Bonnie Vale, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Bonnie Vale is an abandoned goldfields townsite 14 km north of Coolgardie
in Western Australia
.
The town was gazetted in 1897. It was apparently named after Bonnie, a prospector
who picked up a 7 oz
troy (220 g) nugget
here in May/June 1894.
It is famous as the site of the Varischetti mine rescue of 1907, when Italian
gold
miner
Modesto Varischetti was trapped for nine days in a mine when it was flooded after a thunderstorm. Varischetti survived in an air pocket until rescued. A diver using deep-sea diving equipment located Varischetti five days after the mine was flooded, and provided him with food, candles and letters of encouragement.
It serves as the railway station for Coolgardie on the Prospector
Perth to Kalgoorlie passenger service.
Coolgardie, Western Australia
Coolgardie is a small town in the Australian state of Western Australia, east of the state capital, Perth. It has a population of approximately 800 people....
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
The town was gazetted in 1897. It was apparently named after Bonnie, a prospector
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
who picked up a 7 oz
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
troy (220 g) nugget
Gold nugget
A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate and grow the nuggets. Nuggets are recovered by placer mining, but they are also found in residual deposits where the gold-bearing veins or lodes are weathered...
here in May/June 1894.
It is famous as the site of the Varischetti mine rescue of 1907, when Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
Modesto Varischetti was trapped for nine days in a mine when it was flooded after a thunderstorm. Varischetti survived in an air pocket until rescued. A diver using deep-sea diving equipment located Varischetti five days after the mine was flooded, and provided him with food, candles and letters of encouragement.
It serves as the railway station for Coolgardie on the Prospector
Transwa Prospector
The Transwa Prospector is a standard-gauge passenger train operated by Transwa that runs between Perth, Western Australia, and the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie.-History:...
Perth to Kalgoorlie passenger service.