Turn of the century mine office identified for protection

19/10/96

An historic turn-of-the-century mine office in the goldmining ghost town of Day Dawn has been identified for protection by the State Government.

Heritage Minister Richard Lewis said the Great Fingall Mine Office had been placed on the Heritage Council of Western Australia's interim register of heritage places.

Mr Lewis said the Great Fingall Mine Office was in the former townsite of Day Dawn, the sister town to Cue in the Murchison.

He said the building was the administrative headquarters and assay room for the Great Fingall Gold Mining Company.

"Day Dawn played an important part in the rich history of the Murchison goldfields," he said.

"Gold was discovered at Day Dawn in 1891 by Ned Heffernan, who pegged what became known as the Day Dawn Reef.

"The settlement which sprung up at the find was originally known as the 'Four Mile', as it was situated about that distance from Cue. It was eventually renamed Day Dawn in 1894."

Mr Lewis said that in 1896 Day Dawn was described as having three fairly stocked stores, a chemist, three licensed houses, several houses, hessian camps and brush humpies.

The mine employed 200 men and produced phenomenal amounts of gold and played a major role in attracting railway facilities to the region in 1897.

In 1898 the mine was taken over by the Great Fingall Consolidated Gold Mining Company and was later known as the Great Fingall Mine.

Mr Lewis said the construction of the mine office was part of continuing development carried out by the new owners.

"The offices, designed in the Federation Italianate style, were built of dressed stone and no expense was spared," he said.

"With its lofty rooms, many windows and expansive verandah, the mine office was regarded as a work of architectural beauty in Day Dawn."

BY 1910, production at Great Fingall dropped below the level of previous years and an economic decline set in at Day Dawn and Cue.

By 1916, partly because of the Great War, operations at the mine were slowly grinding to a halt and within two years it was announced that the mine would close which meant the end of the town of Day Dawn.

"The abandoned mine had completely collapsed by 1921 and the town had disappeared altogether by the 1930s," Mr Lewis said.

"The Great Fingall Mine Office is the only substantial building still standing in the townsite."

Mr Lewis said the mine was reactivated recently as an open cut operation and the future of the mine office was under threat. However, management had undertaken to restore the building in-situ for use as a mine museum.

Media contact: Bronwyn Hillman 222 9595