Name

Named after a hill about 21 km south of the town, itself named by the explorer John Forrest while on expedition in the area in 1869. The hill is believed to have been named after a lady friend of Forrest.

Discovery             

Gold was first discovered in the area in the 1895 resulting in a gold rush. If the following article in the Northam Advertiser of 7 December 1895 is to be believed, the discovery was made by a party funded by the Northam Gold-mining and Prospecting Syndicate:

Early History                

Within a year of the first gold discovery the area boasted a population of 200. The area warden lobbied for a town to be declared later the same year and it was eventually gazetted in 1898. In 1898 an hotel had already been constructed. By 1899 the town’s population had swollen to 300. A bi-weekly coach service to Menzies had commenced, and a second hotel was in service, yet the town still didn’t even have a post office.

A Government mining battery, constructed in 1898, was pivotal to improving the town’s fortunes.  By 1900, after nearly two years' running of the battery, the district had at least three or four good mines. The battery operated until 1953.

By 1909 only one of the town’s hotels remained open.  Ironically a progress committee to represent the town was formed in 1910, but it appears that the town gradually but steadily declined thereafter and was eventually abandoned.

The mining of gold in the area continues, though the ownership and scale of the area’s mines has fluctuated through the past century.