Menzies
Historic gold mining town now a virtual ghost town
Menzies is located 132 km north of Kalgoorlie and 729 km east of Perth.

The quest for new discoveries of gold beyond Kalgoorlie's 'Golden Mile' was unceasing. Every fossicker and prospector wanted to become the new Paddy Hannan. One prospector, a man named Menzies, got lucky and found gold north of Kalgoorlie in 1894. The miners who rushed to the area were so grateful they named the town after him.

Menzies was a typical shooting star type mining settlement. The township was officially established in 1894. The following year land was sold and by 1896 it had become a municipality. Between 1896-98 the Town Hall was built. The railway arrived in 1899 and by 1900 this extraordinary boomtown had two breweries, thirteen hotels and a population of over 10 000.

It disappeared as fast as it had arrived. By 1905 most of the miners had moved on. It continued to produce gold but it was reef gold and the costs of extraction and production were high. Syndicates and companies were formed to keep production economically viable.

Today Menzies is little more than a main street and memories of its past glories. It is now included in most of the 'Ghost Towns' tours which operate from Kalgoorlie.

A symbol of the town's changing fortunes in the Town Hall's clock tower. When the Town Hall was being built a huge clock was ordered from England. Unfortunately the ship carrying the clock sank and the municipal leaders, apparently mindful of the rapidly changing fortunes of their community, never ordered a replacement.

Things to see:  

Inside Australia - A Unique Sculpture
In 2003 the noted English artist and sculptor, Antony Gormley (famous for his beautiful Angel of the North statue at Newcastle-on-Tyne) placed 51 cast stainless steel figures - many of them representing the people who lived at Menzies - across the Lake Ballard saltpan which lies to the north of Menzies. Gormley persuaded the local people to strip naked. He then did a digital scan of their bodies, reduced the images by 66 per cent, turned them into sand moulds and cast them in stainless steel alloy.

Goongarrie National Park
To the southeast of Menzies is the 49 878 ha Goongarrie National Park which has extensive stands of mulga and mallee. It is isolated and access is difficult.

	Hotels
	Menzies Railway Hotel Shenton St Menzies WA 6436 Telephone: (08) 9024 2043
	Caravan Parks
	Menzies Caravan Park Shenton St Menzies WA 6436 Telephone: (08) 9024 2041
	Restaurants
	Menzies Railway Hotel Shenton St Menzies WA 6436 Telephone: (08) 9024 2043