Gwalia Historic Precinct

Get directions

A ghost town with a mining history

The Gwalia Historic Precinct includes a ghost town and a museum featuring collections from the old Sons of Gwalia Mine and the Leonora district. The museum collection items are housed in the main shed and various original buildings from the Sons of Gwalia mine. Learn about the Aboriginal people and migrant workers who lived in Gwalia, the assay process of separating gold from ore or view the only large timber incline headframe in Australia. This large collection requires some walking. If you get tired you might like to rest your legs and grab a Devonshire tea at Hoover House café between 10am and 3pm, on the very edge of the present-day open cut mine. You can also spend the night in the Hoover House for a unique Goldfields experience!

Visit website

Address:

16A Tower St
Leonora WA 6438
Australia

Tel:

(08) 9037 71220

Email:

museum@gwalia.org.au

Opening Hours

Mon to Sun 9am - 4pm

Crucible and cupel

Cupellation

These crucibles and cupels were used in the gold testing process, which involves very high temperatures and is called, cupellation. Ore samples with gold are crushed and mixed with other metals to...

Seal and embosser

Approving documents

This is an original seal and embosser from the Sons of Gwalia Mine. Seals and embossers like this were used on official documents to confirm and legitimise them. A stamp similar to the embosser was...

Gwalia Rifle Club trophy

Marksmanship

Oscar Edward Johnson won the ‘Robert Stuart Cup’ at the Gwalia Rifle Club in October 1910 and was awarded this trophy. Johnson was a miner at the Sons of Gwalia Mine and a member of the Rifle Club for...

Norseman Historical Museum

A lucky horse finds gold and over a hundred years later a museum moves into the old School of Mines.

This museum has one of the most unusual and quirky items you will ever see - ask to see the typewriter keys! (Story below). Norseman Historical Museum celebrates the Goldfields, mining and local...

The Big Camera - Museum of Photography

Walk through the lense of the Big Camera, into a world of cameras.

Walk through the lens of the Big Camera to be transfixed by wall-to-wall cameras! This is believed to be the largest working camera display in the Southern hemisphere. It is a place to learn about the...

Woodlands Cultural Community and Visitor Centre

Welcome to Ngadju Country

For many travellers Norseman is just a fuel stop, before continuing North, South or East. However, the Woodlands Cultural, Community and Visitor Centre encourages visitors to consider learning about...

Yilgarn History Museum

A meeting place between the Goldfields and the Wheatbelt

A visit to the Yilgarn Museum is a journey through the history of Southern Cross, which is sometimes referred to as the gateway to the Goldfields region. The museum building is the original courthouse...