Norseman WA. May 26 2018

The centrepiece of Norseman, WA

Norseman is the end of the line for west bound travellers on the Eyre Highway. It was established in 1892 after Laurie Sinclair found that his horse called Hardy Norseman had kicked up a nugget of gold where it had been tethered overnight. Not a complete myth, but the truth is that the horse went lame and when Mr Sinclair dug a piece of quartz out of its hoof, he noticed that fragment of quartz had a fleck of gold in it. But, never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn, as they say!

They say that over a 100 tons of gold has been pulled out of Norseman since the horse and Laurie had their Eureka moment, and the town has obviously had better days in the past, judging by the number of empty houses and businesses. There are some highlights, let me take you for a quick tour:

Gateway Caravan Park. Norseman WA

Pulled in and been waiting for service ever since... Norseman WA

Mural on the side of a random shop, featuring Hardy Norseman, himself. Norseman WA

Flower from a Gimlet tree (Eucalyptus salubris).  Norseman WA

The Railway Motel. The 'zippers' are new and probably holding it! Yes, it is actually open for business. Norseman WA

The tailing heap from the Bullen Decline gold mine. Doesn't seem to have grown much in 3 years. Norseman WA

Lovely little water feature in Phoenix Park, which has a collection of old mining equipment. Norseman WA

One thing that is noticeable is that the town seems a whole lot quieter than it did three years ago, and looks set to get even more so when the iron ore trains from up north stop rumbling through every few hours on their way to Esperance.