Sex in the City

Kalgoorlie is another of those iconic Australian towns we were looking forward to visiting, and so began our journey to the desert. Having left Norseman, the closest town, it was a further 200 kilometres to our destination. Heading into the dry Australian bush, we noticed most of the trees were dead, some black from a fire, others seeming to have just given up. The overall look of death was contrasted by the new green growth at ground level, making the ‘skeleton scene’ quite beautiful. We were back in aboriginal land and decided to stop at Widgiemooltha for lunch, mainly because the name sounded cool. Opps, we blinked and missed the town and had to turn around. Only about 3 buildings here..... Our final pit stop was Coolgardie- once the ‘Mother of the Goldfields’, but now resembling a ghost town. The only reminder of how grand this town once was is the majestic exhibition building, now a very interesting museum.

Coolgardie Exhibition Building (our camper in right of pic)


As you enter the outskirts of Kalgoorlie, the first things you see are some seriously big houses. This town has money, but I guess that is what gold brings! With a long day behind us, we treated ourselves with a first for over 14 months- Dominos Pizza- yummo. Kalgoorlie is bigger than expected, actually everything here is big. The ‘Super Pit’ being beyond our wildest imaginations. We can thank Alan Bond for the sight that lay before us. He was the instigator that brought the individual mine leases together, to create the ‘Super Pit’.

The Super Pit! Note size of the trucks on road. See video below for pit in action



Now the largest working gold mine in the Southern Hemisphere, she will eventually be 3.8 km long, 1.35 km wide and 500 metres deep- although not far off that now! Twenty four hours a day and 365 days a year this massive wound is open for business. I am not able to put together the words to describe how big this thing is. Trucks the size of houses move hundreds of tons of rock a day, but look like mere toys viewed from our vantage point. The early minors did all this hard work by hand, and remnant shafts can be seen, scars in the sides of the pit. Extending about 270 degrees, the ‘Super Pit’ is only 400 metres from town. With so many men out here trying to strike it rich, the town also has a long history of prostitution and ‘Skimpy’s’- bar girls dressed in lingerie. The oldest brothel- Questa Casa is still in operation over 100 years later..... and open for tours.

Questa Casa- an historic brothel

Buzzing the door bell, we were soon inside the historic brothel. Some others were also there for the tour, but Dave was the only male. After a chat about the wild history and handling some ‘large’ sex toys, we off to the rooms. The first was a bondage parlour and the Madam soon had Dave spread eagle and strapped to the bed.

Bondage Dave

He was left that way until I kindly undid his restraints. Other rooms looked like every day bedrooms, if not a little over the top in decoration. In the last room Dave was once again our ‘model’. Simulating how the girls used to check for STD’s, he held a dildo ‘down there’ while the Madam first lightly scrapped her fingernails near his thighs (to see if they ended up with crabs or lice in them), and then examined the now ‘hard’ member for warts. Glad I don’t have that job...... However, a buzz at the door alerted us to some potential customers. Not yet open for business for the night they were sent away. I couldn’t resist seeing what these men looked like though and as I stuck my head out of the bedroom they saw me, not sure what they thought of the quality of the girls.......


Once a railway Station was here, Kanowna

Not wanting to make money ‘that way’ it was off to the gold mines again. This time we travelled 18 kilometres east to the ghost town of Kanowna.
Another big pit is still in operation here, but all that is left of the once thriving town is the cemetery. Mind you, even areas between the graves were open to claims and excavation. For once people were keen to dig holes in a cemetery.


Kalgoorlie Town Hall

The wealth and beauty of Kalgoorlie can still be seen in the main street. Taking a guided tour of the Town Hall, we were left in awe of this 101 year old building. The history is preserved and the prestige maintained. I even got to sit in the Mayor’s chair, still used to this day.

Sitting in the Mayor's chair

But it was the theatre that had us spellbound with its old world charm and original features. A trip to Kal is not complete without trying your luck. At the Prospectors and Miners Hall of Fame, we panned for gold. I soon got bored, however Dave struck gold! (Even if it was only about a dollar’s worth).

Real gold nuggets!

Never mind, he took me to the museum where I got to see about $4,000,000 worth up close.