Gwalia Ghost Town Hotel Editorial Image

The Gwalia gold mine was discovered in 1896 and produced until 1963. It produced 2.5 million ounces of gold worth almost USD5000 Billion in todays prices. Cheap labour from Italy and Yugoslavia was introduced by Herbert Hoover in 1898, later becoming president of America. When the mine closed in 1963 the town population dropped from 1200 to 40. The ghost town shows how bad the conditions were for the miners and their families. The town was abandoned in 1963. The Gwalia was built by the State Government.