Established 1902 State electorate(s) Kalgoorlie Founded 1902 Lga Shire of Leonora | Postcode(s) 6440 Elevation 447 m Postal code 6440 Federal division Division of O'Connor | |
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Location 29 km (18 mi) SE of Laverton
247 km (153 mi) NE of Kalgoorlie
740 km (460 mi) ENE of Perth Weather 31°C, Wind E at 21 km/h, 23% Humidity | ||
Near burtville western australia
Burtville is an abandoned town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located 29 kilometres (18 mi) south east of the Laverton.
In 1897, Gold was discovered in the area by two prospectors, B. Frost and J. Trugurtha. The surveyor, J. Rowe, planned the town lots in accordance with the Goldfields Act in 1901. The settlement was initially known as Merolia which is the Indigenous Australian name for the district.
The town was eventually named after the grandson of the first chief justice of the Western Australian Supreme Court, Sir Archibald Burt. Archibald Edmund Burt JP was the chief mining warden of the Mount Margaret Goldfield. The town was gazetted as Merolia in 1902 but was regazetted to compliment Archibald Edmund Burt later the same year.
The population of the town and district rose to approximately 400 by 1903 as a result of gold mining. The town also had a water supply from a government well and a sealed pan sanitation system. A police station was opened in 1903 along with a school and two hotels. A ten stamp state battery and five stamp battery known as The Burtville Ore Reduction works were operated within the town from 1903 to 1906. Another privately owned ten stamp battery that allowed public access known as The sons of Westralia was also operating at the time.
By 1916 the population had reduced to 45 and the police station was closed.
All that remains of the town today is the entrance door arch of one of the town's hotels.