Nannine
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Nannine Western Australia |
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Nannine Townsite 2008
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 Nannine
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| Coordinates | 26°53′06″S 118°20′28″E / 26.885°S 118.341°ECoordinates: 26°53′06″S 118°20′28″E / 26.885°S 118.341°E |
| Established | 1893 |
| Postcode(s) | 6642 |
| Elevation | 452 m (1,483 ft) |
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Meekatharra |
| State electorate(s) | North West |
| Federal Division(s) | Durack |
Nannine is a ghost town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is located on the northern bank of Lake Anneen, approximately 35 kilometres south-southwest of Meekatharra, and 735 kilometres north-northeast of Perth.
Nannine was a former gold mining town, the site of the first discovery on the Murchison Goldfield. John Connolly discovered gold at the site northeast of Annean Station in 1890, prompting a gold rush to the area. The Murchison Goldfield was proclaimed in September 1891 and the town gazetted in 1893. It was the first town in the region.
By 1894 the town was large enough to be given its own electoral district. In 1896 construction began on a railway between Nannine and Cue, Western Australia, which was completed in 1903.. The continuation of the line to Meekatharra was begun in 1909.
Nannine is an Aboriginal name, "Nannine Wells" being first recorded by a surveyor in 1889. The meaning of the name is not known. The earliest days of gold discovery at this site are shrouded in controversy, but according to one source it is likely that the first suspicions of gold in the area were apparently held by Ingpen and Watts, station hands on the Annean pastoral station. In about May 1890 they showed the site to J. F. Connolly, a New South Wales mining engineer, who found gold but he does not appear to have been too impressed. In October 1890 McPherson and Peterkin were directed to the same site and found significant quantities of gold. By August 1891 they and others had recovered about 1,700 ounces of gold. The Murchison Goldfield, which included Nannine was proclaimed in September 1891. By December about seven hundred men were at the field.
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Wikipedia