The Hotel Australia in Laverton Western Australia still stands today. It has changed very little over the years, as you will see from the following photographs;
Hotel Australia Laverton 1905 – Image SLWA
Originally, the Hotel Australia was built in 1899. Laverton was then the centre of a booming gold mining district and was named after Dr Charles Laver. The architect was W.E. Robertson, and the builders were the Palini Brothers. The hotel was completed with a front bar, saloon bar, billiard and smoking room, carriage room and stables for Cobb & Co coaches, lofty dining room, finest kitchens and 8 bedrooms with baths. Pressed metal ceilings throughout, acetylene gas lighting and a covered outdoor area that could sit 250 people for concerts and receptions. It even boasted an elaborate bridal chamber.
Kalgoorlie Miner Newspaper 25th April 1921:-
A pioneer and and resident in the person of Mr George McOmish, proprietor of the Hotel Australia, died early Wednesday morning. The deceased had been in precarious health for the past six months. After recovering from an illness which lasted for several weeks. He had the misfortune to have his right arm broken through a kick from a horse. This necessitated him becoming an inmate of the local hospital, where he subsequently developed pleurisy. He was removed to St. John of God Hospital in Kalgoorlie, where he remained for a couple of weeks and returned home, but never improved.
The immediate cause of death was hemorrhage. The late Mr McOmish was a Scot and came to Australia when he was 17 years of age. After spending a few years in New. South Wales, he came to Western Australia about 26 years ago and followed prospecting in various parts of the goldfields. He, with three others in the mid-nineties, was the proprietor of the British Flag mine, to which Laverton owes its existence, the name (Laverton) being prompted by the fact that the mine was taken over from them by Dr Laver. The deceased had been, in turn, a prospector, butcher, hotelkeeper, and pastoralist. Recently, he sold his Mt. Weld station, 12 miles from Laverton, to a returning soldier. He was part part-owner of the Palace Hotel and Hotel Australia, Laverton. He leaves a widow and a son, who is 18 years of age.
Hotel Australia – The Coach House 1969 – Image Shyama Peebles
The hotel was delicensed in 1927 before becoming a soft drink factory, a boarding house and then a garage. It then lay in disrepair until 1969, when exploration discovered Mt Windarra Poseidon Nickel. In 1970, it became The Coach House Cafe-Restaurant and Milk Bar, an amusement Parlour with an outdoor Cinema and Roller dome and then in 1987 The Coach House Newsagency.
Hotel Australia – Coach House 1999 – Photograph by Shyama Peebles
Daily News, Perth 5th May 1948-
LAVERTON – Eight tons of old bricks are now being cleaned in Laverton for consignment to Kalgoorlie for the St. John Ambulance Society. They are to be used for a new garage and office. The bricks are being taken from the old Hotel Australia, a large single-storey building well known to old-timers. When the district declined in importance, the hotel was delicensed and became a boarding house, known until recently as Hayes’ Hostel. If this trial consignment proves satisfactory, others may follow and the whole building may be demolished.
Moya Sharp
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Thank you so much for your work Moya. It has been so helpful in my search for details about my Whyte ancestors in WA.
My grandfather (William Whyte) and his father (William Forbes Whyte) worked at the Lancefield Gold Mine at Laverton from the early 1900s. They are on the electoral roll in Laverton in1903. My grandfather’s brother, James Thomas Whyte was a local prospector who went missing in 1914. His body was found about a year later by a Constable Hunter from Laverton.
According to an article in Truth Perth – 8 January 1916, page 5, my grandfather was also a partner in the Augusta Gold Mine “when it passed out of the hands of the original company some few years ago”.
I am trying to find out about my grandfather’s involvement with the Augusta Gold Mine and am wondering if you are able to help.
Thank you in anticipation, Moya.
Regards,
Dianne Jones (nee Whyte)
diannejones@hotmail.com
Hi Dianne Im so glad to hear that you have been able to find out some family information on the site. I found the following article which says when your Grandfather sold his shares in the Augusta Mine. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90411302?searchTerm=Augusta%20mine%20Whyte there were some birth announcements also in 1907 which shows his wife to be in the Perth area.
And this article shows him selling up his house and furniture:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203550411?searchTerm=Augusta%20mine%20Whyte
So it looks like in 1907 he sold up his shares and left Laverton. Does this fit in with what you know? I cant find when he actually bought his shares. You can get these details from the Department of Mines.