On the way to Lake Ballard, we stopped to fuel our Pajero at Leonora, and then travelled 3km to reach another interesting living ghost town Gwalia. The town flourished when Sons of Gwalia Mine operated there from 1896 to 1963 and produced over 2.5 million ounces of gold. It is claimed to be the second largest gold mine in Western Australia. At its peak in 1911, Gwalia had a population of around 1100 people. Today, most places are abandoned with the exception of just a few. The main attractions are the Museum, the re-opened (but now open cut) mine and Hoover House, which was built for the Sons of Gwalia Mine’s then manager, Herbert Hoover (who later became the 31st President of USA) and now serves coffee and cakes and offers accommodation.
After a quick look at the mine, as well as Hoover House, I spend most of my time at the Mine Office exhibition, where I was fascinated to learn about the history of the place, which had a significant cultural meaning. A large portion of Gwalia residents during the Sons of Gwalia Mine operation were migrants from Italy and the former Yugoslavia. Reading stories of those migrants, I resonated with some of them. Like, Lucia, I too came to Australia as a migrant, leaving all my family behind and starting a new life here. Like her, I too, am finding it hard to be a first-generation migrant. But when life throws this challenge and you deal with it, you become a stronger person.
There are many lessons we can learn by reading and studying these stories. In the old days, life used to be simple and now it is quite complex. As Stephen Peacock, one of Gwalia’s residents put it:
Well, Gwalia was really just a stop over on our way to the main destination for the day – famous Lake Ballard. It’s time to go!
