36-517: Mount Magnet is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia . It is one of the region's original gold mining towns, and the longest surviving gold mining settlement in the state. The prominent hill that is adjacent to the current townsite was called West Mount Magnet in 1854 by explorer Robert Austin , having named a smaller hill 64 km away, East Mount Magnet (now called Carron Hill). Both hills had an extremely high iron content which affected
72-400: A bus as transport to and from the school for the students. The indigenous language of the area is Martu Wangka dialect , however most students speak Aboriginal English . An early mining settlement of Lake Way Gold, named after the dry Lake Way south of Wiluna, established around 1896, was called Weeloona , derived from an Aboriginal word meaning Place of wind or Windy place . However,
108-508: A fence gate on the Millbillillie -Jundee track 11 km (6.8 mi) from Wiluna when they witnessed a bright fireball falling into spinifex ( Triodia ) grassland to the north. The debris from this meteor became known as the Millbillillie meteorite and is understood to be pieces of the asteroid Vesta that had at some point been knocked off by a collision in the asteroid belt . Although no official specimens were recovered until 1970 it
144-400: A general store, petrol, caravan park, sports oval, public swimming pool, school, and health clinic. Local water holes are much damaged and overused after years of cattle use. During the wet season , large lakes may form that attract an array of wildlife. The region has snakes, kangaroos , bungarras (large lizard/goanna), bush turkeys , donkeys , horses, camels and dingoes . Willuna
180-489: Is 28.6 °C. The driest months are September to November with average monthly rainfall of 8.93mm. The hottest day recorded in Mount Magnet was 47.4 °C on 21 January 2015. [REDACTED] Media related to Mount Magnet, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons Mid West (Western Australia) The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia . It is a sparsely populated region extending from
216-575: Is home to VMW, a marine weather transmitter operated by the Bureau of Meteorology . Parts of the unsealed and flood-prone road between Wiluna and Meekatharra are as of July 2020 being sealed, as part of a pilot program in which the Government of Western Australia provided A$ 1 million for road work contractors in collaboration with the Martu-ku Yiwarra Training Centre. The Wiluna area
252-514: Is the regional hub, having road and railway facilities leading to the port. Formerly Geraldton was connected by a private railway to Perth, and the government railway system connected via Mullewa. In February 2021, the creation of five new conservation parks within the traditional lands of the Badimia people in the Mount Magnet area, covering over 114,000 ha (280,000 acres), was announced by
288-529: Is understood that members of the local Aboriginal community had collected pieces. Another meteorite fall was recorded near Wiluna on 2 September 1967. This meteorite was a H5 -class object; specimens were collected and housed in the Western Australian Museum . Wiluna Remote Community School is a school that provides education for students from year 1–12, currently having a student population of between 85 and 115 students. The school provides
324-496: The Government of Western Australia , to be jointly managed between the traditional owners and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions ' Parks and Wildlife Service. The allocated land includes portions of two former pastoral leases , Lakeside and Burnerbinmah, as well as Crown land at Kirkalocka and White Wells. There are many significant Aboriginal sites of significance as well as other historic sites within
360-668: The Lake Maitland uranium project and the Lake Way uranium project both owned by Toro Energy Ltd, and the Yeelirrie uranium project which BHP Billiton sold to Cameco . All three are located within 100 km (62 mi) of Wiluna. All three projects were opposed by environmental groups and some local people. Yeelirrie is most fiercely opposed, with over 40 years of clear opposition from traditional owners . In October 1960, two station workers named Fred Vincenti and Frank Quadrio were opening
396-527: The open cut mining operations at Hill 50. Lennonville was abandoned at the start of World War I , and the foundations of the bank and train station can still be seen. There continues to be active gold mining in the area, notably by Ramelius Resources which acquired Mt Magnet Gold Pty Ltd in 2010. The company operates the Saturn and Mars pits, collectively referred to as the Galaxy mining area. The company also commenced
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#1732852245917432-569: The traditional law ceremonies across the Central Desert region. The traditional Aboriginal owners (a grouping known as the Martu ) were "settled" as a consequence of the British colonisation process that began in the 1800s. In the 1950s a church-based group were supported by the government of the day to establish a mission. The traditional people lost their lands through many different processes, including
