Running from 18 April to 18 May, the Australian Heritage Festival is the nation’s biggest celebration of culture and history, bringing communities together through engaging events, guided tours, and fascinating exhibitions.
Making Home Under Southern Skies: Two Centuries of Chinese Heritage in Western Australia
City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Heritage Services
“These stories are not side notes, not footnotes, not add-ons — they are part of the main story,” - Project co-lead, Associate Professor Yu Tao.
A unique project documenting the history of Chinese West Australians, from the 1830’s to the present day has recently been completed by the University of Western Australia’s School of Social Sciences, with support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations. This resulting exhibition seeks to reconnect audiences to two centuries of overlooked stories, uncovering a rich cultural and social heritage and revealing dynamic individual and community contributions that have helped shape the foundations of modern Western Australia.
Saturday 18 April to Saturday 25 July | 10am to 4pm weekdays, 9am to 1pm Saturdays (closed public holidays)
Venue: Boulder Town Hall, 116 Burt Street, Boulder.
Free admission
Boulder Historic Sites Walking Tour
Eastern Goldfields Historical Society
The Eastern Goldfields Historical Society invites you to wander the charming streets of Boulder and explore the rich history behind some of the buildings—both those that still stand and those that have been lost to time. Grab your phone, scan the QR code, and read about some of the history of the buildings that once stood where you are standing.
Saturday 18 April to Monday 18 May
Burt St, Moran St, Lane St & Piesse St, Boulder.
Free | Self-guided
Our Stories Exhibition
Eastern Goldfields Historical Society
Panels depicting scenes from from 1934 Race Riots are on display in Hamilton St, out the front of the Eastern Goldfields Historical Societies Old Boulder Power Station, along with a panel depicting a story on Private Stephen Grace.
Saturday 18 April to Monday 18 May
Hamilton St & Burt St, Boulder.
Free | Self-guided
Pitman and Walsh Exhibition
Pitman and Walsh Exhibition
Museum of the Goldfields
Explore Pitman and Walsh artefacts from the State collection and uncover the deeper stories behind them as we commemorate 100 years since this dramatic event.
From Saturday 18 April | 10am - 3pm
Museum of the Goldfields, 17 Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie.
Free admission
High Tea at the Boulder Railway Station Platform
Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre
Come along and enjoy a delicious high tea with a tower of sweet and savoury delights, and check out the railway station's interpretive material. Tables inside the railway buffet carriage available.
Saturday 18 April | 10:30am - 1:30pm
Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre, Boulder Railway Station Building, Loopline Park, 49 Hamilton Street, Boulder.
A donation of $40 per person is requested | Bookings required, Phone: 9021 3788, email info@wangka.com.au, or in person at Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre.
Scandals, Riots and Bombings: Boulder's Dark History Tour
City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Heritage Services
In the days when Boulder was bolder and the nights when Boulder smouldered…
Boulder’s past wasn’t shaped only by the quest for gold but also by speculators who gambled big, opportunists who waited in the shadows, and schemes that curled through the streets like dust storms.
Prepare yourself for this experience!
Behind the façades of prosperity were tales of daring robberies, suspicious dealings, and murders that rattled the town’s nerves. The bright promise of fortune often led to a web of shady meetings, unexplained disappearances, bold robberies, and nights shaken by blasts that echoed through the narrow streets. These aren’t the cheerful stories found in brochures; they’re the forgotten fragments tucked into alleyways and abandoned corners. This tour pulls back the curtain on Boulder’s ruthless extremes—the scandals, the temptations, and the risks woven into the hunt for gold.
Sunday 19 April | 9:30am - 10:30am
Tour begins outside the Boulder Town Hall, Burt Street, Boulder.
$15 per person | Book online or by calling the Visitor Centre on (08) 9021 1966.
Kalgoorlie Town Hall Tours
City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Heritage Services
Become immersed in more than a century of civic history as you wander up the grand staircase and take in the magnificent theatre and council chambers.
20, 22, 29 April & 4, 6, 11, 13 May
All tours start 10:30am at Kalgoorlie Town Hall, Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie.
Adults $10, Concession $8, Children $4 | Pre-booking not required
Boulder Town Hall Tours
City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Heritage Services
As you explore the crown jewel of Burt Street, discover how key personalities and grand plans changed a rugged mining camp into a thriving town.
21, 23, 28, 30 April & 5, 7, 12, 14 May
All tours start 10:30am at Boulder Town Hall, Burt Street, Boulder.
Adults $10, Concession $8, Children $4 | Pre-booking not required
FREE TOURS
18 & 25 April & 2, 9, 16 May
Such Was Life Screening
Kalgoorlie Boulder Visitor Centre, Museum of the Goldfields & Goldfields Repertory Club
Join the Kalgoorlie Boulder Visitor Centre and the Museum of the Goldfields for a special screening of Such Was Life, a WAnderland documentary series produced by the Western Australian Museum. Featuring stories from the Goldfields, the series explores the hardships, resilience and remarkable characters of early mining life. This event will begin with a short historical tour of the Goldfields Repertory Club, Western Australia’s longest continuously running amateur theatre group, founded in 1931.
Monday 27 April & Sunday 3 May | 2pm - 4pm
Goldfields Repertory Club - 7 Brookman-Hay St, Kalgoorlie.
$15 per person | Book online or by calling the Visitor Centre on (08) 9021 1966.
