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Eucalyptus - Western Australia

GPS Lat /Lon 29º 10.69 S; -122º 09 68 S

Eucalyptus is halfway between the old Yundamindera townsite (battery site) and Linden. It is approximately 25 kilometres southeast of Yundamindera, where the road takes a sharp bend, and there is a pull-out on the north side of the road. The Eucalyptus alluvial area is about 500 metres to the north. Faint tracks pick their way through the scrub to the site.

The area was discovered in 1895 and proved to be one of the strongest alluvial fields in Western Australia. It is situated on flats surrounded by low ridges. No large nuggets were found, being mainly many tiny nuggets. It has always remained an alluvial field, with some lodes and small patches, mostly in schist and mullocky leaders.

It led to a huge gold rush to the spot. Subsequently, some shafts were sunk between 20 to 50 feet. There was some crushing’s but no large reefs were ever found to account for the gold. One prospector reported that he obtained 1119 ounces of gold by dollying 7 tonnes of ore. Most of the gold found remained unreported.

Prospectors were making a living from alluvial drying blowing at the site until the Great War years. Subsequent decades saw prospectors trying their luck until very recent times. While some shafts remain, someone has gone in with a bulldozer and cleared the site, the object being to get down to lower levels to metal detect. Being near the road makes it susceptible to this, the clearing is probably illegally done. -  Mindat

Grave of William Patrick McCORMACK at Eucalyptus
Photo Jill Heather - GPS Lat/Lon 29º 10 69S - 122º 09 68E

McCORMACK William Patrick – d 30 May 1897, 43yrs, at Eucalyptus on the Linden Road in the Leonora district, the death was registered by G R Millbank, a hotel keeper at Pendinnie. The grave had a wooden fence made of trimmed gum timber. The cross at the head of the grave in 1940 was in pieces. There was an inscription and all the letters had been cut by hand. Reg 53/1897 North Coolgardie.

McCormack was a butcher by trade and is believed to have died of typhoid after an illness of six weeks. He had two daughters and was the grandfather of William AINSLIE of Bunbury. He was a well known prospector in the district but had little success. He was taken ill while working at the Triumph Mine. When he became ill his friend, also called William McCormack (but not related) took him to the Shannon Lease at Eucalyptus where he looked after him. He was not able to be saved however due to an existing lung complaint. He had been in WA for about 3 years. William had a brother on the field, P J McCormack, who on hearing of his brother’s illness, travelled 185 miles from Coolgardie. He sadly arrived too late and only was present when the cross was erected.