468-565: The Aboriginal residents and visitors. The existence of an historical Club Hotel, a dilapidated relic of the town's former heyday, created much conflict with many people opposed to its presence as an operating pub arising from the conflict and trauma associated with alcohol abuse. In 2019, a major renovation converted the Club Hotel into the Shire of Wiluna administration buildings. The town also has
504-546: The Mid West in 2013 was AU$ 6,000,000,000 (AU$ 6bn). On 25 August 2015 The Hon. Terry Redman , MLA, Minister for Regional Development, launched the "Mid West Regional Blueprint"; an aspirational growth and development plan created by the Mid West Development Commission for the region. The Blueprint proposes strategies against five priority pillars to drive or reduce barriers to, regional growth and development in
540-627: The Mid West. The Blueprint strategies are intended to focus on the region's key strengths and the identification of regional opportunities, providing a guide for regional development to 2050. Due to its relative isolation from radio-frequency interference , the Mid West region was selected to host one of two primary radiotelescope locations of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. When fully operational in 2024, this AU$ 2bn project will be 50 times more sensitive than any existing radio interferometer instrument; it will generate more data than
576-766: The Perseverance open pit cutbacks in 2015 at the top of the Hill 50 underground mine, which is 4 km north west of Mount Magnet. Unusual for such a large mining community, Mount Magnet never had a public battery (a type of mill machine that crushes material). The nearest battery was built 5 km west in Boogardie. The battery can now be seen at the Mount Magnet Mining and Pastoral Museum. However, evidence of Mount Magnet's gold-rush heyday can be seen in its very wide main street with three hotels and historic buildings. During
612-826: The SKA telescope to the MRO support facility in Geraldton and to the Pawsley Supercomputing Centre in Perth, Western Australia. Located at Yatharagga, 40 km from Mingenew (100 km SE of Geraldton), the WA Space Centre is an $ 8,000,000 114 ha satellite park owned and operated by Space Australia, a subsidiary company of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). The park is located in one of several Radio Quiet Zones in
648-622: The Western Australian Museum. Its history is sustained through the Wirnda Barna Arts Centre, and the Mount Magnet Mining and Pastoral Museum. The area once had three separate town sites: Mount Magnet, Boogardie , and Lennonville . Hill 50 Gold Mines N.L., which was floated on the Perth Stock Exchange in 1934 to acquire leases at Boogardie, started mining Hill 50 in 1936. Boogardie has since been swallowed up into
684-566: The area on a " fly-in/fly-out " basis. Wiluna's climate is hot and dry, with an annual rainfall of 258 mm (10.2 in). Mean maximum temperatures range from 19 °C (66 °F) in July, to 38 °C (100 °F) in January. The closest service centre is in Meekatharra . Wiluna has from 200 to 600 Aboriginal people living within its community, depending upon the nature, time and place of
720-533: The community. The former Governor-General of Australia , Major General Michael Jeffery was born in Wiluna on 12 December 1937. A new primary school was constructed in Wiluna after Jeffery visited the town in 2006 and criticised the condition of the existing school. Warri and Yatungka were a famous Aboriginal couple who died in Wiluna in 1979. They were the last of the Mandildjara people to leave their country and
756-546: The current global Internet traffic and be capable of surveying the sky more than ten thousand to a million times faster than what is possible today. The radiotelescope antennae and the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) are located near Boolardy , Western Australia, approximately 315 km northeast of Geraldton, with logistics and science support provided by CSIRO from their facilities in Geraldton. High-capacity optical fibre cables connect
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#1732852245917792-614: The economy is dominated by mining of iron ore, gold, nickel and other mineral resources. Geraldton is an important hub for the tourism industry. The Mid West also has the highest value fishing industry in Western Australia, with Geraldton the hub of the Western Rock Lobster industry. Western Rock Lobster netted almost $ 234.5 million in revenue for WA in the 2012–13 financial year, making it Australia's most valuable single-species wild capture fishery. Gross Regional Product for
828-478: The hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Their Romeo and Juliet -like story was recorded in the best-selling book The Last of the Nomads by Dr W J Peasley. This story is recounted as Peasley, organising the expedition, although it was Stan Gratte of Geraldton (OAM) who organised this party to recover them when urged by Warri's brother Moodjeren, who was concerned, due to old age and the lack of young people who would normally assist
864-510: The issuing of pastoral leases , the discovery of gold and the influx of non-Aboriginal people onto their lands. Before and after the atomic nuclear testing near Maralinga in South Australia in the 1950s, many Aboriginal people from at least three different tribal and language groups were forced to live within the mission site. This created many conflicts and the legacy continues today. Much traditional knowledge and skill exists today amongst
