This is what the beach in front of the cafe looked like after a storm a few weeks ago. Banks washed away. Play park has gone. Car park is closed. Our house will soon be on the beach front.
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| Quinns Beach after Storm |
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| Jindalee Cafe |
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| Shire Town Hall |
Gold was
discovered in the area in 1894, Leslie Robert Menzies, a Canadian-born
prospector, and John McDonald (not Jocky babes) were the first to take up a
lease here in October 1894. Menzies and McDonald found many very rich nuggets
and quartz specimens studded with gold.
According to the
writings of Warden Owen, it was estimated that in 1896 the population was
10,000, half of whom resided in the town and the other half in the surrounding
land. Despite all these hardships, the people strived to make Menzies a vibrant
profitable town. Water was carted to the town from surrounding lakes and
underground supplies. The Government built a dam in 1897 and in 1901 this
supplied water to the residences. The railway line between Kalgoorlie and
Menzies was officially opened on 22 March 1898.
Menzies at this time boasted 13
hotels, 3 banks, its own breweries and cordial factories, a Post Office with a
staff of 25, a school with 205 pupils, a public library (in 1904) and 4
churches.
It is a town that
has seen many changes over the years. The population is generally low (less
than 100); however this can change - and has changed rapidly as mines open and
close in the local area. There is a pub with food, small shop and cold beer, a
Post Office, a beautiful caravan park and the old state battery, which is in
mint condition and worth a look.
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| Roadhouse covered in Registration Plates |
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| Menzies Hotel |
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| Cobber - my latest painting |
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| Baker's Oven |
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| Prisoner in Handcuffs |
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| Madam |
An eerie sight in the WA Goldfields
near Site 20 of the Golden Quest Discovery Trail are the 51 life-sized statues
that form the "Inside Australia" exhibition by internationally
renowned artist Antony Gormley through an initiative of the Perth International
Arts Festival. The Statues are situated on part of the major salt Lake system
for the Northern Goldfields - Lake Ballard near the town of Menzies.
The work is an installation of black
abstracted steel figures standing in a 7 square kilometre area of Lake Ballard
- a salt-lake which is an extreme example of the beauty of the Western
Australian outback. Sunrise and sunset are the best time to walk through this
extensive installation of sculptures in the landscape.
Locals in the Menzies community
contributed by having their naked bodies scanned. The resulting scans were used
as the basis for making accurate concentrated forms which allow attitudes and
emotions embedded in posture to be revealed. The resulting sculptures cast in a
special alloy of elements taken from Western Australia are life-size in height
but reduced to one third of their original body volume. They are intense, taut,
stick-like body-forms that will stand out against the brilliant white of the salt-lake.
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| Lake Ballard |
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| Stickman at Lake Ballard |
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| Lake Ballard |
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| Goongarrie Salt Lakes |
