibrant Coolgardie Goldfields, surveying the discoveries by Bayley and Ford at Coolgardie in 1892 and by Hannan in 1893.

"He was also responsible for laying out the townships of both Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie."

Mr Cash also noted the lack of recognition given to Paddy Hannan's prospecting partner, Tom Flanagan.

"Despite being the first person to sight gold on Hannan's original reward claim, Flanagan's name is only occasionally associated with the famous discovery of gold at Kalgoorlie," the Minister said.

Media contact: Narelle Cant 222 9595