| Youanmi Western Australia | |
|---|---|
  Youanmi | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 28°36′53″S118°49′50″E / 28.61472°S 118.83056°E |
| Established | 1907 [1] |
| Postcode(s) | 6638 |
| Location | |
| LGA(s) | Shire of Sandstone |
Youanmi is an abandoned town in the Murchison region of Western Australia. [2]
The town was gazetted in 1910 but abandoned in 1942, after the local gold mine was closed. [2]
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. [1]
Gold was discovered at Youanmi in 1894 or 1895 by prospector Tom Payne. The discovery site 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. [1]
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. [2]
The town's name 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. [2]
The first pastoral lease were being established at this time. [3]
The mine was owned by London-based company Yuanmi Gold Mines, Limited. [4]
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. [5] [6]
With the closure of the gold mine in 1942, Youanmi was almost completely abandoned. [1] [7]
Mining at Youanmi resumed in 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. [8] [9] At the time of its second closure, Youanmi had produced 670,000 ounces of gold throughout its lifetime. [10]
Wiluna is a small town in the Goldfields-Esperance region 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 the area on a "fly-in/fly-out" basis. Wiluna's climate is hot and dry, with an annual rainfall of 258 millimetres (10.2 in). Mean maximum temperatures range from 19 °C (66 °F) in July, to 38 °C (100 °F) in January.
Cue is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia, located 620 km north-east of Perth. At the 2016 census, Cue had a population of 178. Cue is administered through the Cue Shire Council, which has its chambers in the historic Gentlemans Club building. The current president is Ross Pigdon. The Cue Parliament is held twice yearly in May and November.
Meekatharra is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Meekatharra is a Yamatji word meaning "place of little water". At the 2016 census, Meekatharra had a population of 708, with 34.0% being of Aboriginal descent.
Coolgardie is a small town in Western Australia, 558 kilometres (347 mi) east of the state capital, Perth. It has a population of approximately 850 people.
The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from the east, out of Western Australian pastoral areas.
The Murchison Murders were a series of three murders, committed by an itinerant stockman known as "Snowy" Rowles, near the rabbit-proof fence in Western Australia during the early 1930s. Rowles used the murder method that had been suggested by author Arthur Upfield in his then unpublished book The Sands of Windee, in which he described a foolproof way to dispose of a body and thus commit the perfect murder.
Menzies is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, 728 kilometres (452 mi) east-northeast of the state capital, Perth, and 133 kilometres (83 mi) north-northwest of the city of Kalgoorlie. At the 2016 census, Menzies had a population of 108. Aboriginal people have lived in this area since time immemorial, and the local group are the Kaburn Bardu.
Nannine is a ghost town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is located on the northern bank of Lake Anneen, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) south-southwest of Meekatharra, and 735 kilometres (457 mi) north-northeast of Perth.
Sandstone is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia 157 kilometres (98 mi) east of Mount Magnet and 661 kilometres (411 mi) north of the state capital, Perth. At the 2016 census, Sandstone and the surrounding Shire of Sandstone had a population of 89 people, including 19 families. Sandstone is the administrative centre and only town in the Shire of Sandstone local government area.
The Wiluna Gold Mine is an inactive gold mine in Western Australia near the town of Wiluna. The mine was active from 1984 until its closure in 2007 when it was put into care and maintenance, and again from late 2008 to June 2013 when the owners, APEX Minerals, went into receivership. Following this, the mine had been placed in care and maintenance again in 2013. In January 2014 it was announced that the mine would be sold to Blackham Resources, with the deal to be finalised by March 2014. Mining resumed in 2016 and Blackham was renamed to Wiluna Mining Corporation in 2020. In July 2022, the Wiluna Mining Corporation entered voluntary administration, with mining ceasing in December 2022 and processing in February 2023.
Peak Hill is the name of a goldfield, locality and the site of a gold mining ghost town in the Murchison Region of Western Australia. The gold mine covers 2,162 hectares and consists of four open-cut mines, titled Main, Jubilee, Fiveways and Harmony.
The Goldfields region of Western Australia has an extensive array of active and historical mining operations and towns.
Abbotts is an abandoned town in Western Australia located in the Murchison Goldfields region of Western Australia and 31 km (19 mi) north-west of Meekatharra on the Meekatharra – Mount Clere Road.
The Gold Stealing Detection Unit (GSDU), or Gold Stealing Detective Squad (GSDS), is a special unit of the Western Australian Police, based in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It investigates criminal activity and allegations at all stages of the gold production process in the state.
The Gidgee Gold Mine is a gold mine in Western Australia, 82 km north of the town of Sandstone. The mine was, until recently, owned by APEX Minerals NL, but purchased by Panoramic Resources in February 2011. The mine is currently in care and maintenance and owned by Horizon Gold, having purchased the mine in 2016.
The Youanmi Gold Mine is a gold mine 82 km south-southwest of the town of Sandstone. It is near the abandoned town of Youanmi, in the Murchison Region of Western Australia.
Boogardie is an abandoned town in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
Black Flag is an abandoned town in Western Australia, 30 km north west of Kalgoorlie. It is on the Black Flag to Ora Banda Road in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
Yundamindera, also once known as The Granites, is an abandoned town located between Leonora and Laverton in the Shire of Leonora in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia.
Callion is an abandoned town in the Goldfields-Esperance region in Western Australia. It is between Coolgardie and Leonora, in the Shire of Menzies.
