Things to do in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

The best things to do in Kalgoorlie include the Museum of the Goldfields and the Two Up Shed. Mount Charlotte, Superpit tours and Hannans North Tourist Mine should top the list of other Kalgoorlie tourist attractions.

Kalgoorlie, a 90 minute flight, 6h50 Prospector train journey or 593km drive from Perth, is one of the strangest towns in Western Australia. Built on gold mining, Kalgoorlie is still very much a mining hub. What’s surprising, in the era of fly-in, fly-out mining and company mining towns, is that Kalgoorlie is so big and well-equipped.

Walk down Hannan Street, especially, and there’s a procession of handsome Federation-era hotels with elegant balconies. It’s abundantly clear that the goldrush brought plenty of wealth, and a lot of that was spent on creating a city that its residents could be proud of. The top of the clock tower gleams to this day – it is coated in real gold. There’s a sense of Wild West gone bona fide about the whole place.

Things to do in Kalgoorlie, WA: Museum of the Goldfields

The Museum of the Goldfields is the best of the Kalgoorlie tourist attractions if you want to learn about Kalgoorlie’s history. It covers the discovery of gold, race riots and the rush to get fresh water to outback area of Western Australia. The latter is particularly astonishing. Getting water to Kalgoorlie required hundreds of miles of pipeline from Mundaring in the Perth Hills.

There’s more to learn about engineer CY O’Connor and the pipeline project at Mount Charlotte. This was where the main reservoir for Kalgoorlie was built. The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme was officially unveiled here in 1903.

Atop Mount Charlotte, it’s possible to see the Fimiston Open Pit – known to almost everyone as the Superpit. This is an enormous open cut gold mine. It’s not the most conventional tourist attraction, but Kalgoorlie Tours and Charters runs regular bus trips around it. These Superpit tours offer a fairly mindblowing sense of scale. It’s fun watching the enormous big yellow machines drive round in spiral into the bottom of the mine.

Superpit Kalgoorlie — It is possible to visit the Superpit in Kalgoorlie on a guided tour. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Kalgoorlie tourist attractions: Hannans North Tourist Mine and Two Up

To see one of these Caterpillar 793Cs up close, take a Kalgoorlie taxi to Hannans North Tourist Mine. But seeing the big, modern equipment is only part of the allure here. This Kalgoorlie attraction – a recreated historic mine – shows how grim and dirty life was like for the 19^th century gold miners. There’s also a shed devoted to Two-Up, a uniquely Australian gambling game.

In Kalgoorlie, the game was still played on the sly while it fell out of favour elsewhere. And, in 1983, it was legalised as long as it was played in a special Two Up shed a few kilometres north of town. If you’re wondering what to do in Kalgoorlie on a Sunday, then the Two Up shed is worth a look.

A detour down a dirt track takes you there, and there’s nothing glamorous about it. It’s just a big circular thing made out of corrugated metal sheets – and looks like a good gust of wind could blow it over. It’s only open on Sundays, when locals drive up and take part in what is part of a distinctive Goldfields tradition.

Things to do in Kalgoorlie, WA: Golf in Kalgoorlie

You can also swap gold for golf in Kalgoorlie. The Kalgoorlie Golf Course is the end point of the Nullarbor Links, a 1,365km golf course that stretches all the way from Ceduna in South Australia. The course is a gimmick that livens the long drive across the Nullarbor Plain from the Eyre Peninsula. Holes spread out along the way, mainly at roadhouses, in quirky spots such as Penong, the Nullarbor Roadhouse and Balladonia.

Where should I stay in Kalgoorlie?

Specialist Australian accommodation website Wotif offers Kalgoorlie accommodation for from $133 a night. Check out the deals page to search for the best value stay.

However, you should consider these options first.

For central location and a pool: Plaza Hotel.
For best quality: Quest Yelverton apartments.
For proximity to the railway station: Quality Inn Railway Motel.
For pool, free parking and good value: Hospitality Inn (part of the Best Western group).