The first commercial find of gold in Western Australia was made on 14 July 1885 at Hall’s Creek in the Kimberley District, and the Kimberley Goldfield was proclaimed in the following year, on 19 May 1886. This discovery, and the dramatic rush that followed, marked the beginning of our gold-mining industry, which was to transform Western Australia over the next 15 years from an impoverished colony into a wealthy State. The centenary of the industry in 1985 coincides with a time when gold is again the most buoyant element in our mining industry, with expanding exploration and production, and excellent prospects for the future.
The Kimberley gold story began with the exploring expedition of Alexander Forrest in 1879. He traversed the district from west to east into the Northern Territory, and on reaching the Pine Creek gold-mining settlement commented to the manager of the mine, Adam Johns, on similarities between the rocks at Pine Creek and some of those seen by his party in the Kimberleys. This inspired Johns to mount an expedition to the area, with his mate Phil Saunders as leader, the others selected for the party being James Quinn, and Crawford, an Aboriginal man.
Saunders and Johns chartered a cutter from Port Darwin to Cossack, arriving there on 26 July 1881. The party found some signs of gold at Nickol River, 19 miles south west of Roebourne, and on the Ashburton River, but neither find was considered payable. They also found copper mineralisation at Whim Well (now Whim Creek) and Balla Balla, before returning to Roebourne and setting out for the Kimberleys on 11 April 1882.
During their journey through the Kimberleys in August-September 1882, Saunders’ party observed signs of gold at several localities, the best being in the headwater tributaries of the Ord River, in the general vicinity of the present Halls Creek. However, there was a lack of water in this area to allow adequate panning for gold, and by that time Johns had become seriously ill, and was barely able to see or walk. He developed a form of paralysis, and it became imperative to push through to the Northern Territory as rapidly as possible so that he could be treated. Consequently Saunders was unable to prove whether the gold he had found in the East Kimberley was workable. The news of Saunders’ find reached the press, and the Colonial Secretary in Perth telegraphed him to obtain confirmation. Saunders replied by telegram dated 19 November 1882 from Yam Creek in the Northern Territory, announcing that he had
“found gold on head watershed of Ord River, not payable. Believe payable gold exists, auriferous country extends north west and south east of Forrest’s track”.
Saunders’ telegram aroused considerable interest in the Government, and there was debate as to the best means of following up his report of gold. One suggestion was that the Government should secure the services of a geologist to accompany the survey team that was to visit the Kimberley in the following winter. The other was that Saunders lead a prospecting expedition to the area, and the Colonial Secretary wrote asking if he was prepared to do so. He responded with a detailed proposal for a party to prospect throughout the Kimberley. The reaction to this proposal is not recorded, but it seems clear that his plans involved a greater expenditure than the Government was willing to incur. It was instead decided to secure the services of a geologist to accompany the Kimberley survey party, and Edward T Hardman was selected for this purpose.
The above plaque commemorates the first discovery of payable gold in Western Australia by Charles Hall, John Slattery and party on 14th July 1885 near this site Erected by the Shire of Hall`s Creek in association with the Hall`s Creek Sports Club, which conducted the Hall`s Creek Gold Centenary Run to mark the occasion, and unveiled by the Hall`s Creek Shire President, Councillor Doug Dixon on the 21st July 1985- Monument Australia
Hardman was born on 6 April 1845 at Drogheda, Ireland. He graduated in mining from the Royal College of Science, Dublin, and was appointed as a geologist in the Geological Survey of Ireland in 1870. When the need arose for a temporary Government Geologist to be appointed to Western Australia, the Colonial Office chose Hardman for the position. He arrived in Perth in March 1883, just in time to join a new Kimberley survey party led by John Forrest.
This survey was confined to the West Kimberley district, and Hardman found no positive signs of gold there. The following year (1884) he participated in H F Johnston’s survey, which covered an extensive area from the West to the East Kimberley. Hardman panned traces of gold in many watercourses in parts of the East Kimberley, distributed over about 230 km along the Elvire, Panton, Ord, Mary, and Margaret Rivers. He claimed that the auriferous country covered an area of some 5 000 km2, and found the most encouraging indications along the headwaters of the Elvire River, where there were also many potentially auriferous quartz veins.
In his report on the 1884 expedition, Hardman complained that he had received little assistance in his work, as the surveying aspect of the expedition had priority. “But had I had even two men to assist me, and render me independent, for a few days at a time. I believe I should now be able to report definitely as to the existence of payable gold in Kimberley, whereas I can at present only point to the strong probability of this”.
