Primary contact
Old Boulder Municipal Power Station Building
49 Hamilton Street, Boulder (next to Loopline Park)
Postal address: PO Box 643, Kalgoorlie WA 6433
Boulder, Western Australia 6432
Eastern Goldfields Historical Society Inc, Boulder, Western Australia
The Eastern Goldfields Historical Society was formed in 1946 as a branch of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society.
In 1979 the Society opened and ran a display centre at the Boulder Railway Station (now the Loopline Railway Museum and Information Centre).
Also in 1979, the Society became an independent, incorporated entity. The Eastern Goldfields Historical Society currently operates from the old Boulder Power Station in Hamilton Street, Boulder, our home since 1996.
The Society is a non-profit organisation run mostly by volunteers dedicated to the collection and preservation of Goldfields history. Each year, members share this history by helping hundreds of visitors and researchers learn about the region and the people who built it.
Thanks to a grant generously provided by the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the Society has now employed a fulltime Executive Officer who commenced work in January 2017. This appointment has not only enabled the Society to extend our opening times, but also demonstrates the growing significance of our organisation to the local community and the heritage tourism sector.
The Society is managed by an elected volunteer Committee whose President is elected annually.
Any record pertaining to the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, that is, mainly the following Goldfields - Coolgardie, East Coolgardie, North Coolgardie, North-east Coolgardie, Mt. Margaret, Dundas with some interest in Murchison and Yalgoo Goldfields.
Reference Library and Archive
The Society holds a comprehensive selection of popular and rare books about the Goldfields and Western Australia including local histories, biographies and reference works. Our resources include a large collection of reference documents, research papers, maps and plans, ephemera and manuscripts. See the website for some digitised examples.
Photographs
The Society is the proud custodian of more than 60 000 photographs that are a visual history of the development of the Eastern Goldfields. Subjects range from mining and industry to the people who built the towns and vast pastoral holdings, as well as the region’s Aboriginal residents. See the website for a selection of digitised photographs.
Open Monday to Friday 9am-2pm; Saturday 10am-12pm. By appointment.
Before you can use the Society’s images, you will be required to agree to its Condition of Use of Photographic Images .
The Society’s experienced and knowledgeable volunteers regularly assist researchers and visitors with their enquiries. If you are unable to visit us, we can still help you with your research. Simply fill out and submit the online Application for Research Request Form. To assist our research team to locate information on your subject, please provide any relevant information such as business, occupation, place of residence/location, etc. Research fees are $25 per hour (as at October 2024).
Fees for photographs available on request.
Revised 19 October 2024