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A Most Prestigious Hotel:

20/08/2022 By Leave a Comment

 

When driving to Perth from Kalgoorlie you may have seen a sign on the left not long after the Yellowdine Road House and before Moorine Rock, directing you to Mt Palmer. But have you ever ventured there???

Google Maps

Google Maps

In 1935 it was thought that Palmers Find (AKA Mt Palmer), 23 miles from Southern Cross, would become the centre of a major gold-producing area. Late in 1934, Augustus Palmer, a prospector of many years of experience, erected a 20-head battery there and by 1935 was providing employment for 130 men. This saw the virgin bush transform into a hive of industry. A townsite a mile square was surveyed and five streets were named. The majority of the town lots were sold, and the building was going on apace. A few months later saw a regular town in place of the previous canvas city with its own municipal authority in control of civic affairs.

Southern Cross News 2 May 1941, page 4

Southern Cross News 2 May 1941, page 4

Some 67 residential blocks were auctioned at the Southern Cross Courthouse, raising £3,969 for land that was worthless a few months earlier, and destined to be worthless again when the gold ran out a few years later. The average price per lot was £40-£50. The surveyor reserved areas for a post office, police station, public hall, and churches. The town boasted boarding houses, bakeries, butchers, a school, and a medicine shop. As well there were three billiard saloons where two-up, dice, and SP betting were conducted. Consequently, a grand hotel was planned for the centre of the town.

The following is an artist's impression of the front elevation of the proposed Palmers Find  Hotel.

The above is an artist’s impression of the front elevation of the proposed Palmers Find  Hotel.

The Beginnng  -Sunday Times, Perth – 11 August 1935, page 17

The new hotel at Palmer’s Find, Yellowdine, is being erected for Miss A. M. Cummins by Messrs. Cavanagh, Cavanagh, and Tracey, architects, of Perth. A contract has been entered into with Todd Bros contractors, to have the hotel completed before Christmas at a cost of £13,000 (one of the most expensive on the Goldfields). The building, in an Art Deco style of brick and cement construction, will have a 76ft frontage to Palmer street and 82ft frontage to Mackie street, with 27 bedrooms, 4 double and 26 single with 6 bathrooms, and three shower rooms all with hot water and all glazed with white tiles. There was a lounge bar, a public bar, a saloon bar, lounge, dining room, kitchens, staff accommodation, and all modern conveniences. A beautiful polished grand jarrah staircase accessed the two floors. There was Electric Lighting throughout and six lock-up garages at the rear for the use of patrons.
Newly Completed Palmers Find Hotel - Shire of Yilgarn

Newly Completed Palmers Find Hotel – Shire of Yilgarn

The End  –   Daily News – Perth 7 June 1947, page 6

Kalgoorlie, — Preliminary work has started on the erection of a modern store in Hannan Street for Selfridges (W.A) Ltd The building of the new premises will be from old material recovered from the deserted Mt. Palmer Hotel.

The Mt Palmer/Palmers Find hotel was opened on the 18th of December 1936. However, this splendid building was to have a short life. In only a decade it went from opulence to desertion. In 1947 the very first chain store was approved to be built in Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie. However, the main problem was the lack of building materials. In May of 1947, a Perth businessman bought, sight unseen, the now deserted hotel at Palmer’s Find at a cost of $8,000. It was at this time the only building left in the town. The building was made up of 200,000 bricks. Only 80,000 bricks were needed for the new store in Kalgoorlie and the balance of 120,000 bricks was offered to the State Housing Commission to build 5 new houses in Kalgoorlie. The store was what is now the Bank West building at 215 Hannan Street and was the first air-conditioned commercial premises on the Goldfields.
Palmers Find Hotel with a billiard hall to the left - 1936- Photo WA Museum

Palmers Find Hotel with a billiard hall to the left – 1936- Photo WA Museum

The Mt Palmer GM operated from 1934 to its closure in 1944 when the reef cut out and labour became short due to  WW2. Officially the mine produced 4,928 kilograms of gold from 310,728 tons of ore. By 1942 the town was mostly deserted.
The remains of the Palmers Find Hotel - Photo Cockburn 4WD Club

All that remains of the Palmers Find Hotel – Photo Cockburn 4WD Club

Ref:
Shire of Yilgarn (web site)
Book ‘Yellowdine’ by Delys Howlett
TROVE
State Heritage WA

Recommended further reading on the area: Yellowdine Reen’s Soak, Bronti, Kellandi, and Mt Palmer Treasures in the bush by Delys Howlett – Available from the Shire of Yilgarn.

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History
My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.
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