Historical Sites and Heritage Locations

Reflect on the lives and hardships encountered during the gold rush years with a visit to the Coolgardie Cemetery. Commissioned in 1894, it has over 3,000 graves. Over a quarter of these contain a child under the age of five.

Typhoid took hold of the town at the start of the Gold Rush, and as a result, a large number of the graves remain unmarked. The identities of many of the victims were not recorded due to the rush of prospectors migrating to the eastern goldfields.

Much of Coolgardie’s fascinating history is reflected in the old weathered headstones. Visit the grave site of Coolgardie’s legendary ghost, Elizabeth Gold, who is buried not far from the resting place of her murderer.

The graves of several Afghan camel drivers are located at the rear of the cemetery and are also worth visiting.

Coolgardie Cemetery is located 750 metres out of town along the Great Eastern Highway on the western side of town. Coolgardie is located just over six six-hour drive east of Perth, approximately 40 kilometres west of Kalgoorlie.