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Mount Ida   -  Western Australia

John Forrest, on his first expedition, primarily in search of Leichhardt who had disappeared in the interior, penetrated further into the new country than any of his predecessors.  He discovered and named Lake Barlee, and Mount Ida. "Western Australia: A Pictorial Parade of 150 Years"...............

Latitude : 29 03 S Longitude : 120 30 E

Mount Ida is an abandoned goldfields townsite located about 100 km east south east of Leonora. It is named after the feature of the same name located about 21 km south south west of the townsite. The hill was named by the explorer/surveyor John Forrest in 1869, most likely after a lad friend. In his journal Forrest states "Saddled up at daybreak, and steered about SE towards a high range of hills about 10 miles distant, which I named Mount Ida, from the summit of which I took a round of angles with my pocket sextant."

Gold was discovered in this area in the mid 1890s, and by June 1896 there were around 200 people in the area, resulting in the mining warden suggesting a townsite be declared. The townsite was gazetted in May 1898.