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Bonnie Vale  Western Australia

Latitude 30° 51' Longitude 121° 10'

Bonnie Vale is an abandoned goldfields townsite 14 km (8.7 miles) north of Coolgardie WA .

The town was gazzetted in 1897. It was apparently named after Bonnie, a prospector who picked up a 7-troy-ounce (220 g) nugget here in May/June 1894.

It is famous as the site of the Varischetti Mine Rescue  of 1907, when an Italian goldminer, Modesto Varischetti was trapped for nine days in a mine when it was flooded after a thunderstorm. Varischetti survived in an air pocket until rescued. A diver using deep-sea diving equipment located Varischetti five days after the mine was flooded, and provided him with food, candles and letters of encouragement.

Bonnie Vale Street map - Image SLWA

 
Bonnie Vale townsite 1903 - Photo SLWAReccomended Reading

Reccomended Reading

The Entombed Miner by Tom Austin
photos and indexed
Published by St. George Books 1986
ISBN 0 86778 032 0