Day 123 Westonia, WA

I sighed with relief when we drove away from the Boulder Caravan Park today.  What a dive.  I very rarely write reviews on WikiCamps but I just had to warn people about this place.  As we were hitching the van to the car this morning, guess who walked by with a warrant in their hand. Yes. The Police.  The other photo is our site that could only have been considered an afterthought.  (Hmmmm.  There's car space here.  Let's turn it into a caravan site.....)

 Moving right along, we are now in the beautiful little town of Westonia that was another recommendation (incidentally the same person who recommended the aforementioned Boulder CP!).  This Caravan Park is just so far above the one we left today that if you had to rate them I would give this one 10/10 and the other -1/10.  It is a new caravan park and the sites are all angled that makes reversing on to them so much easier.  And when they are angled it also gives everyone that little bit more privacy.

From Kalgoorlie-Boulder to Westonia we follow the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail.  The pipeline that runs from the foothills of Perth to Kalgoorlie, a distance of 566km and was built around 1903.  It was an engineering marvel as not only did it have to carry water all that distance but it also had to run uphill an incredible 340 metres.  There are twenty pumping stations along the length of the pipeline to ensure that the water reached its destination.  We pass some massive reservoirs that also store water on its journey towards Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

The first town we come to after Kalgoorlie is Coolgardie and Philip and I both comment that when we were at school the two towns were always mentioned together.  These two places are significant to Australia's history of the Gold Rush era. Coolgardie has some beautiful buildings lining its Main Street but we didn't stop.  It is just seven degrees outside the car.....

As we drive along Highway 93 we are reminded that we are still in the Goldfields as there are numerous gold mines on both sides but once we reach the township of Southern Cross the scenery starts changing.  As we head further west we are heading back into the WA Wheat Belt and it is a nice to once more see paddocks of Golden Canola and wildflowers on the side of the road.

So that brings us back to Westonia that started its life as a gold mining town but it now more reliant on sheep and wheat.  However, the Edna May Gold Mine still plays a significant role in the little township.  The Main Street of Westonia has to be seen to be believed.  The town council took on the mammoth task of reproducing the town of the early 1900's with almost every shop front having a new facade.  The "Wolfram Street Facades" project is ongoing with the whole town eventually looking like it was in the 1900's.  It is amazing to stroll down Wolfram Street.

But by far and away the best thing to see and do in Westonia is the council run Hood Penn Museum.  The Museum is the result of an extremely generous donation of a large historical collection by a local family.  The museum features a variety of scenes showcasing early life in the Shire including a hotel, post office/shop/hardware store, petrol station/garage, kitchen, bedroom, shearing and blacksmith/farm workshop and doctor scene.  Each scene includes a realistic lifelike mannequin complete with wrinkles and blemishes.  As I was walking past one of the mannequins I got the eerie feeling that it might tap me on the shoulder!  It is such a fantastic museum.

 But wait, there's more.  The Gold mine tunnel inside the museum is an interactive exhibit that was designed to replicate life in a 1915 gold mine.  Once inside the room you experience physical vibrations that replicate blasts going off in the vicinity of the mine.  The whole floor rocks and rolls around.  Apart from the loud blasts the sound effects include a conversation between two miners working in the mine.  It is a truly unique experience.

Westonia is a wonderful town that should be on everybody's list of Western Australian places to visit!