Archival Collection

The Archive, located in the old Sons of Gwalia Mine Assay Office, contains documents and photographs detailing the operation of the mine and provides a rich insight into the daily of lives of the people who lived in Gwalia and Leonora. The collection  also contains  rare books, maps, plans and historical photographs.

Archival  material is available to researchers by appointment.

Guidelines for access to the collection

To help you with your own research we have provided you with some resources to help - visit our Archives/Research page.

Documents

Documents in the collection include:

• Many records of the Sons of Gwalia Mine and mine operations.
• Marriage and death registers.
• Rate books of the Shire of Leonora.
• A member’s Pass Book for the Gwalia Leonora Industrial Cooperative Society Ltd that belonged to long-time resident Arthur Nye, with the first entry April 26, 1946 and the last entry May 1954. 
• A Western Australia Income Tax Instalment Stamp Book with the name PJ. Vlahos on the front over, giving the address merely as “Gwalia”.
• The floor plans of the Gwalia State Hotel and Surface Plans of the Sons of Gwalia Mine.
• Miners’ time check tickets indicating the shifts they worked, which were used to calculate their pay.

Photographs

The extensive collection of photographs richly illustrates the social history and development of Gwalia and Leonora and provides a good record of the activities at the Sons of Gwalia Mine and the miners who helped extract the gold in very difficult and dangerous circumstances.

Visitors may view many of photographs, which are on display in the Mine Office building.  Other photographs remain in albums and archival folders. A project is planned to digitise the photographic collection over the next few years to preserve the originals and make the entire collection more accessible to the public.

Click on a thumbnail to view a slideshow of all of the images in this gallery.