Big Bell, Western Australia

Ghost town in Western Australia

27°20′25″S 117°39′37″E / 27.340192°S 117.660317°E / -27.340192; 117.660317 (Big Bell)

Population0 (abandoned)Established1936LGA(s)Shire of CueState electorate(s)North West Federal division(s)Durack

Big Bell is a ghost town in Western Australia located approximately 30 km (19 mi) south west of the town of Cue.^[1] The town was established in 1936, and was home to the Big Bell Gold Mine.^[2]

History

Gold was discovered in the area in 1904 by Harry Paton and a mine was quickly established. Ownership of the mine changed a number of times through the years. Premier Gold Mining Company announced plans to develop the Big Bell Mine in 1935.^[1]

A township was established close to the mine in 1936 to provide accommodation for the mine workers. 36 blocks were sold in April of that year and another 80 in June. A population of about 850 soon inhabited the townsite and services included a number of shops, a post office and a hospital.^[1]

One of the proposed names for the town was "Townsend", with the main street to be known as "Coodardy Street".^[3]

The Big Bell Hotel was constructed and opened in 1937. It was a classic art deco style of the period, but is now a ruin.^[4] The large two storey building of brick construction has brick colonnading to the north and east facades and a curved corner and once had a tiled roof.^[1] The hotel was reputed to have the longest bar in Australia.^[5]

Railway

It is a former railway branch terminus in Western Australia's Murchison Region. Construction of the line was authorised through the Cue-Big Bell Railway Act 1936, assented to on 3 November 1936. Prior to this, on 5 March 1936, the Western Australian government had entered an agreement with the American Smelting and Refining Company to build the railway to Big Bell.^[6] The first train arrived in Big Bell on 6 January 1937, however the line was not officially opened until 12 August that year. Services ceased from September 1944, but were revived the following year when the war in Europe was winding down and the gold mine reopened. The line finally closed on 31 December 1955.^[7] The Railways (Cue-Big Bell and other Railways) Discontinuance Act 1960, which officially closed the Big Bell branch line, was assented to on 12 December 1960.^[8]

Mining ceased in 2003 and the plant was dismantled and transported to the Westonia minesite in 2007. Not many of the buildings remain, but the roads stay visible in their original position as dirt tracks, and the layout of the town is clearly discernible from the air.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Big Bell, Western Australia.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Big Bell Townsite". InHerit. Heritage Council of Western Australia. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
^ History of country town names – B Archived 12 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine Landgate website, retrieved 25 January 2010
^ "Big Bell Mine". Coolgardie Miner. Vol. 1, no. 51. Western Australia. 3 April 1936. p. 2. Retrieved 13 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Moya Sharp (4 January 2015). "Ghost Towns – Gwalia and Big Bell". Ghost Towns. Outback Family History. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
^ "Murchison trip". Trip notes. The Mitsubishi 4WD Owners Club of Western Australia Inc. 2004. Archived from the original on 27 October 2004. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
^ "Cue-Big Bell Railway Act 1936". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 3 November 1936. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
^ Milne, Rod (1999)The Big Bell Branch Line, Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December 1999 pp452-457
^ "Railways (Cue-Big Bell and other Railways) Discontinuance Act 1960". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 12 December 1960. Retrieved 1 August 2024.