Desmond, Western Australia

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Desmond
Western Australia
Elverdton Copper-Gold Mine, January 2024 04.jpg
Head frame at the Elverdton Copper-Gold Mine, adjacent to the Desmond townsite
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Desmond
Desmond, Western Australia
Coordinates 33°37′41″S120°08′38″E / 33.628107°S 120.143992°E / -33.628107; 120.143992
Established1909
Postcode(s) 6346
Area0.76 km2 (0.29 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s) Shire of Ravensthorpe
State electorate(s) Roe
Federal division(s) O'Connor

Desmond is an abandoned mining town of the Shire of Ravensthorpe in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is located within the locality of Ravensthorpe, on the Hopetoun to Ravensthorpe Road. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Desmond and the Shire of Ravensthorpe are located on the traditional land of the Wudjari people of the Noongar nation. [3] [4]

Desmond was a siding on the Hopetoun to Ravensthorpe railway line, which operated from 1909 to 1946, but the Desmond siding was closed by 1935. [5] [6] [7] The townsite of Desmond was gazetted at the railway siding in 1909, originally as Eldverton, after the nearby mine. When the Eldverton mine itself received a siding the following year, it became necessary to rename the townsite, with Desmond chosen, after the nearby Mount Desmond. [8]

The Desmond Townsite is listed on the shire's heritage register. The history of the town was a short one, with interest in mining in the area declining soon after establishment. By 1911, people started leaving the townsite again, with the last inhabitant of the town leaving in 1923. [9] An official map of the townsite from around 1909 shows the town to the south-west of the railway line and siding. The town itself consisted of the north-south running Elverd, Potter, Pender and Hatfield Streets, with 114 blocks of land allocated along them. A school site was also included. [10]

The Desmond Hotel predated the townsite, being established in 1905. The building was dismantled in the 1930s and moved to Ravensthorpe. [11]

The mine and the town were originally named after Bob Elverdton, who found gold and copper in the area in 1900 and a first phase of mining at Elverdton took place during the First World War, when copper was in short supply. The mine also produced gold as a by-product from the copper mining. [12]

A second area of mining at the Elverdton mine, north-east of the townsite, took place between 1956 and 1972, when copper was mined there. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ "SLIP Map". maps.slip.wa.gov.au. Landgate . Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  2. ↑ "NationalMap". nationalmap.gov.au. Geoscience Australia . Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  3. ↑ "Wudjari (WA)". www.samuseum.sa.gov.au. South Australian Museum . Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  4. ↑ "Map of Indigenous Australia". aiatsis.gov.au. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies . Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  5. ↑ "Railway map of Western Australia 1946". Trove. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  6. ↑ "Western Australian railways passenger stations & stops" (PDF). www.branchline.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "Back along the line: An historical gazetteer of railway stations, sidings and related facilities along Western Australian railway lines" (PDF). www.geoproject.com.au. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "History of country town names – D". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "Elverdton/Desmond Townsite". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia . Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  10. ↑ Western Australia. Department of Lands and Surveys (1909). "Townsite of Desmond" (Map). Townsite of Desmond. Perth: Dept. of Lands & Surveys W.A., ca. 1909 . Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  11. ↑ "Desmond Hotel site". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia . Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "Elverdton Gold Copper Mine". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia . Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  13. ↑ "Elverdton-Mt Desmond Copper Mines, Ravensthorpe Shire, Western Australia, Australia". www.mindat.org. Mindat . Retrieved 21 December 2024.
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