Home for some old and new residents, essentially Gwalia is a ghost town with an old store, Guest House and many other cottages still remaining. The State Hotel is one Western Australia’s first hotels, built in 1903 at a cost of 6,000 pounds. The Mine Manager’s house original head frame and winder room can still be seen surrounded by more recent mining activity.

The Museum at the top of the hill, has fascinating displays of early history and life in Leonora-Gwalia as well as the North Eastern Goldfields. The Museum is open daily: 10am to 4pm. Ken, a small locomotive can be found at the entrance to the museum. This little machine was used on the extensive narrow gauge "woodlines" established to collect 30,000 tonnes of Mulga timber each year to fuel the mine.

The park near the railway station area is an ideal picnic spot. Climb to the top of Mt Leonora and imagine yourself in Forrest’s shoes over 100 years ago.

There are many interesting places to visit: 12 kms from Leonora, Malcolm Dam which was built in 1902 to provide water for the railway, and is a good picnic spot. For the more energetic visitor, exploration of the Terraces which are large breakaway formations about 40km northeast is good for bushwalking and magnificent views.

A day trip to the Lawlers-Agnew area and the town of Leinster in the north, are examples of the pastoral area as well as old and new mining towns. Places of interest are the old townsite of Lawlers-Agnew and Mt Sir Samuel. Wanjarri Nature Reserve is worth visiting as is Weebo Gorge and Jones Creek which has barbecue facilities.

The little miners cottages: These little abandoned miners camps were in a very derelict condition until they were auctioned off in 1995 to volunteers, who restored the camps using traditional methods and materials. Local people performed a variety of tasks from restoring buildings, boring holes, painting, gardening, donating old newspapers for the walls, perspex and windows.

Each house has its own personality, some were lived in until not long ago, most were left abandoned when the original Sons of Gwalia underground mine closed in 1963. Some volunteers have restored the houses as they were originally lived in, as an example of early life in the town.

John Forrest's team camped near Mt Leonora in 1869 during his search for the lost Leichardt expedition. Twenty-five years later, prospectors came to the area and by 1896 the first claims were pegged by Edward "Doodah" Sullivan at the Johannesburg lease.

The Sons of Gwalia leases west of Mt Leonora had a major influence on the town. The largest underground gold mine outside the Golden Mile operated continuously for 104 years. One company ran the mine for 65 years, and their first manager was Herbert Hoover (US President).

The official town site of Leonora was declared in April 1898. A large population continued to live on the leases of Gwalia, hence the twin town development. Leonora became the largest centre on the North Eastern Goldfields. There were seven hotels, general store, chemist, tailor and bakery due to the prosperity in the area.

The rail link from Kalgoorlie was opened on the 20th June, 1902. The Leonora-Gwalia steam tram line was opened on 6th October 1903 and was replaced by a petrol driven rail car in 1916.

In 1895, Julius Anderson, Dick Brown, V Nelson and John Devlin discovered a rich quartz reef twenty miles northeast of Lawlers. They named the site Leinster, which is a province of Ireland.

The Leinster workings were developed for commercial production in 1899-1900, with the main production period being 1900-1906. The townsite of Leinster was declared on 13 February 1981, and derives its name from the Leinster Downs pastoral station. This was originally a private town to support the Agnew nickel mining project. Western Mining Corporation continues to play a very important role in nickel production today.

Leonora Continues its role as a service centre for mining exploration and the well established pastoral industry. 

The large dams and creeks provide a haven for bird life and wildflowers flourish with carpets of Everlasting daisies appearing in spring time. 

Mining and prospecting is still a major activity in the area. Many ounces of gold have been found with gold detectors in recent years, some locals and visitors can find a keepsake nugget or even attempt to strike it rich.

Renewed activity by larger mining companies has lead to reappraisal of leases that have been unworked for many years. New open-pit mines and treatment plants have been established in these areas. Leonora is at a junction of roads north, south and east, and can cater for travellers and business interests over a wide area.

A railhead fo mines to the north, transport agents and depots, contractors and other service industries, keep Leonora an active town. The Shire administration and government services are also based in Leonora.

Leonora has a wide main street and many old buildings exhibits some of the past character while providing modern facilities and services.

Many of the older buildings are constructed of corrugated iron and hessian as this was a versatile material and easy to transport, even many of the newer buildings are transportable. Both Leonora and Leinster have a variety of shops which carry most requisites for travellers. Leonora has two service stations, roadhouse, motel, two hotels, caravan park, take-away and dining facilities, while Leinster has a service station, motel, village and tavern/restaurant. 

Both Leonora and Leinster have excellent recreation facilities, golf course, oval, basketball courts and race track. Leonora also has a recreation centre, which caters for a variety of indoor sports while Leinster has a swimming pool.

Both towns host annual special events, such as: Leonora-Gwalia Market Day – 1st Sunday of August, Leonora Art Prize – 1st week in September, Leinster Community Fair – March. 

Distance from Perth (km)
980
Area (sq km)
183,198
Length of Sealed Roads (km)
101
Length of Unsealed Roads (km)
3,490
Population
2,069
Number of Electors
526
Number of Dwellings
385

• Click here for Leonora-Gwalia Street Map.
• Click here for Distance Chart.

Lenora Photo Gallery