Peak Hill, Western Australia
Ghost town in Western Australia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peak Hill is the name of a goldfield,[2] locality and the site of a gold mining[3] ghost town in the Murchison Region of Western Australia. The gold mine covers 2,162 hectares and consists of four open-cut mines, titled: Main, Jubilee, Fiveways and Harmony.[4]
Peak Hill Western Australia | |
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Coordinates | 25°38′00″S 118°43′00″E |
Population | 121 (SAL 2021)[1] |
Established | 1897 |
Postcode(s) | 6642 |
Elevation | 608 m (1,995 ft) |
Area | 26,524.1 km2 (10,241.0 sq mi) |
Location |
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LGA(s) | Shire of Meekatharra |
State electorate(s) | North West |
Federal division(s) | Durack |
In the adjacent region to the locality, there are considerable non-auriferous mineral deposits.[5] Adjacent fields included the Horseshoe field.[6]
Early exploration at the site occurred in the 1890s,[7][8] when gold was discovered by William John Wilson in 1892.[9] The townsite was gazetted in 1897,[9] and the field has had varied fortunes even in early years.[10][11] Before 1913, the mine produced some 270,000 ounces (7.7 metric tons) of gold.[4] Peak Hill was also included as a location in a regional newspaper network of more outlying mining communities in the 1920s and 1930s.[12]
The population of the town was 190 (180 males and 10 females) in 1898.[13]
Alfred Walker, the proprietor of the Peak Hill General Store until 1954, was the last full-time resident of Peak Hill. He retired to his daughter's farm at Peppermint Grove, south of Capel.
In the 1970s, it was reduced to a ghost town with a few remaining residents, however in the 1980s activity resumed,[14][15] producing around 650,000 ounces (18.4 metric tons) of gold.[4] The mine became dormant again in the 2000s.