Norseman, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Norseman is a town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway
Coolgardie-Esperance Highway
The Coolgardie–Esperance Highway is a 368 km Western Australian highway between Coolgardie and Esperance. It runs in a north-south direction linking the WA's Eastern Goldfields to the coast....

, 726 kilometres (451 mi) east of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 and 278 metres (912 ft) above sea level. It is also the starting point of the Eyre Highway
Eyre Highway
The Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highway 1/A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first to...

, and the last major town in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 before the South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

n border 720 kilometres (447 mi) to the east. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Norseman had a population of 857.

History

The quest for gold led to the establishment of Norseman. Today there are a number of small goldmining operations in the area but only the Central Norseman Gold Corporation can be considered a major producer. Gold was first found in the Norseman area in 1892 about 10 km south of the town, near Dundas
Dundas, Western Australia
Dundas is the name of an abandoned town in the Goldfields-Esperance Region of Western Australia. The town is located about east of the Esperance Branch Railway, on the western shore of Lake Dundas....

, and the "Dundas Field" was proclaimed in August 1893 and a townsite gazetted there.

In August 1894, Lawrence Sinclair his brother Geroge Sinclair & Jack Alsopp discovered a rich gold reef which Sinclair named after his horse ( Norse-Man )the family originally came from the Shetland Isles in December 1863. Laurie,s brothe James was working in Esperance as the Post & Telegraphist Master. In January 1895, the mining warden asked the Government to declare a townsite for the 200 or so miners who had arrived - it was gazetted on 22 May. The Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

 name for the area is "Jimberlana".

Norseman initially struggled to develop because of the established town of Dundas
Dundas, Western Australia
Dundas is the name of an abandoned town in the Goldfields-Esperance Region of Western Australia. The town is located about east of the Esperance Branch Railway, on the western shore of Lake Dundas....

, but between 1895 and 1901, a post office, banks, doctor, courthouse, stores and churches were established and in 1899 Cobb & Co
Cobb and Co
Cobb and Co is the name of a transportation company in Australia. It was prominent in the late 19th century when it operated stagecoaches to many areas in the outback and at one point in several other countries, as well....

 mail coaches started delivering mail to Norseman. In 1935, Western Mining Corporation came to Norseman and invested significantly in its infrastructure, resulting in new bitumen roads, electricity and an extension of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme
Goldfields Water Supply Scheme
The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is a pipeline and dam project which delivers potable water to communities in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, particularly Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie...

 to the town.

Once it was the second-richest goldfield in Western Australia, next to the Golden Mile of Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...

. It is claimed that since 1892, over 100 tonnes of gold have been extracted from the area. The Norseman Gold Mine
Norseman Gold Mine
The Norseman Gold Mine is a gold mine located at Norseman, Western Australia.It is operated by Norseman Gold Plc and is Australia’s longest continuously running gold mining operation...

 is Australia’s longest continuously running gold mining operation. As of 2006, it had been in operation for more than 65 years, producing in excess of 5.5 million ounces of gold in that time.

Present day

Modern Norseman is a large, sprawling town driven by mining and tourism and dominated by a huge tailings
Tailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...

 dump.

Norseman is located 724 km east of Perth via Great Eastern Highway
Great Eastern Highway
The Great Eastern Highway is a major road between the Western Australian cities of Perth and Kalgoorlie. It is a key route for vehicles accessing the eastern wheatbelt and the eastern goldfields...

 and Coolgardie-Esperance Highway
Coolgardie-Esperance Highway
The Coolgardie–Esperance Highway is a 368 km Western Australian highway between Coolgardie and Esperance. It runs in a north-south direction linking the WA's Eastern Goldfields to the coast....

, and has a population of about 1,000. It contains a district high school (opened 1894), and ANZ bank, shopping facilities, accommodation (hotel, motel, caravan park), district hospital, council offices and a telecentre
Telecentre
A telecentre is a public place where people can access computers, the Internet, and other digital technologies that enable them to gather information, create, learn, and communicate with others while they develop essential digital skills...

 are located within the town. Being at the start of the Eyre Highway
Eyre Highway
The Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highway 1/A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first to...

, three fuel outlets are available.

Climate

Norseman experiences a desert climate
Desert climate
A desert climate , also known as an arid climate, is a climate that does not meet the criteria to be classified as a polar climate, and in which precipitation is too low to sustain any vegetation at all, or at most a very scanty scrub.An area that features this climate usually experiences less than...

 (Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

BWh).

External links

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