900-532: The name is also sometimes claimed to come from the cry of the curlew , which is frequent in the area. Wiluna experiences a desert climate ( Köppen climate classification BWh ), though like most of inland Western Australia it has seen its rainfall increase by around 40 percent since 1967 . The heaviest rainfall, however, was associated with the April 1900 floods when the town received 527.1 mm (20.75 in), two-and-half-times its normal annual rainfall. Wiluna
936-676: The new parks. Wiluna, Western Australia Wiluna is a small town in the Goldfields-Esperance region (since 2021) of Western Australia . It is situated on the edge of the Western Desert at the gateway to the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway . It is the service centre of the local area for the local Martu people , the pastoral industry, the Wiluna Gold Mine , and many more people who work on other mines in
972-399: The population had fallen to less than 100. Gold mining resumed in the area in 1981. The closest mine site to town is the Wiluna Gold Mine , approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Wiluna. The mine is operated by Wiluna Mining Corporation and currently produces gold from re-processing of legacy mine tailings. Yeleeri site, located 100 km (62 mi) south has uranium ore , and
1008-477: The readings of his compass. West Mount Magnet had its Aboriginal name reinstated by the Surveyor General in 1972, "Warramboo", meaning campfire camping place. The magnetic variation at Mount Magnet is zero: magnetic north equals true north. Surrounding the town are remnants of old gold mining operations, and to the north-east are significant Aboriginal sites being preserved jointly by the local community and
1044-451: The region boasts much mineral wealth. The Paroo Station lead carbonate open pit mine is located 30 km (19 mi) west of Wiluna. As of January 2015 it was being placed into care and maintenance due to low global prices for lead. Wiluna and the Mid-West region are the site of Western Australia's most advanced uranium mining projects. Three projects are in the approval process, with
1080-645: The region, making it an ideal location for radioastronomy. The SSC is the largest commercial operator of satellite tracking ground station facilities. The facilities include compounds operated by NASA , The European Space Agency , CSIRO , MOBLAS and VLBI, amongst others. The local government areas in the Mid West region are Carnamah , Chapman Valley , Coorow , Cue , Greater Geraldton , Irwin , Meekatharra , Mingenew , Morawa , Mount Magnet , Murchison , Northampton , Perenjori , Sandstone , Three Springs and Yalgoo . In 1 June 2021 Shire of Wiluna officially joined Goldfields-Esperance region. Geraldton
1116-479: The west coast of Western Australia , about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton and inland to 450 kilometres (280 mi) east of Wiluna in the Gibson Desert . It has a total area of 285,497 square kilometres (110,231 sq mi), and a permanent population of about 54,000 people, more than half of those in Geraldton. The western portion of this region
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1152-570: The wildflower season (August to November) the Gascoyne-Murchison area attracts tourists viewing the abundant natural display of wildflowers . There are thousands of wildflowers and plant species that can be seen, including the emblematic scarlet red Sturt's desert pea , the royal purple mulla mulla by the roadside, and fields of white, yellow and pink everlastings. During the lifetime of the Northern Railway to Meekatharra , Mount Magnet
1188-520: Was an important railway junction when the Sandstone branch railway was in operation. Mount Magnet is served by Mount Magnet Airport , where Skippers Aviation has services to and from Meekatharra and Perth. The climate in Mount Magnet is an arid climate, also known as a desert climate that has a BWh classification according to the Köppen climate classification . The mean maximum temperature in Mount Magnet
1224-474: Was explored by Lawrence Wells in 1892. Gold was discovered in the area in 1896, and within a few months over 300 prospectors were in the area. The town of Wiluna was gazetted in 1898, the name Wiluna being the Wati (Aboriginal language) name for the area. By the 1930s, the town had a population of over 9,000 people, but World War II severely affected the gold mining industry, and many mines were shut down. By 1963
1260-416: Was known earlier as "The Murchison" based on the river of the same name , and the similarly named Goldfield. The Mid West region has a diversified economy that varies with the geography and climate. Near the coast, annual rainfall of between 400 and 500 millimetres (16 and 20 in) allows intensive agriculture. Further inland, annual rainfall decreases to less than 250 millimetres (10 in), and here
1296-495: Was the furthest away from Perth that the narrow gauge Western Australian Government Railways system reached. The Wiluna branch was connected to the main Northern Railway at Meekatharra . The branch opened to Wiluna on 2 November 1932. The line was closed on 5 August 1957. The Indigenous people who have always lived in the region come from different tribal groups. Accomplished hunters, crafts people, pastoralists, bush mechanics and people with many other skills exist today within
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