12-687: Youanmi is an abandoned town in the Murchison region of Western Australia . The town was gazetted in 1910 but abandoned in 1942, after the local gold mine was closed. The first Europeans to visit the Youanmi area were the Robert Austin party in 1854, followed by the John Forrest 's expedition in 1869, which passed through in search of Ludwig Leichhardt and his party. Gold was discovered at Youanmi in 1894 or 1895 by prospector Tom Payne. The discovery site
24-603: Is located nearby, and was officially opened in October 2012. Purchase of pastoral leases by the Western Australian Government increased the area set aside for conservation purposes from about 0.5% of the bioregion in 1998 to 6.7% in 2004. Protected areas include: Shire of Meekatharra The Shire of Meekatharra is a local government area in the Mid West region of Western Australia , about halfway between
36-472: Is one of the main pastoral areas in Western Australia, dominated by large pastoral leases on Crown land operated as sheep and cattle stations . Mining (gold, iron and nickel) is the major contributor to the region's economy. There are extensive mining areas, with a large number of abandoned historical mining towns and settlements . The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope
48-428: The 1980s, when the gold mine reopened, but because of the fly-in fly-out nature of present-day mining, the town was not reestablished. Mining continued until 1997, when the mine was closed once more. At the time of its second closure, Youanmi had produced 670,000 ounces of gold throughout its lifetime. Murchison (Western Australia) The Murchison is a loosely defined area of Western Australia located within
60-587: The Nannine district was abolished for a second and final time on 24 January 1930. It became a shire on 1 July 1961 following the passage of the Local Government Act 1960 , which reformed all remaining road districts into shires. The shire is divided into three wards: The towns and localities of the Shire of Meekatharra with population and size figures based on the most recent Australian census : Ghost towns in
72-747: The bioregion include the Shire of Yalgoo , the Shire of Mount Magnet , the Shire of Murchison , the Shire of Cue , the Shire of Sandstone , the Shire of Meekatharra , the Shire of Wiluna and the Shire of Leonora . The climate is arid, with rainfall predominantly in the winter months. The predominant plant community is low mulga woodlands and shrublands, characterized by mulga ( Acacia aneura ), with an understory of herbaceous ephemeral plants and bunchgrasses. Other plant communities include saltbush ( Atriplex spp.) shrubland on calcareous soils, low samphire ( Tecticornia spp.) shrubland on saline alluvium, and hummock grassland on red sandplains. The Murchison
84-565: The bioregion is drained by the upper Murchison and Wooramel rivers, which drain westwards towards the coast. Together with Gascoyne bioregion , it constitutes the Western Australian mulga shrublands ecoregion. Population is scattered; the largest population centres are Meekatharra , Mount Magnet , and Leonora , with smaller mining and pastoral towns at Yalgoo , Sandstone , Cue , Wiluna , and Leinster . The Murchison bioregion has two subregions: Local government areas within
96-549: The interior of the Mid West region . It was the subject of a major gold rush in the 1890s and remains a significant mining district. The Murchison is also included as an interim Australian bioregion . The bioregion is loosely related to the catchment area of the Murchison River and has an area of 281,205 square kilometres (108,574 sq mi). The landscape is characterised by low hills and mesas, separated by colluvium flats and alluvial plains. The western portion of
108-477: The town of Port Hedland and the state capital, Perth , Western Australia. The Shire covers an area of 100,789 square kilometres (38,915 sq mi), and its seat of government is the town of Meekatharra . The Meekatharra Road District was established on 31 October 1909 out of the abolished Peak Hill Road District and Nannine Road District . It lost much of its territory to a reconstituted Nannine Road District on 7 December 1913, but regained much of that when
120-540: Was originally spelt Yuani , which was thought to correctly represent the Aboriginal name, but this was soon dropped in favour of Youanmi . The name Youanmi was first recorded by a surveyor in 1887, as the name of a local spring, pointed out to him by a local Aboriginal accompanying him. Following the survey of lots, the townsite was gazetted in August 1910. The first pastoral lease were being established at this time. The mine
132-479: Was owned by London -based company Yuanmi Gold Mines, Limited. On Christmas Eve 1929, Arthur Upfield met Snowy Rowles at Youanmi, after the latter had just murdered James Ryan and George Lloyd, in a case known as the Murchison Murders . With the closure of the gold mine in 1942, Youanmi was almost completely abandoned. It is the setting of the 1957 stage musical Nex' Town . Mining at Youanmi resumed in
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#1732923300485144-525: Was the Golden Crown Mine, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southwest of the current mine mill. Activity in subsequent years was subdued until a major movement of prospectors into the area in late 1907. By 1908 however, the Youanmi Gold Mine was set up and the local population grew to such an extent that the local Youanme Progress Committee requested the declaration of a townsite in 1910. The town's name
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