Gold was discovered here in the 1890s, by a horse! Yep. That’s the story. Seems a nugget got caught in Norseman’s hoof.. From there it was all full steam ahead. By the early 20th century, the second largest gold mine in WA brought riches and thousands of people to this small oasis on the western edge of the Nullarbor.
The mines are still here, as is an enormous grey mountain of mine tailings that looms over the town. With modern mining technology, large numbers of workers are no longer required, so it’s a bit of a puzzle how the couple of thousand people who live in Norseman today make a living? There’s one pub, a small supermarket, a newsagent and a couple of service stations and that’s it. The big attraction for the tourists, other than getting off the Nullarbor, is the line of corrugated iron camels that parade around the town’s only roundabout.
Oh yes there is also a statue of Norseman.
How do we know all this, one might ask? Well, we needed to do some washing before sailing off on the Nullarbor, so we actually spent the best part of two days in Norseman. The immortal words of John Denver rang in our ears…
“Saturday Night in Toledo Ohio is like being no place at all"…..
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