Menzies Community Resource Centre
Menzies Community Resource Centre (Menzies CRC)
37 Shenton Street, Menzies
Phone: 9024-2702
Email: cso@menzies.wa.gov.au
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm (closed on weekends & public holidays)
Conference Room facilities and office space available for hire. If you are looking to hold a meeting outside of Kalgoorlie or if you wish to make use of a private office area whilst on the road, please contact the Centre on (08) 9024-2702 to make a booking. Opening hours are 8:30 am to 12:00 and 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday.
Road Works In Progress
There are currently no roads works in progress in the Shire of Menzies.
About Us
Our Vision
The Menzies CRC and Visitor Centre is the central hub of the community and endeavours to keep the community up to date with information and technology.
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Government Information Booths
The Centre has a dedicated computer within the centre providing free internet access to Government information. Also provided is a diverse range of brochures, fact sheets and booklets on Government and non-Government services available.
Our Community
Menzies is not a large town and doesn't appear in the news very often, but this was not always the case. LIke many towns in Western Australia it was born in and boomed during the gold rush days of the 1890s. Then, following the pattern which has become typical of many gold mining towns, the limit of available resources was reached and the people drifted away and the area declined. Despite these changing fortunes, Menzies continued to survive.
Our Shire
Menzies is a mining and pastoral town in the Northern Goldfields, 730kms north east of Perth and 132km north of Kalgoorlie.
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Local Businesses
Menzies Hotel and Store
22 Shenton Street, Menzies
Phone: 08 6102 0099
Email: menzies.hotel@hotmail.com
Accommodation, cold beer, counter meals, takeaway food and basic stores
Donna's Diner and Cafe
Shenton Street, Menzies
Coffee, cakes, toasted sandwiches, burgers and hot food
Phone: 0436 397 106
Achievable Outback Cafe
36 Shenton Street, Menzies
Coffee, cakes, pies, pasties and pastries
Email: achievable_outback_cafe@bigpond.com
Pioneer Store Gallery
42 Shenton Street, Menzies
Works by local artists on display and for sale
Email: pioneer.store.gallery@menziesac.org.au
Menzies Freight Depot
Operated from the Visitor Centre
Email: cso@menzies.wa.gov.au
Local History
The first gold discovery in the Menzies area has been credited to a prospecting party led by James Speakman in 1891. His find was reported but for some unknown reasons Speakman did not return to the area. The discovery of the rich Coolgardie field in 1892 tempted prospectors further inland. The track to Ninety Mile (Goongarrie) north of Coolgardie became well known as people trying to make their fortune ventured forth. J J Brown, C Kirby and C Jackman had found gold about 20 miles north of Ninety Mile. They had sunk a shaft about six feet deep showing areef carrying good visible gold.
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Places of Historical Interest
Town Hall & Shire Office
Original section (left hand front) built in 1896 by architects and builders C Robert Arnott and Charles W Arnott. In 1900/01 the buidling was extended at a cost of £3,000 to include Council Chambers, administration offices, public library and reading room with a Town Hall located at the rear of the building. The front section of the building was completely renovated / restored between 1985 and 1988 and the rear hall was rebuilt in 1991. Further renovations were carried out on the offices in 1999.
Clock Tower
Folklore suggests a clock for the clock tower was sent out from England via SS "Orizaba" in 1905. Unfortunately, Orizaba sank off the coast of Rottnest Island. Eventually a clock was installed in the tower and unveiled on 1st January 2000.
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Railway Station
Built in 1898 when the railway line was extended from Kalgoorlie to Menzies. Has not been used by Westrail since 1974. It is earmarked by the Shire of Menzies for restoration.
Menzies Community School
Built in 1898 to accommodate 200 pupils. Now provides education for 30 children with 3 teachers and the principal.
Old Police Station, Quarters & Gaol
Built in 1911 and used until 1985. Now a private residence.
Nursing Post
Lovely old stone building, formerly Mining Warden's residence. W Lambden-Owen (author of Cossack Gold) was Warden of North Coolgardie Goldfield in 1896. The first hospital in Menzies was a makeshift tent located in the centre of town accommodating three beds.
Menzies Cemetery
Many graves of pioneers and children. Has not be used for burials since 1939. Testament to the region's roaring days providing a fascinating record of hardship. People strived to make Menzies a vibrant, profitable town. Menzies Cemetery was one of the first bigger cemeteries in the gold rush area with many graves of typhoid victims. A number of distinctive tin and iron headstones can be seen, and centred in the middle is a rotunda with a box containing a list of the know burials.
