Kalgoorlie gold named 10th Western Australian Heritage Icon

27/9/04
A major contributor to the growth and economic development of the State - Kalgoorlie gold - has been named as the 10th Western Australian Heritage Icon.
The 175th Anniversary Icons project asked the community to nominate WA's defining features which were meaningful and unique to the State. The National Trust recommended the listing of Kalgoorlie gold after considering 650 submissions.
Making the announcement at the WA School of Mines, Premier Geoff Gallop said the listing was in recognition of the rich historical, social and economic significance to both the Goldfields community and WA.
"There is no doubt the discovery of gold in WA was a significant moment in our State's history," Dr Gallop said.
"As is well known, Paddy Hannan, Dan Shea and Tom Flanagan's discovery in 1893 triggered a great gold rush that attracted thousands of diggers from around the globe.
"So significant was the impact of the rush, that at its key growth, Australia was the number one producer of gold - with half of that generated from WA.
"In doing so, it changed the face of our State - fuelling an economic boom and increasing the Swan River colony's population four times in size in one decade to about 200,000 people."
The Premier said the discovery of gold also importantly encouraged other areas of inland WA to develop - with once inhospitable land opened up to exploration and settlement.
Since the discovery of gold in 1893, Kalgoorlie has produced more than 990 tonnes of gold.
The icons named so far include the Swan River, Fremantle Harbour, Kings Park, Albany Anzac Dawn Service, Rottnest Island, Broome Pearls, Ningaloo, Western Derby and the Royal Show.
Premier's office: 9222 9475