Kalgoorlie
city in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia
Kalgoorlie (/ˈkælˌɡʊːɹli/ kal-GOOR-LEE), also known as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located 595 km (370 mi) east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surrounding urban area includes the historic townsite of Boulder and the local government area is the City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder.
Kalgoorlie–Boulder lies on the traditional lands of the Kapurn people. The city was established in 1893 during the Western Australian gold rushes. It soon replaced Coolgardie as the largest settlement on the Eastern Goldfields. Kalgoorlie is the ultimate destination of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme and the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail. The nearby Super Pit gold mine was Australia's largest open-cut gold mine for many years.
During August 2021, Kalgoorlie–Boulder had an estimated urban population of 29,072, a slight decline from the recent peak of 32,966 in 2013.
Toponymy
Kalgoorlie
As of 1894, when the Western Australian government decided to declare a townsite for the place now named Kalgoorlie, the area was known locally as "Hannan's Find", an allusion to Patrick (Paddy) Hannan and his gold find there in June 1893. That name was also the local preference for any official nomenclature, but the name proposed for the official townsite was "Hannans".
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Kalgoorlie” is city in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Kalgoorlie, city and Goldfields-Esperance, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q329503. VIAF identifies the subject as 151292957. The Library of Congress control number is n82083507. Authority coordinates are -30.749, 121.466. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1893, 2021, 2013 and 1894.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kalgoorlie”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kalgoorlie primary sources, Kalgoorlie archive and Kalgoorlie research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kalgoorlie”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kalgoorlie” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.