Comet Vale is an abandoned town in Western Australia located in the Goldfield region of 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...

 located between Kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...

 and Laverton on the Goldfields Highway

Goldfields Highway

Goldfields Highway is a generally northwest-southeast highway in central Western Australia which links the Great Northern Highway at Meekatharra with Coolgardie-Esperance Highway south of Kalgoorlie...

.

The town site was named after a comet

Comet

A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...

 that could be seen at about the time 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...

 was discovered in the area. By 1895 the town had a population of approximetly 500 and it was gazetted in 1916.

A prospector, Dan Baker is creditted with the initial gold discovery. Two mines were in production in 1900 named Lady Margaret and Long tunnel. More mines opened later including Sand Queen and Happy Jack both of which continued to operate after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. A police station had been established in the town and was destroyed in 1916. A coach service used to service the town coming from Goongarrie

Goongarrie, Western Australia

Goongarrie is an abandoned town in Western Australia located in the Goldfield region of Western Australia located 84 north of Kalgoorlie.The town site was originally known as 90 Mile which was the distance of the settlement from Coolgardie...

 and continuing to the Ularring district

Ularring Land District

Ularring Land District is a land district of Western Australia, located within the Eastern Land Division....

.