The gold rush days of the 1890's settled many 'booming' towns and Menzies was one of them but unlike many this one survived the limited resources and changing fortunes. Gold was first discovered in the area in 1891, it was reported by James Speakman but for what ever reason he or his family never returned. It was the rich discovery in the Coolgardie field in 1892 that tempted many prospectors to the area. Water had to be carted in from underground supplies so the government started to build a dam in 1897 and by 1901 it supplied the township. At the height of the gold rush boom which lasted for ten years there was a population of approx 10,000 people with 13 hotels and 2 breweries. By 1905 however things began to dwindle and people began looking elsewhere for their luck and the towns population declined to less than 1,000.
No comments:
Post a Comment