In Paddy's Footsteps: Walking Tour of Hannan Street
Kalgoorlie Boulder Visitor Centre & Eastern Goldfields Historical Society
Follow in Paddy Hannan’s footsteps on this engaging 1.5-hour guided walking tour through the heart of Kalgoorlie. Led by the Eastern Goldfields Historical Society, the tour reveals the discoveries and stories that shaped the Goldfields.
Monday 27 April & Sunday 10 May | 9:30am - 11am
This tour departs from the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Visitor Centre, Hannan Street.
$15 per person | Book online or by calling the Visitor Centre on (08) 9021 1966.
Pitman and Walsh 100-Year Memorial
The Police Historical Society
Join us in remembering Pitman & Walsh at a ceremony at the Memorial Site.
Dress Code
Commissioned Officers: Tunic, blue dress trousers, long or short-sleeved shirt, tie, and Medals. Those issued with a Sam Browne belt, are required to wear it.
Non-Commissioned Officers: Blue dress trousers, long or short-sleeved shirt, tie, and Medals.
Other Attendees: Business attire.
Tuesday 28 April | 10am - 11am
Pitman and Walsh Memorial Site, Great Eastern Highway, Binduli.
Free event
Justice, Duty, Legacy: The Story of Pitman & Walsh
Museum of the Goldfields
Step back into one of the Goldfields’ most riveting true-crime stories as we uncover the gold-stealing scandal and the Pitman & Walsh murders.
Tuesday 28 April | 6pm - 7:30pm
Museum of the Goldfields, 17 Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie.
Free event
Stories of Change Project
Artgold
The Stories of Change project draws on works from the Golden Mile Art Heritage Collection, inviting contemporary writers to respond creatively to historic artworks and reflect on how the Goldfields story continues to evolve. Selected stories will be published in a special anthology celebrating the connection between art, heritage and storytelling in the Goldfields.
In partnership with Golden Mile Art and Northern Star.
Book Launch & Opening Event: Friday 1 May | 6pm
Artgold Gallery, 14 Burt Street, Boulder.
Email admin@artgold.net.au to RSVP
The twelve artworks that inspired the stories will be exhibited, allowing visitors to experience the paintings alongside the stories they inspired.
Exhibition open: Friday 1 May to Sunday 17 May, | 10am - 3pm (other times by appointment)
Mystery, Murder and Mayhem: Kalgoorlie's Dark History Tour
City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Heritage Services
Forget polished legends - it’s not all about the gold, the charm or the wonder. This is the kind of tour that makes you say, “WTF?”
Join an alternative tour of Kalgoorlie, where we explore stories that slipped through the cracks and tales that have been quietly pushed aside. Take a step back into the darker corners of Hannan Street, to a time when tensions boiled over and people sometimes made explosive decisions – literally!
There were robberies, sudden deaths, lovers’ confrontations, and moments when the town teetered on the edge of chaos. Travel off the beaten track and experience the fascinating and gruesome reality of Kalgoorlie's horrible history. These stories aren’t polished for tourist brochures. Some are tragic, some unbelievable, and all of them reveal a rougher, rawer Kalgoorlie.
Sunday 3 May | 9:30am - 10:30am
Tour begins outside the Boulder Town Hall, Burt Street, Boulder.
$15 per person | Book online or by calling the Visitor Centre on (08) 9021 1966.
Behind the Telegrams - How the Pitman & Walsh Story Was Told to the Nation
Museum of the Goldfields
Join Kylie Elston, History Curator at the Western Australian Museum, as she uses telegrams in the Museum’s collection to show how this gruesome murder became a sensational story around Australia and the other side of the world.
Tuesday 5 May | 6pm - 7:30pm
Museum of the Goldfields, 17 Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie.
Free event
Treasures at Home - Caring for Your Personal Collections
Museum of the Goldfields
Join Erica Boyne, Head of History at the Western Australian Museum’s Collection and Research team, for an informative session on how to care for and protect your collection at home.
Thursday 7 May | 6pm - 7:30pm
Museum of the Goldfields, 17 Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie.
Free event
Goldfields First Nations and Afghan Story
Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre
The story of the Afghan cameleers of the Goldfields region of WA is an interesting one! The Afghan cameleers were instrumental in bringing water and supplies to the region, but they, like Aboriginal people, were treated as second class citizens. This interpretive exhibition brings out the story of the cameleer and the connections that developed between them and Aboriginal people. People brought together through hardship and resilience
Opening event: Monday 11 May | 10:30am
Exhibition open: Monday 11 to Friday 15 May, | 8:30am - 4:30pm
Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre, Boulder Railway Station Building, Loopline Park, 49 Hamilton Street, Boulder.
Free Event
Boulder Town Hall Open Day & Community Markets
City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Heritage Services
Come and join the fun! Explore the Boulder Town Hall, experience our rich Goldfields history and peruse market stalls in the hall at the Boulder Town Hall Open Day. Free Town Hall tour at 10.30am.
Sunday 16 May | 9am - 2pm
Boulder Town Hall, Burt Street, Boulder.
International Museum Day Special Tour
Museum of the Goldfields
Join our knowledgeable guide and discover highlights from the Museum’s permanent galleries, then hear about the the gripping Pitman and Walsh murders that shook the State in the 1920s.
Monday 18 May | 11am - 11:30am
Museum of the Goldfields, 17 Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie
Free event