Go with the flow on a family adventure to WA’s goldfields
The Golden Pipeline is a self-guided trail that spaghettis between the Perth Hills and WA’s Eastern Goldfields. Follow the waterway as it squiggles its way from Mundaring Weir to Mt Charlotte, and from forested hills to the red dirt of the state’s goldfields, and you will learn about the ambitious scheme to pump water higher and further than had ever been done at the end of the 19th century. As well as being historically significant, the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is regarded as an engineering marvel. It has been pumping water through a steel pipeline to its destination some 560 kilometres east for more than a century, and it’s predicted it will continue to do so for another (golden) century. The Golden Pipeline, a National Trust WA project, h[oNnoEuErDstSheSwUoBrk] of civic engineer CY O’Connor who was responsible for creating major public works during the 1890s that stimulated the development of WA. The fact that this water supply scheme still functions effectively to this day is a testament to his skills. The scheme came about due to the fact water was scarce in the goldfields following discovery of the precious metal in Coolgardie in 1892, then Kalgoorlie in 1893. While some of the pump stations may be closed for remediation works, others are like open museums, standing like memorials to the great engineer. This is a journey into the wild, wild west. As well as learning about the water supply scheme, you can home-school your kids about WA’s gold-mining history, see dreamy sunsets and wildflowers as you make your way through the wheatbelt and the goldfields. 650 kilometres. At the Kalgoorlie DISTANCE: STAY: Overland Motel.