Former residents of the abandoned townsite of Darlot,
130 km north of Leonora, returned to celebrate the
town’s centenary in December 1994.
John & Mary Dillon and Family with Harold Williams – Photo Dan and Lorna Metzke
Darlot gold mine manager, David Hatch, said that the earliest known Darlot Mining tenement was registered on December 3 1894. This is the date to mark the town’s centenary. Plutonic Resources, which runs the Darlot mine, flew descendants from Perth and supplied a bus from Kalgoorlie-Boulder to the site. There were also some interstate travellers.
Lillie and Richard Watson were the last Darlot residents. Three of their children are now living in Perth and Kalgoorlie Boulder. The photo was taken outside the Post Office – Photo Mrs Jean Sayer.
Lake Darlot was discovered by Lawrence Allen Wells on 6 March 1892 as part of the Elders Expedition and was named after Leonard Hawthorn Darlot, a pastoralist whose family purchased Berringarra Station property in the Murchison District in 1882. Gold was first discovered in the area late in 1894, which started the Darlot Rush.
Lawrence Allen ‘Larry’ Wells – Photo Wikiwand
Mr Hatch’s wife, Lyn Hatch, compiled a detailed booklet of the town’s history. Mrs Hatch says the booklet will save much of the town’s history from being lost. So much has been lost alread,y and the booklet was eventually published as a book. (see below)
Darlot by Lyn Hatch
Darlot has a rich history, which includes a claim to being the first place where James Balzano built his first wooden barrow. In 1896, Mr Balzano spent 44 days prospecting in Lake Darlot. During his stay, he recorded in his diary many typhoid deaths with coffins made of meat and jam crates. After having no luck ther,e he moved on to Pendinni,e about 170kms away.
In 1995, Darlot had a population of about 110, who all worked at the gold mine, a far cry from the 2000 residents in 1895. Although Darlot was discovered in 1892 by L A Wells and named after Leonard Hawthorn Darlot, a Murchison Pastoralist’s son, it did not receive recognition until 1894 when gold was found by three prospectors, Jim Cable, Pickering and Jennet.
Darlot School Children – L-R – Back row: Eileen Mackey (now Moore), Marge Warren, Mollie Dillon, Jack Warren. Front row: Biddy Thorley, Sheila Mackey, May Warren, Tim Thorley and Olive Warren in front of the Watson’s House c 1914.
Cable’s nephew, Doug, tells of his uncle finding a five-ounce piece of gold on the ground and remarking, “I must have found Aladdin’s Lamp” and told of prospectors picking up 200 ounces in a few days. Since then, about 500,000 ounces have come from the area, worth more than $250 million in today’s values. Mining recommenced in the area with an open-cut mine in 1988; the pit was to be closed in 1995.
Ballangarry Hotel – Photo SLWA
A former resident with fond memories of Darlot was Mrs Eileen Malone, nee Mackey, who now lives in Waterman’s Bay near Perth, WA. She and her friend Millie Dillon spent time playing and driving in a horse-drawn trap. Her parents, Denis and Annie Mackey, went to Darlot in the early part of the century to manage the store. The family then took over the Ballangarry Hotel from Charlie Beale, and then the family later moved to Wilsons Patch, between Leonora and Darlo,t where she lived before being sent away to school in Perth.
References:
Kalgoorlie Miner 24 Nov 1994 – Cate Rocchi
WA Post Office Directories
Kanownas Barrowman James Balzano by George Compton and Ron Manners
Darlot by Lyn Hatch.
Moya Sharp
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Fascinating. Your stories bring the places I prospected for years, still do, to life.