Trip to goldfields of Western Australia - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board

etnoord · 08-27-2009, 02:38 PM

G'day all
Yesterday we arrived home after a vacation to the goldfields in Western Australia, one off the many highlights was a visit to an Aussie bloke in Kalgoorlie you all know very well the one and only John B. and I can tell you we had a great time, I can tell you the amount of work John put out is amazing the quality of his toys the detail and the finishing is beautiful.
We had a great time he showed the workshop and I even scored some beautiful timber from him very nice sandelwood now I have to decide what to do with it that brings out the best this wood
All together we spent 3 weeks in the goldfields and visited all the ghost towns one off the towns we visited was Gwalia near Leonora were one of the richest mine was "The sons of Gwalia", The mine was developed and managed for a short period by Herbert Hoover who although only 23 at the time, was later to become the American President from 1929 - 33.
The mine produced 77 tonnes of gold it closed in 1963 and the town was virtually abandoned overnight.
All together we traveled 3000 km
Greetings from Western Australia
Tom

scrollpup · 08-27-2009, 02:49 PM

You can bet that we are all envious of ya Tom! John posted about your visit and informed me that all I had to do was make (and sell) about 2,000 of his tissue box's to afford the plane ride for a visit.Might take me a while! (LOL). Glad ya'll had a great time (3 weeks <WOW>). The old gold rush days must have been an exciting time back then! And I bet touring those old towns was pretty fun too.

I hope your taking another week off to recuperate from the trip!

Thanks for the post, Jerry

KtownScroller · 08-27-2009, 09:32 PM

Nice story Tom. A visit to Australia in January or February would be very nice. Now if I only could find the $$$ to make the trip. I wonder if there is any gold left in the gold fields?

JohnB · 08-30-2009, 08:26 AM

G'day Tom,
Welcome back mate. Glad you had a great time.

It truly made my day meeting yourself and good Wife.
I was getting slightly worried that we hadn't heard from you, never realised it was a three week trip.

It truly is amazing, those old ghost towns. The populations where huge and they had all the mod cons, electricity, trams, trains and when the gold petered out, they just disappeared. (Not to forget a pub on every corner and a few in between

)

Forester21 · 08-30-2009, 11:36 AM

Sounds like a great trip! Did you find any gold?

etnoord · 08-31-2009, 09:52 AM

Hi all
Thanks for your replies, Yes Rick there is still gold in the goldfields the "sons of Gwalia" reopened as an open pit mine in 1983,a further47 tonnes of gold has been recovered.
No Theresa I did n't find any gold.
Tom

08-27-2009, 02:38 PM	#1
etnoord Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Brunswick Junction Western Australia Posts: 65	Trip to goldfields of Western Australia G'day all Yesterday we arrived home after a vacation to the goldfields in Western Australia, one off the many highlights was a visit to an Aussie bloke in Kalgoorlie you all know very well the one and only John B. and I can tell you we had a great time, I can tell you the amount of work John put out is amazing the quality of his toys the detail and the finishing is beautiful. We had a great time he showed the workshop and I even scored some beautiful timber from him very nice sandelwood now I have to decide what to do with it that brings out the best this wood All together we spent 3 weeks in the goldfields and visited all the ghost towns one off the towns we visited was Gwalia near Leonora were one of the richest mine was "The sons of Gwalia", The mine was developed and managed for a short period by Herbert Hoover who although only 23 at the time, was later to become the American President from 1929 - 33. The mine produced 77 tonnes of gold it closed in 1963 and the town was virtually abandoned overnight. All together we traveled 3000 km Greetings from Western Australia Tom

08-27-2009, 02:49 PM	#2
scrollpup Avatar by Casey Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Hot Springs,Arkansas Posts: 1,897	You can bet that we are all envious of ya Tom! John posted about your visit and informed me that all I had to do was make (and sell) about 2,000 of his tissue box's to afford the plane ride for a visit.Might take me a while! (LOL). Glad ya'll had a great time (3 weeks <WOW>). The old gold rush days must have been an exciting time back then! And I bet touring those old towns was pretty fun too. I hope your taking another week off to recuperate from the trip! Thanks for the post, Jerry __________________ Work your fingers to the bone, and what do you get? Boney fingers.....Boney fingers.....

08-27-2009, 09:32 PM	#3
KtownScroller <<< Member >>> Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2,774	Nice story Tom. A visit to Australia in January or February would be very nice. Now if I only could find the $$$ to make the trip. I wonder if there is any gold left in the gold fields? __________________ -- Rick --

08-30-2009, 08:26 AM	#4
JohnB 1 Tin Soldier Rides Away Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Posts: 5,187	G'day Tom, Welcome back mate. Glad you had a great time. It truly made my day meeting yourself and good Wife. I was getting slightly worried that we hadn't heard from you, never realised it was a three week trip. It truly is amazing, those old ghost towns. The populations where huge and they had all the mod cons, electricity, trams, trains and when the gold petered out, they just disappeared. (Not to forget a pub on every corner and a few in between ) __________________ Regards John "The Golden Mile" Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, here I am, Stuck in the middle with you. Some of my Stuff Retired Medically Unfit WA Police Officers

08-30-2009, 11:36 AM	#5
Forester21 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,498	Sounds like a great trip! Did you find any gold? __________________ Theresa http://WoodNGoods.etsy.com http://woodngoods.blogspot.com

08-31-2009, 09:52 AM	#6
etnoord Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Brunswick Junction Western Australia Posts: 65	Hi all Thanks for your replies, Yes Rick there is still gold in the goldfields the "sons of Gwalia" reopened as an open pit mine in 1983,a further47 tonnes of gold has been recovered. No Theresa I did n't find any gold. Tom

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