Golden Pipeline

National Trust of WA

Explore The Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail

A self-guided drive trail between the Perth Hills and Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields. Go with the Flow. Follow the water to discover more about the audacious goldfields water supply scheme and Engineer CY O’Connor.

Discover The people and the Scheme

“Future generations, I am quite certain will think of us and bless us for our far seeing patriotism, and it will be said of us, as Isaiah said of old, ‘They made a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” – Sir John Forrest

Ghooli to Gilgai

See & Do

New Zealand prospector John Aspinall travelled through this area in March 1895. He’d arranged to ‘go up to Coolgardie with a teamster’.

Teamsters are remarkable for incivility, untruthfulness, and profanity and usually travel 2 or 3 in company so as to help one another in case of a breakdown.

A team was composed of a wagon and 5 or 6 horses yoked one behind the other. John wrote how he and his mate camped on the road beside the wagon at a Hunt’s Dam (probably Karalee) and went to get some tucker at one of the stores.

There was a dance on at the pub of which the attractions were 4 females and a wheezy old piano.

Unfortunately we can’t offer you such entertainment today but Karalee is a highlight of the trail and you can camp there too. When wildflowers are in season you will be best advised to ask at the local Visitor Centre as to their best location.

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Explore

Click on any map section or place below to discover The Golden Pipeline.

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