Coolgardie

Coolgardie is a town in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia.

Understand
Coolgardie was the first major gold rush town. In early years, the now more substantial mining centre of Kalgoorlie–Boulder to the east was in the East Coolgardie area.

Things shift, mining towns come and go, and Coolgardie is an elegant set of remains of the older town along the main street.



Get in
No regular air services to Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie is the closest airport.

By train

 * The Perth–Kalgoorlie Prospector train service is nearest to Coolgardie at Bonnie Vale station, 14 km north of town.

By car

 * From Perth it's 557km east on the Great Eastern Highway, 32km short of Kalgoorlie. It passes right through the middle of town.
 * From Esperance it's 368km north on the Coolgardie–Esperance Highway.

Get around
Most of sights are along either side of a 500m stretch of Bayley St, though the street is so wide you won't want to cross it too many times.

See
Along the road side and on significant buildings are information boards explaining the history of what stands (or once stood) here.



Sleep
There are hotels and a caravan park on the main street.

Phone
A satellite phone would be useful to have in an emergency if you intend to spend an extended amount of time off the beaten track.

Go next

 * Travelling east
 * Kalgoorlie–Boulder – A gold mining town with enough history and vibrant eateries to fill the giant hole in the ground where its fortune comes from.
 * Travelling west
 * Southern Cross
 * Travelling south
 * Norseman – the link to the inter-state Eyre Highway
 * Further south
 * Esperance – on the southern coast