A gold mine named after Edna May

@JudyEv (381904)
Rockingham, Australia
October 15, 2025 8:22am CST
The area around Westonia in Western Australia is marginal farming land with wheat and sheep being the main pursuits. The town got its name from Alfred David Weston, a sandalwood cutter and prospector. He discovered gold in the area in 1910 and the town was named Weston’s Reward at first but later changed to Westonia. The gold mine is one kilometre north of the town. Edmund John Annear applied for a mining lease in 1911 and named the mine after his aunt, Edna May. Problems with flooding and the end of high grade ore saw the first closure of the mine. It reopened and closed several times but is closed at the moment. The ore was mined underground at first but open-cut methods were used later. The photo is a view into the open-cut area.
9 people like this
8 responses
@LadyDuck (502208)
• Italy
15 Oct
This photo is impressive, I can imagine those who worked to extract the gold.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381904)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Oct
It would have been a hard life I think.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (502208)
• Italy
15 Oct
@JudyEv - I imagine it was a very hard life.
2 people like this
@May2k8 (19788)
• Indonesia
15 Oct
The mine workers had anticipated that when it rained nothing would be buried. The photo reminds me of seeing the scenery in the village.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381904)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Oct
It was a long way to the bottom of the open-cut.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (120630)
• United States
4 Nov
I’d hate to fall in that sucker.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381904)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Nov
It's a long way to the bottom, that's for sure.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86606)
• United States
16 Oct
I know those things are ecological disasters, but they are pretty to look at.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381904)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Oct
The logistics always intrigue me - how the roads wind this way and that or are blocked off for some reason.
1 person likes this
@Ronrybs (21503)
• London, England
15 Oct
I think the name Weston's Reward is a much better name!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381904)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Oct
Many of our streets and roads are named after people but not so many towns. We do have a lot of towns named after Britsh ones.
1 person likes this
@Ronrybs (21503)
• London, England
16 Oct
@JudyEv You can tell where we've been around the world. Nowhere was safe!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381904)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Oct
@Ronrybs That's for sure.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222285)
• United States
16 Oct
That's a very cool picture and a very interesting back story.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381904)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Oct
These places can look pretty boring until you start learning more about them.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (97957)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
15 Oct
Looks absolutely amazing, Glad you are enjoying,
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381904)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Oct
We're home now but we did enjoy our time away.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (34943)
• United Kingdom
15 Oct
I don't know why but I have never thought of open-cast gold mining.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381904)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Oct
Maybe they thought they could avoid the flooding a bit although it would still have been a problem.
1 person likes this