The River at Halls Creek – 1920 – Photo SLWA
Hardman’s report and accompanying maps aroused great interest, and several prospecting parties set out for Kimberley in early 1885. One of these, with Charles Hall as leader, accompanied by John Slattery, Alexander Nicholson, Joseph McCague, John Campbell, and August Pontt, left Roebourne for Derby in February 1885. From Derby they headed due east for the headwaters of the Ord River, and on 14 July 1885 obtained their first payable gold (about 10 oz in nuggets) at what they named Hall’s Creek. Hall and Slattery then left the rest of the party and returned to Derby, where on 8 August 1885 they formally reported the discovery to the Government Resident, Mr Fairbairn, before proceeding to Perth to inform the Colonial Secretary.
The discovery of payable gold by Hall’s party was in an area shown on Hardman’s map near the head of the Elvire River, where Hardman recorded finding widespread traces of gold in alluvium, associated with many potentially auriferous quartz veins. It is not certain whether Hall had access to Hardman’s map of the area, although this does seem probable, in which case it should have led him directly to the area of the discovery.
As soon as the Hall’s Creek discovery became known the Kimberley gold rush began, well before the goldfield was formally proclaimed on 19 May 1886. The rush of prospectors from the southern parts of Western Australia, the eastern colonies, and New Zealand, reached its peak in mid-1886. Most arrived by sea at Derby, and then had to embark on a slow and hazardous trip of nearly 600 km to Halls Creek, commonly travelling all the way on foot. Others landed at Wyndham, and although their overland trip was shorter (about 400 km), the track was rougher and harder on men, horses, and equipment. Others again arrived overland through the Northern Territory, from as far away as Victoria.
Of the estimated 6 000 to 8 000 men who arrived at the ports, many were ill-prepared for the remainder of the journey to Halls Creek, and had to turn back because of illness, fatigue, the breakdown of overloaded carts, or the death of their horses. Equipment and stores were often jettisoned beside the track, so that most people arrived at the gold diggings with inadequate equipment and stores for a prolonged stay. The majority of those who joined the rush had no previous experience in gold prospecting. They were ill-prepared for the privations of life in the outback Kimberley, far from the comforts of home. There were also many clashes with the Aborigines, commonly with spearing of diggers followed by reprisal raid.
Illness and disease at the diggings were rife, and the First Warden, C D Price, who arrived on 3 September 1886, reported that “great numbers were stricken down, in a dying condition, helpless, destitute of either money, food, or covering, and without mates or friends, simply lying down to die.” Further, on 10 December 1886, he reported that “a large number of deaths have occurred lately, fever, dysentery, scurvy, and general debility being the cause.”
By early 1887 the rush had virtually ceased, and by February the numbers of men on the field had dwindled to about 600. However, Warden Price maintained that there was still a bright future for the goldfields through underground mining of gold-bearing reefs. He stated in his annual report that “there is every reason to expect a prosperous future at no distant date.” Price said further that “the whole of the miners are enthusiastic in the praise of Mr Hardman; every case when he has marked on his plan that auriferous deposits would be found the result has proved the correctness of his opinion. Nowhere else have they found more than colours. I am sure it would be gratifying to Mr Hardman did he know in what estimation his plans and report are held by practical miners and how desirous they are to obtain them.”
However, despite the early promise of several underground mines, Halls Creek never prospered. The mines did not live up to expectations, as the ore petered out at depth. The peak year for gold production was 1887, amounting to 4474 ounces, and from 1890 the field went into steady decline, with production falling to 892 ounces in 1896 (the figures quoted being for unrefined gold bullion). Total production to 1896 was 23 373 ounces (unrefined), compared with a total to 1985 of only 30 763 fine ounces (refined), or about 38 500 bullion ounces (unrefined). This is a mere 0.04 percent of the State’s total gold production to 1985.
Even though the Kimberley field was never more than a minor gold producer, its discovery and development marked the foundation of our gold-mining industry, and as such, constitutes one of the turning points in the history of Western Australia. The Kimberley gold rush drew world attention to the colony and its gold prospects; many of the diggers who joined this rush afterwards moved on to take part in the successive major gold discoveries at Southern Cross and the Pilbara (1888), the Murchison (1891), Coolgardie and Dundas (1892), and Kalgoorlie (1893), which were to have such a profound effect on Western Australia’s economy.
Halls Creek, 1914 – Photo SLWA
Recorder (Port Pirie, SA 23 August 1938, page 1
References: The Halls Creek Society – WA Museum – TROVE – National Library of Australia – Mindat
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