Laverton, Western Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids LavertonWestern Australia |
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 Laverton
Location in Western Australia
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| Established | 1898 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6440 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 461 m (1,512 ft) | ||||||||
| Area | [convert: needs a number] | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Laverton | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Kalgoorlie | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||
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Laverton, originally called British Flag, is a town in the Goldfields area of Western Australia. It is the main town for the Shire of Laverton. Laverton is on the western edge of the Great Victoria Desert.
It is about 957 kilometers (595 miles) north-northeast of Perth, the state capital. The town is also 124 kilometers (77 miles) east-northeast of Leonora. Laverton sits at an elevation of 461 meters (1,512 feet) above sea level.
About 20% of the people living here are of Aboriginal background. The area has a dry climate. It gets about 233 millimeters (9.2 inches) of rain each year. It is also quite warm. Daily high temperatures can range from 17 °C (62 °F) in July to 36 °C (97 °F) in January.
Laverton is the westernmost town on the Outback Way. This is a planned highway that will go through the Northern Territory. It will end in Winton in outback Queensland.
Contents
History of Laverton
Many early explorers traveled through the Laverton area. These included John Forrest, David Carnegie, and Frank Hann. Gold was found in the British Flag area in 1896. Many gold seekers and miners moved to the region.
One important person was Dr Charles W. Laver. He strongly supported and promoted the area. A very successful mine was called Craiggiemore. By 1897, a living and business area called British Flag grew up near this mine.
In March 1898, a townsite was approved. It was named Laverton to honor Dr. Laver. In 1899, people wanted the town to be properly mapped out. The original Craiggiemore spot was not good anymore. So, a new spot was chosen about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) north. This new site was mapped in July 1899. The town of Laverton was officially recognized in July 1900.
Laverton was the end point of a branch railway line. This line connected to the main Kalgoorlie to Leonora railway line at Malcolm.
By the late 1960s, Laverton was struggling. This was mainly because the price of gold was very low. In 1968, a prospector named Ken Shirley found nickel-rich rocks. This discovery was at Windarra, 24 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of Laverton.
In 1969, a company called Poseidon started drilling at Windarra. Rumors of a big nickel find caused a lot of excitement in the stock market. This event is known as the Poseidon bubble. The nickel deposit was developed by Western Mining and its partners. They mined and processed nickel ore from 1974 to 1991.
Modern Industries and Economy
Laverton is mostly a mining town. There are two big gold mines working in the area. The Wallaby Mine is near Granny Smith. It is owned and run by Gold Fields. The other is the Sunrise Dam Gold Mine. This mine is owned and run by AngloGold Ashanti.
Both mines use different ways to get gold. They dig for gold in big open pits on the surface. They also dig deep underground. The Murrin Murrin laterite nickel project is also nearby. It is about 55 kilometers (34 miles) to the west. This project is located between Laverton and Leonora.
The area has a long history of pastoralism. This means raising animals like sheep, cattle, and goats. A large amount of land is still used for this type of farming today.
Population Information
The population of Laverton has changed over time. According to information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of people living in Laverton went down. From 2001 to 2016, the population dropped by 23%. It went from 439 people to 340 people.
During the same time, the number of Indigenous Australians in the town also decreased. It went from 37.6% (165 people) to 20.8% (71 people) of the town's population.
Climate and Weather
Laverton has a semi-arid climate. This means it has hot, dry summers. The winters are usually mild to cool.
| Climate data for Laverton | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 47.8 (118.0) |
46.7 (116.1) |
45.2 (113.4) |
41.7 (107.1) |
35.6 (96.1) |
30.2 (86.4) |
28.9 (84.0) |
33.0 (91.4) |
37.7 (99.9) |
40.8 (105.4) |
44.4 (111.9) |
47.8 (118.0) |
47.8 (118.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 37.1 (98.8) |
35.3 (95.5) |
32.7 (90.9) |
27.9 (82.2) |
22.8 (73.0) |
19.0 (66.2) |
18.5 (65.3) |
20.6 (69.1) |
24.8 (76.6) |
28.8 (83.8) |
32.2 (90.0) |
35.3 (95.5) |
27.9 (82.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21.7 (71.1) |
20.9 (69.6) |
18.6 (65.5) |
14.8 (58.6) |
10.2 (50.4) |
7.3 (45.1) |
6.1 (43.0) |
6.9 (44.4) |
10.0 (50.0) |
13.6 (56.5) |
17.0 (62.6) |
20.0 (68.0) |
13.9 (57.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 12.6 (54.7) |
10.6 (51.1) |
8.4 (47.1) |
3.1 (37.6) |
0.7 (33.3) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
0.3 (32.5) |
1.8 (35.2) |
3.6 (38.5) |
4.0 (39.2) |
9.5 (49.1) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 24.0 (0.94) |
31.0 (1.22) |
28.5 (1.12) |
20.6 (0.81) |
24.1 (0.95) |
25.1 (0.99) |
19.0 (0.75) |
16.1 (0.63) |
8.9 (0.35) |
9.1 (0.36) |
12.0 (0.47) |
16.7 (0.66) |
235.4 (9.27) |
| Average precipitation days | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 43.9 |
