buildings of boulder
Wandered up and down the main street of Boulder looking at the beautiful buildings. The streets in Kalgoorlie and Boulder are very wide. This was necessary 120 years ago so that the Camel Wagons could be turned around in the streets. It was too hot, dry and remote for horses to be used for haulage transport. Many buildings from the Gold Rush era have been retained and restored.
This is the old Town Hall. It currently houses a very good War History museum and the famous Phil W. Goatcher (1851-1931) curtain covering the stage. Regular guided walks of the Town Hall are offered.
Boulder was gazetted as a townsite in 1896. It merged with Kalgoorlie to create the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder in 1989.
Monument to the miners who have worked in this area in hot and dangerous conditions in the past.
The Goatcher Curtain, Boulder Town Hall
Philip Goatcher, born 23rd November, 1851, worked as a law clerk before becoming apprenticed to a shipping company . He sailed to Melbourne in 1867, jumped ship and set off for Ballarat, in the height of the gold rush.
He then went to New Zealand and then to San Francisco, where he met J C Williamson, an American actor and later theatre director in Australia. Williamson paid for him to return to Australia where Goatcher painted for most of Williamson’s opera and drama productions. He moved to Perth in 1906.
Goatcher painted the Boulder Town Hall curtain in 1908.The canvas was intended to complement and close the “picture” frame stage. This ‘Bay of Naples’ curtain is believed to be the only surviving theatre curtain from this era in the world. It measures 6.25 metres x 8.46 metres. It is signed and dated Phil W Goatcher, 1908 and was delivered on 11th June, 1908. It was restored in 1991. The restoration cost $224,000.
buildings of kalgoorlie
Streetscape.
The head frame at the left of this photo is at the Mining Museum.
Almost every corner in the main streets of Kalgoorlie boast a two storey, old hotel, some in excellent condition, others rather neglected. Their wide verandas offer shade on the footpath when Kalgoorlie is really hot.
This is a vibrant city with many cafes and restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, schools and shops.
Courthouse.
Old Commonwealth Bank, intact but boarded up in McDonald Street.
some street art in Kalgoorlie
I followed the HEARTWALK map to look at street art. The original project was intended to transform the Kalgoorlie CBD into a vibrant arts and cultural precinct. It must have been great to have all these works dotted around the central area of the town. The only remaining artworks are those painted on buildings, walls and fences. Originally, many of the pieces were in empty shopfronts, but these have since gone to make way for new businesses.
Kado and Deeva Muir, a multi-disciplinary duo living in Leonora.
Lundy Carol Thompson form Kalgoorlie Boulder and Tjubriin Valma Wicker-Schultz from Norseman who has also exhibited at the Olympic Games in London.
Danny and Nikki Ulrich, Kalgoorlie Boulder.
Unattributed.
Brenton See, Perth, paints small sized canvases up to large scale interior and exterior wall murals.
As the heat increased we headed for the Goldfields Art Centre. There are two galleries but no permanent Goldfields collection on display. There was no traveling exhibition, either, despite this being a huge, central building. Bit of a surprise.
This Stormie Mills painting was on a wall in the car park. Mills relies on a limited palette, usually white, black, grey and silver. He has morphed from street artist to working on canvases and is hung in many galleries.
summary
We have really enjoyed our week in Kalgoorlie. The diverse population is reflected in the town. We’ve visited Kookynie, Menzies, Boulder, Kambalda and the main town of Kalgoorlie. The wide open spaces, the colours of the bush, meeting up with a friend I haven’t seen for a long time, the buildings, the artworks and food all added up to a great break for us. We were able to take Louis, our dog with us as we stayed at our son’s house. We really enjoyed staying with him and catching up. I hadn’t seen where he lives before this visit. CV-19 has had an impact on many businesses but the town seems to be managing this quite well. Now Western Australia has opened the hard border between us and the other states, we will wait to see if our “safe” situation remains.