Day 120 Kalgoorlie-Boulder, (Museum of the Goldfields) WA

I was out of bed before 7am this morning to make us a fruit cake.  Yes, I get these things in my head 😩.  It needed two hours in the oven hence the need to start early. It turned out better than I imagined and it is very tasty.  There is nothing like a home made fruit cake and it is my husbands favourite cake.

Neither Philip nor I had a good nights sleep as the wind really howled and the rain pelted down.  Philip kept looking out the window to make sure the awning was still in place!  Before we went to bed last night Philip moved the Toyota close to the awning and secured it to the car for extra support.  It worked well because the awning stayed put throughout the night.  It is still blowing a gale today, around 50kmh winds, but that is nothing compared to what they are experiencing along the southern West Australian coast with winds exceeding 100kmh.  

The only thing on our agenda today was the Museum of the Goldfields.  There was supposed to be a tour commencing at 10.30am but when we arrived we found that they were short staffed so the tour would not go ahead but as it can also be a self guided tour we elected to go it alone.  It was suggested that we start at the Gold Vault that holds a spectacular collection of gold nuggets, jewellery and historical items.  It is said that the vault houses half the State's gold collection.

After the Gold Vault we headed to the courtyard that was enclosed by an original Miners Cottage, a replica of the West Australia Bank, the Woodline office, Police Wagon, the opulent De Barnales building and the British Arms Hotel that was built in 1899 and is said to be the narrowest pub in the southern hemisphere.  We took our time wandering into and out of each building.  I am in awe of how incredibly hard it was to be a miner (and the miners wife!).  You cannot help but notice the stark difference between the grandeur of the De Barnales building and the Miners Cottage. Claude De Bernales was a mining entrepreneur who made his fortunes in the Goldfields. Inside the British Arms Hotel there is a reconstruction of an early dentists surgery, a display of trade union banners and an Edwardian parlour.

Looming over the entire museum complex is the Ivanhoe Headframe. It stands 39 metres high and was originally part of the Big Bell mine in Cue before it was moved to the Ivanhoe Mine at Kalgoorlie.  Normally you would be able to access the viewing platform via a lift but as the winds are gale force today it is not accessible.

When we have seen as much as we can possible take in at the Museum we walk down the Main Street of Kalgoorlie to admire the beautiful heritage listed buildings on both sides of the street.  Most have been painstakingly restored to their former beauty.  What we notice is the number of hotels with one on almost every street corner.  

It is not the best day for sightseeing as it is cold and windy, but thank goodness not raining.  Philip is anxious to get back to the van to make sure that everything is still secure.  The wind has picked up while we have been playing the tourist and we decide to have lunch at home rather than find a restaurant.  We will leave that until tomorrow.