Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie: the low down |
Testimonials | |
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In 1893 a bloke called Paddy Hannan cried ‘Eureka’ (or ‘Ouch, I stubbed my toe on a bloody big piece of shiny rock’ or whatever lucky buggers yell when they find gold) and sparked one of Australia’s great gold rushes. Kalgoorlie was born. Today, the Golden Mile (don’t you just love that name?) continues to be worked by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines and is called the Super Pit Mine. And for good reason – at 3.8km long and 1.5km wide, it produces up to 850,000 ounces of gold every year and can apparently be seen from space. Naturally, then, it can also be seen from all over town as well. For a great insight into the mining history of Kalgoorlie, check out the Kalgoorlie Mining Hall of Fame - it's worth a good look. As for dragging your kids to a regional city 600km east of the nearest Australian city (Perth), here’s what Kalgoorlie-Boulder has to offer:
Useful links: Ever lived in Kalgoorlie? Give us the goss...
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"I have been in Kal for almost five years now - we love it here! We moved when our first child was eight weeks old and have since had two more children. Kalgoorlie has everything you need and is like a mini-city. We love the clean air, the bush surrounds and just the fact that you can bring up a family here and don't have to do FIFO!" - Cal, Kalgoorlie "Wow what a great place for a family with young kids! It's easy to get around, there's nothing you can't reach in 10 minutes and there are plenty of bike paths for the energetic. Schools are just fantastic, with amazing school pride and community spirit, and the teachers seem to really focus on the important stuff, like reading and writing. Plenty of sporting opportunities for kids, mums and dads, Our kids currently play T ball, do Tap and Jazz Ballet and the little man goes to a tiny tots acrobatics class. There are also excellent swimming schools, indoor and outdoor, with perhaps the best aquatic centre I've ever seen (waterslides, large pools, a wave rider pool). There are lots of gyms around town, cinema, good shopping, McDs (with excellent playground) and a public park named Hammond park, which is magnificent ... lovely lawns, duck ponds, peacocks. But the most important thing about Kalgoorlie is the friendliness. I landed in Kalgoorlie with the kids miserable at haveing moved yet again and was immediately greeted by such friendly women who just completly understood. There are plenty of day-time social groups and craft groups to keep mums sane, and more job opportunities for mums seeking casual work or part-time work than you could believe... You can even deliver a baby in this town!!! And it's only six hours to P
- Kathryn, Kalgoorlie
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Heaps of restaurants and pubs. Remember, this is a mining town – some of the pubs are rather colourful. (And we don't just mean the paintwork, like on the beautiful York Hotel, right.)
