Kathleen, Western Australia Explained

Type:town
Kathleen
State:wa
Coordinates:-27.509°N 120.564°W
Established:1900
Postcode:6355
Elevation:499
Dist1:1018
Dir1:north east
Location1:Perth
Dist2:50
Dir2:north
Location2:Leinster
Lga:Shire of Leonora
Stategov:Kalgoorlie
Fedgov:O'Connor

Kathleen is an abandoned town located between Leinster and Wiluna along the Goldfields Highway in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.

Gold was discovered in the area in 1897 and it was originally referred to as Kathleen Valley by the locals since gold had been found in the valley area near the town. The townsite was eventually gazetted as in 1900, once the valley part of the name was dropped.

A shop and butchers was opened in 1901 and by 1902 the town supported two hotels. One of the main mines in town was the Yellow Aster mine.[1]

A 95 MW off-grid hybrid power station is being built to support the lithium mine. It has 30 MW windpower, 16 MW solar power, a 17 MW / 19 MWh battery, and synchronous condensers[2] to reduce fuel consumption from 32 MW fuel engines.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Morawa District Historical Society. 2009. 18 February 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110312060659/http://members.westnet.com.au/caladenia/ghosttowns/K.pdf . 12 March 2011. dmy-all.
  2. Web site: Vorrath . Sophie . First turbine blade leaves port for epic road trip to mine’s remote renewable microgrid . RenewEconomy . en-AU . 20 November 2023.
  3. Web site: Lithium miner switches on Australia’s biggest off-grid hybrid renewables system . RenewEconomy . en-AU . 12 June 2024.