About the water:
‘The average rainfall in Kalgoorlie is 250mm per year, hardly enough to sustain a bustling gold mining town. It was called the “Scheme of Madness” when Charles Yelverton O’Connor, born in Ireland in 1843 and Western Australian engineer-in-chief, proposed, in 1895, to build a pipeline to carry water from Perth to Kalgoorlie, a distance of 563 km. Sadly, subjected to a vicious press campaign, O’Connor committed suicide in March 1902. His suicide note included detailed instructions on the construction of the pipeline, which was completed the following year. The water travels from the Perth hills and takes about 10 days to get here. It was originally powered by steam powered stations to pump the water uphill. The pipeline assured the survival of Kalgoorlie and Boulder. Today it is more likely to be described as a “Life line”.’
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