Youanmi, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Youanmi is the name of an abandoned town in the Murchison Region of Western Australia
.
The town was gazetted in 1910 but abandoned in 1942, after the local gold mine
was closed.
party in 1854, followed by the Forrest
Expedition in 1869, which passed through in search of Leichhardt
and his party.
Gold was discovered at Youanmi in 1894 or 1895 by prospector Tom Payne. The discovery site was the Golden Crown Mine, 2 km southwest of the current mine mill. Activity in subsequent years was subdued until a major movement of prospectors into the area in late 1907.
By 1908 however, the Youanmi Gold Mine was set up and the local population grew to an extend for the local Youanme Progress Committee to request the declaration of a townside in 1910.
The town's name was originally spelt Yuani, which was thought to correctly represent the aboriginal name, but this was soon dropped in favour of Youanmi. The name Youanmi was first recorded by a surveyour in 1887, as the name of a local spring, pointed out to him by a local aboriginal accompanying him. Following the survey of lots, the townsite was gazetted in August 1910.
The mine was owned by London
-based company Bewick Moreing.
On Christmas Eve, 1929 Arthur Upfield
met Snowy Rowles at Youanmi, after the latter had just murdered James Ryan and George Lloyd, in a case known as the Murchison Murders
.
With the closure of the gold mine in 1942, Youanmi was almost completely abandoned.
Mining at Youanmi resumed in the 1980s, when the gold mine reopened, but because of the fly-in fly-out nature of present day mining, the town was not reestablished. Mining continued until 1997, when the mine was closed once more. At the time of its second closure, Youanmi had produced 670,000 ounces of gold throughout its lifetime.
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 1910 but abandoned in 1942, after the local gold mine
Youanmi Gold Mine
The Youanmi Gold Mine is a gold mine 82 km south-south-west of the town of Sandstone. It is near the abandoned town of Youanmi, in the Murchison Region of Western Australia....
was closed.
History
The first Europeans to visit the Youanmi area were the Robert AustinRobert Austin
Robert Austin led the Austin expedition of 1854, one of the first European inland explanations of Western Australia with Kenneth Brown. They explored Geraldton, Mount Magnet, and the Murchison River area.-References:...
party in 1854, followed by the Forrest
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
Expedition in 1869, which passed through in search of Leichhardt
Ludwig Leichhardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.-Early life:...
and his party.
Gold was discovered at Youanmi in 1894 or 1895 by prospector Tom Payne. The discovery site was the Golden Crown Mine, 2 km southwest of the current mine mill. Activity in subsequent years was subdued until a major movement of prospectors into the area in late 1907.
By 1908 however, the Youanmi Gold Mine was set up and the local population grew to an extend for the local Youanme Progress Committee to request the declaration of a townside in 1910.
The town's name was originally spelt Yuani, which was thought to correctly represent the aboriginal name, but this was soon dropped in favour of Youanmi. The name Youanmi was first recorded by a surveyour in 1887, as the name of a local spring, pointed out to him by a local aboriginal accompanying him. Following the survey of lots, the townsite was gazetted in August 1910.
The mine was owned by London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based company Bewick Moreing.
On Christmas Eve, 1929 Arthur Upfield
Arthur Upfield
Arthur William Upfield was an Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte of the Queensland Police Force, a half-caste Aborigine....
met Snowy Rowles at Youanmi, after the latter had just murdered James Ryan and George Lloyd, in a case known as the Murchison Murders
The Murchison Murders
The Murchison Murders were a series of three murders, committed by an itinerant stockman named Snowy Rowles, near the Rabbit-proof fence in Western Australia during the early 1930s...
.
With the closure of the gold mine in 1942, Youanmi was almost completely abandoned.
Mining at Youanmi resumed in the 1980s, when the gold mine reopened, but because of the fly-in fly-out nature of present day mining, the town was not reestablished. Mining continued until 1997, when the mine was closed once more. At the time of its second closure, Youanmi had produced 670,000 ounces of gold throughout its lifetime.