MEEKATHARRA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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An old gold and copper mining town in the East Murchison Goldfields, it was once an important cattle railhead for stock overlanded down the Canning Stock Route from the Northern Territory via the Gibson Desert or another stock route, known as the Madman's Track, from stations to the north west.
Location: 764 km north east of Perth.
Origin of name: the claim of three prospectors, Meehan, Porter and Soych, who first found gold in late 1895, was near Meekatharra Spring, the Aboriginal name of a watering point that had appeared on maps since 1885, and it is from this spring that the townsite's name is derived. It is believed that the name means, "place of little water".
Brief history: gold was discovered in the area in 1895 and the town boomed until the outbreak of World War I when it went into a rapid decline from which it would never recover. Gold is no longer mined, but other minerals such as nickel now bring prosperity to this arid region. A railway station was opened in 1910, and it contained a large junction station, loco depot and railwaymen's barracks. A stationmaster was there until 1978 when the line was closed.
Natural features: Collier Range National Park
Heritage features: former Court House (1911)