Paddy Hannan

Patrick Hannan
Paddy Hannan in the 1920s (courtesy LISWA)
Born	baptised 26 April 1840 Quin, County Clare, Ireland
Died	4th November 1925, aged 85 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Patrick "paddy" Hannan (baptised 26 April 1840 - 4 November 1925) was a gold prospector whose lucrative discovery on 14 June 1893 near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia set off a major gold rush in the area.

The resulting goldfield in Kalgoorlie has been mined ever since, and is renowned as the richest mile in the world. The open cut mine is a vast, astonishing sight known as the Super Pit.

Hannan and his Irish partners, Thomas Flanagan from Ennis, County Clare and Daniel Shea from County Cork, are still remembered and celebrated in Australia and in Ireland.

Paddy Hannan was the son of John Hannan and Bridget Lynch, and was baptised on 26th April 1840 in the town of Quin, County Clare, Ireland. His baptismal record shows that his godparents (sponsorswere Margaret Lynch and John O'Brien. Many of the people in his family emigrated to Australia from 1852 onwards, and close ties were maintained. Two of Hannan's nieces would welcome Hannan into their house for the last years of his life.

Hannan emigrated to Australia when he was 22, arriving in Melbourne on 23 December 1862 aboard the Henry Fernie from Liverpool. He is recorded in the passenger list as Pat Hannan, a labourer.

In 1893 in Western Australia, Hannan and his partners were the first to find gold near Mount Charlotte, less than 40 kilometres from the existing Coolgardie Goldfields. Hannan, Flanagan and Shea were following a large number of prospectors who set out for a rumoured new prospect at Mount Youle.

One version of the story of the find has it that on the night of 14 June 1893, Hannan found gold in a gully. Not wanting to cause a rush, he concealed the find. During the night the trio moved one of their horses into the scrub. The following morning Hannan informed the main party they were going to stay behind to find their lost horse. After the main group moved off east, the three men started to pick up the gold and peg out their lease.

Amongst the various counter-claims to emerge over the years, one lively version of the story was told in 1909 by Fred Dugan (another prospector, who was present at the time) relating how Thomas Flanagan found the first nuggets, and covered his find with brushwood to conceal it until the following day.

By law, those finding "payable" gold were required to report the fact to the warden's office within seven days, so Hannan set off for Coolgardie to register their find, doing so on 17 June 1893.