A rainy day in Boulder, Western Australia
Boulder is located in the Western Australian Goldfields, 596km east of Perth and 5km from Kalgoorlie. Gazetted as a town site in 1896, it rapidly grew to a population of around 5,600 in 1903 at the height of the gold rush and growth of the Great Boulder Mine. In 1989 Boulder merged with Kalgoorlie to form the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
Cornwall Hotel, Hopkins Street South Boulder. Fujifilm X100V, Wide conversion lens, ISO 320, 1/100s, f/8
On the corner of the Goldfields highway and Hopkins street is the historic Cornwall hotel. Built in 1898, it is currently closed and undergoing repairs and restoration for the extensive damage caused by the magnitude 5.0 earthquake in 2010. The “Say Hannans” mural on the side of the hotel is promoting the iconic goldfields lager, Hannan’s lager, which was brewed in Kalgoorlie from 1937 until 1982.
It was a rainy Sunday, and the town was very quiet, almost ghost town like, which was good for exploring. Towards the rear of the Cornwall hotel site were a number of abandoned decaying vehicles, that made ideal photographic subjects, for wide as well as detail shots.
If you need me, call me on the Gold Phone. Boulder. Fujifilm X100V, Wide conversion lens, ISO 320, 1/60s, f/5.6
The main street of Boulder is Burt street, and is easily explored on foot. There are numerous historic hotels, pubs and buildings on the street. One such building is The Palace Theatre which was established in the 1930’s, and is utilised today as the Palace Theatre Recreation Centre for activities such as roller skating. It was raining steadily and quite dark now, so I felt that shooting in a black and white film simulation (Kodak Tri-X 400 from Fuji X weekly) added to the mood and timeless nature of some of the buildings.
Palace Theatre, Burt Street Boulder. Fujifilm X100V, Wide conversion lens, ISO 320, 1/100s, f/8
If you ever find yourself in the Kalgoorlie goldfields area, a few hours exploring historic Boulder is well worth it. One of Australia’s biggest open cut mines, the Kalgoorlie Super Pit is close-by, so why not checkout the lookout and perhaps witness some of the blasting operations there.
For more information on things to do in Kalgoorlie-Boulder region, the Visitor Centre in Kalgoorlie is worth a visit to assist with your planning. Boulder is around a 7 hour drive from Perth, however is also accessible by air with both major airlines, QANTAS and Virgin Australia servicing nearby Kalgoorlie, with the flight being around an hour.