(C) Don Copley

LAVERTON

HEMA Map reference 77/F12

28° 37' 32" S 122° 23' 49" E

Statistics

Caravan Parks

Desert Pea              08 9031 1072

Services

Attractions

Billy Goat Lookout, Explorers Hall of fame, Heritage trail, Burtville Arch, Discovery Trail, Outback gallery.

Buildings of note

Unknown

Calendar of events

May: Fireman's Ball, Wheelie bin race day. October: Races.

Description

Gold was discovered in the 1890s and the town was gazetted in 1900 (another source quotes 1898 but this appears to have been when the first town site was proposed 3 kilometres from the current location.).

The town was originally known as British Flag - the name of the first mine in the area - but it was renamed in honour of Dr. Charles William Laver, a doctor who travelled with John Forrest in 1869. The Aboriginal name for the area was Buckanoo.
 

Laver was the son of a convict who 'made good'. He was born in 1863 at Chinaman's Creek near Castlemaine, Victoria. He worked as a drover and at one stage helped bring livestock to the remote Kimberley region. It was while he was there that a prospector gave him a small gold nugget. This sparked his interest in prospecting and led him to come to W.A. when the goldrush started.

Laver studied medicine in Britain and was working as a doctor in Coolgardie when he met a group of miners who had just staked a claim that they called British Flag. They told Laver about the find and he purchased a bicycle and rode 390 kilometres out to the area to see for himself what was going on. On his first prospecting trip Laver found 600 oz of gold and he then began promoting the find to investors in England.

Although interested in prospecting, Laver was always a doctor first and he never refused treatment to any who needed it, even if they could not pay.

During its early mining period the town had a reputation to equal any of the towns in America's old wild west. It was said at the time that the only person buried in the local cemetery who had died of natural causes was a six week old baby.

‘Although the Mount Magnet goldfield can lay claim to several thriving townships… …there is not one at the present time, which possesses better prospects of a prosperous future than Laverton.’

Twentieth Century Impressions of W.A.
1901

In 1969 nickel was discovered in the area and the town experienced a re-birth. The name Poseidon is forever linked to the area with a report of 3.65% nickel ore driving share in the company up from $1.20 to $280. The mine closed down in 1977 but it had given the town a new lease on life.

Laverton is the starting point for a 4wd track which leads east to Uluru. The area it travels over is very remote and inhospitable so trips through this region must be carefully planned.

(C) Don Copley