GOLD & WATER

Fabulous discoveries of gold in its eastern interior in the 1890s changed Western Australia for ever. People from around the world flocked to what had been regarded until then as a backwater. But it soon became obvious that fresh water was more precious than the gold the prospectors were seeking.

A reliable supply of water was needed not only to prevent death and disease but also to take the gold from the earth. The solution was an engineering scheme that won international acclaim and operates to this day.

The images and information attached to this website can be used to explore the relationship between WA’s Gold Rush and the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme; the inhospitable conditions that made it a matter of life or death; the imaginative scheme to pump water to the arid interior; CY O’Connor the engineer in charge.

Click on the representative image to view resources within a particular theme.

Click on an image within a theme to find out more about that particular image.

		GOLD				LIFE ON THE GOLDFIELDS
		TRANSPORT AND TRAVEL				EARLY WATER SUPPLIES
		KEY PLAYERS				STORING AND PUMPING WATER
		THE PIPES				POLITICAL ISSUES AND CELEBRATIONS

These web pages were created as a result of a partnership between The Le@rning Federation and the National Trust of Australia (WA).
The National Trust of Australia gratefully acknowledges the JS Battye Library, Arthur Coopes, the Forrest family and Ron Davidson for use of photographs.

Last updated 6 January 2010