Tampa, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Tampa is an abandoned
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...

 town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region 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...

. It is found between Kookynie
Kookynie, Western Australia
Kookynie is a town located in the Eastern Goldfields region in Western Australia.The name of the town is believed to be an aboriginal word which means 'water hole' or 'spring'...

 and Leonora
Leonora, Western Australia
Leonora is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located northeast of the state capital, Perth, and north of the city of Kalgoorlie. At the 2006 census, Leonora had a population of 401, about a third of whom are of Aboriginal descent. The area is extremely arid, with a...

.

In the late 1890s gold
Gold
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 area and by 1896 the government succumbed to demands to survey lots for a townsite. The townsite was gazetted in 1897.

It is thought that the town is named after Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

 in the United States, likewise the neighbouring town of Niagara
Niagara, Western Australia
Niagara is an abandoned town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region in Western Australia. It is found between Kalgoorlie and Leonora.In 1895 two prospectors named Northmore and Doolittle discovered gold in the area, some sources claim that John Alway was the first o peg the area earlier the...

is thought to be named after its American namesake.
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