Butcher Shop / Tearooms
Two of the remaining shops of the many that lined Shenton Street in early days.
Baker's Oven
Ruins of Well's Bakery.
Old Menzies Hotel (now the Achieveable Outback Cafe and private residence)
Established by Harry Gregory in 1895. Gregory was the first Mayor of Menzies in 1896/97 and was later Minister for Mines in WA Parliament.
Railway Hotel (now called Menzies Hotel)
In the boom days there were 13 hotels and 3 breweries in Menzies serving a population in excess of 10,000.
Old Lady Shenton Hotel
One of the earliest hotel establishments of Menzies, now the Visitor Centre.
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Old Post Office (now a private residence)
In 1987 the Post Office had a staff of 26. Earmarked for restoration by the Shire of Menzies.
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Menzies Battery (now privately owned and operated)
Former State Battery established in 1955.
Lake Ballard
The "Inside Australia" exhibition was commissioned to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Perth International Arts Festival in 2003. It was the idea of internationally renowned artist, Antony Gormley.
The sculptures on the salt lake are derived from laser scans of the inhabitants of Menzies. The 51 sculptures are scattered over 10 square kilometres of Lake Ballard which is located 51km west from the townsite of Menzies (on a completely sealed road).
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Goongarrie Cottages
Gold was found in Goongarrie in May 1893 by Billy Frost and Jack Bennett. The site was the first important gold discovery after Coolgardie (before Kalgoorlie). Originally know as the roaring Gimlet or Ninety Mile (its distance from Coolgardie). This once prosperous town boasted a post and telegraph office, 2 hotels and several shops which did a good trade as a stopover for the daily coach from Coolgardie to Menzies. Both the failure of the local mine and the coming of the railway put an end to the town's prosperity.
Niagara Dam
Constructed by the Railways Department in 1897, the intention was that the dam would provide plentiful fresh water for the locomotives that would soon be steaming along the new railway linking Kalgoorlie with Menzies.
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Kookynie
Situated 70km north east of Menzies by road, Kookynie is part of the Shire of Menzies. Nowadays the town, commonly referred to as a living ghost town, caters for the amy tourists, prospectors, fossickers, mining and exploration companies, pastoralists and local population of thirteen. The Hotel offers an excellent collection of historic photographs, antique bottles and memorabilia from Kookynie's past. Kookynie was first discovered by prospectors in 1895, one of whom was W.A. Miller who took up the Englishman lease on 25 June 1895. Miller sold the lease to the Cosmopolitan Proprietary Ltd in 1897. This resulted in the development of Kookynie. The population grew at an astounding rate.
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Golden Quest Discovery Trail
The Golden Quest Discovery Trail runs from Coolgardie in the south to Laverton in the north and cover 965 kilometres. Along the way it passes many sites that are special to indigenous and non-indigenous people and the significance of the first beginnings in the flourishing times of those 'Goldrush' days, mining and the pastoral industry. This trail is a self-drive adventure in Western Australia's Goldfields, one of the world's most famous gold-producing regions. You can purchase your copy of the official guide book to the golden Quest Trail, by visiting the Menzies visitor Centre, or by visiting the Trails website and ordering your copy online www.goldenquesttrail.com.
Accommodation
Menzies Hotel
27 Shenton Street, Menzies
Phone: 08 6102 0099
Email: menzies.hotel@hotmail.com
Caravan Park
15 Brown Street, Menzies
Phone: 08 9024 2702 - Monday to Friday, from 8:30am to 4:30pm. After hours phone: 0473 633 149
Email: cso@menzies.wa.gov.au
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Community Services
Advertising in the Community Newsletter - Menzies Matters
Phone: 08 9024 2702
Email: cso@menzies.wa.gov.au
The Menzies Matters is a free monthly publication offering affordable advertisement rates and wide distribution.
Book Exchange
Swap or buy a book - (donation) - this service is provided at the Menzies CRC / Visitors Centre and funds raised are for St John Ambulance.
Public Wi-Fi
See Menzies Visitors Centre for Public Wi-Fi Details.
Internet Access
Vouchers can be purchased from the Visitors Centre.
Community Post Office
Australia Post Agency operated by the Visitors Centre
Monday-Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Closed for lunch from 12 noon to 1:00 pm daily.
Public Library
Books and DVDs for all tastes and ages available from the Visitors Centre.
Tourist Information
Pamphlets, brochures, guide books and maps, together with souvenirs of your stay in Menzies available from the Visitors Centre.