Ora Banda, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Ora Banda is a townsite, now a virtual ghost town
, located 66 kilometres (41 mi) north east of Kalgoorlie
. According to folklore, the town name is Spanish meaning 'band of gold'.
was discovered in the district in 1893 and in 1909 the Ora Banda Progress Committee requested the Government make additional lots available, but it was 1911 before a decision was made to declare a townsite there The survey of lots was made in 1911, and the townsite gazetted in 1912. By 1910 there were approximately 2,000 miners and their families living in the area. The town had two stores, two butchers, two bakers, a town hall, dining halls, a post office, a police station, churches, boarding houses and billiards saloons.
The once famous Huntington Mills Bank was situated there. Which in its time it was the largest bank in the Southern Hemisphere. In 1911 the Ora Banda Hotel was constructed by Alfred E Garnett using stone and brick.
On 17 June 1913, Eileen Walls (13yrs old) led a procession of school children up the main street, and had the honour of cutting the ribbon and so officially opened the Ora Banda State Battery
. The five head battery ran three shifts and in 1936 another five head had to be added.
Water was supplied to the town by dams until the town was connected to the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme
from Kalgoorlie in 1933
Annually in September the population swells for a day for the Ora Banda Race Day. The race track is opposite the historical Ora Banda Inn.
The town hit the headlines in 2000 when Gypsy Joker, Billy Grierson, was fatally shot
while sitting at a camp fire on the old town site. Former Criminal Investigation Bureau chief and Ora Banda hotel owner Don Hancock was suspected of the shooting and his properties were later fire-bombed. Hancock was later killed in a car bombing in 2001 in Perth, Western Australia
in a revenge attack by other Gypsy Jokers.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
, located 66 kilometres (41 mi) north east 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...
. According to folklore, the town name is Spanish meaning 'band of gold'.
History
GoldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
was discovered in the district in 1893 and in 1909 the Ora Banda Progress Committee requested the Government make additional lots available, but it was 1911 before a decision was made to declare a townsite there The survey of lots was made in 1911, and the townsite gazetted in 1912. By 1910 there were approximately 2,000 miners and their families living in the area. The town had two stores, two butchers, two bakers, a town hall, dining halls, a post office, a police station, churches, boarding houses and billiards saloons.
The once famous Huntington Mills Bank was situated there. Which in its time it was the largest bank in the Southern Hemisphere. In 1911 the Ora Banda Hotel was constructed by Alfred E Garnett using stone and brick.
On 17 June 1913, Eileen Walls (13yrs old) led a procession of school children up the main street, and had the honour of cutting the ribbon and so officially opened the Ora Banda State Battery
Stamp mill
A stamp mill is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operation....
. The five head battery ran three shifts and in 1936 another five head had to be added.
Water was supplied to the town by dams until the town was connected to 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...
from Kalgoorlie in 1933
Current
Today's goldmining companies are still working the same sites discovered nearly a century ago, and on the outskirts of town you will find the Ora Banda State Battery which is still used to crush ore.Annually in September the population swells for a day for the Ora Banda Race Day. The race track is opposite the historical Ora Banda Inn.
The town hit the headlines in 2000 when Gypsy Joker, Billy Grierson, was fatally shot
Crime in Western Australia
Crime in Western Australia is fought by the Western Australia Police and the Western Australia court system.-Crime statistics:As at December 2004, Western Australia recorded lower rates than most other states in Australia for violent offences, but was the highest State for burglary in 2003...
while sitting at a camp fire on the old town site. Former Criminal Investigation Bureau chief and Ora Banda hotel owner Don Hancock was suspected of the shooting and his properties were later fire-bombed. Hancock was later killed in a car bombing in 2001 in Perth, Western Australia
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....
in a revenge attack by other Gypsy Jokers.
External links
- The Ora Banda Historical Inn The inn will be 100 years old in 2011
- Tourism site
- Ora Banda Historical Inn located in WA's Golden Outback