Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located 595 km (370 mi) east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway.

The name "Kalgoorlie" is derived from the Wangai word Karlkurla or Kulgooluh, meaning "place of the silky pears".

Kalgoorlie is the ultimate destination of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme and the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail.

[8] In the winter of 1893, prospectors Patrick (Paddy) Hannan, Tom Flanagan, and Dan Shea were travelling to Mount Youle, when one of their horses cast a shoe.

The concentrated area of large gold mines surrounding the original Hannan's find is often referred to as the Golden Mile, and was sometimes referred to as the world's richest square mile of earth.In 1901, the population of Kalgoorlie was 4,793 (3,087 males and 1,706 females) which increased to 6,790 (3,904 males and 2,886 females) by 1903.

In 1917, a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge railway line was completed, connecting Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta, South Australia, across 2,000 kilometres (1,243 mi) of desert, and consequently the rest of the eastern states.

Places, famous or infamous, for which Kalgoorlie is noted include its water pipeline, designed by C. Y. O'Connor and bringing in fresh water from Mundaring Weir near Perth, its Hay Street brothels, its two-up school, the goldfields railway loopline, the Kalgoorlie Town Hall, the Paddy Hannan statue/drinking fountain, the Super Pit, and Mount Charlotte lookout.

Kalgoorlie and the surrounding district were served by an extensive collection of suburban railways and tramways, providing for both passenger and freight traffic.

[15] The quake caused damage to a number of commercial hotels and historic buildings along Burt Street in Boulder.

Each of the massive trucks carries 225 tonnes of rock and the round trip takes about 35 minutes, most of that time being the slow uphill haul.

[27] Prostitutes from all over the world moved to Kalgoorlie for employment in the town's sex work industry.

Nevertheless, "skimpy barmaids" (female bartenders who wear sexually provocative clothing, usually flying into Kalgoorlie from elsewhere) are known to occasionally sell sex.

[31] Kalgoorlie–Boulder's location, being roughly 600 km from Perth, enjoys high levels of participation in Australian rules football (the Goldfields Football League), netball, basketball, rugby league, soccer, field hockey, and cricket.

Other popular sports in Kalgoorlie include tennis, lawn bowls, roller derby, rugby union, and swimming.

Kalgoorlie–Boulder – the largest settlement for many hundreds of kilometres, with many employees at the Super Pit – is the centre of the area's social life.

Well known in the area are the Kalgoorlie,[32] Geraldton,[33] Perth,[34] and Albany[35] skimpy barmaids,[36] mostly flown in,[37] employed by pubs like Exchange Hotel,[38] who walk around "scantily clad"[39] in bikini, lingerie[40] or burlesque outfits to attract punters and who expect a fee[41] in return.

It was once the central business district for the Town of Boulder, but since amalgamation with Kalgoorlie, it is now more of a historical local centre.

Boulder has its own post office, town hall and many hotels along its main thoroughfare, Burt Street.

Fairways features a private primary school, church, caravan park and small business.

The suburb was built on the "Radburn concept", with houses facing away from the street and common pathways linking homes.

In 2003, a significant urban renewal project was commenced, including the renaming of the suburb to Golden Grove and re-aligning of homes.

This ongoing project has been designed as an environmentally friendly estate, and will eventually consist of over 2000 homes, apartments and facilities such as parks and schools.

The eastern side contains retail chains, banks, the police station, court house, restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, schools, university, and a TAFE.

It houses North Kalgoorlie Primary School, small businesses, a medical practice, a hotel, tavern and a non-maintained 18-hole golf course.

It features the city's regional hospital, small businesses, a hotel, sporting arena and two grassed ovals.

Somerville contains a residential area, schools, retail shops, light industry and some horse stables.

The suburb was expanded in the mid-1990s to include a sub-division named "Sport of Kings" on Maxwell Street, using a surplus of land from the racecourse.

Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, owner of the Super Pit to the south on the Golden Mile, from 2015 mined the Hidden Secret orebody, between 215 metres (705 ft) and 440 metres (1,440 ft) below the surface of Williamstown, using Mount Charlotte's Cassidy Shaft as access.

The Transwa Prospector operates once to twice daily passenger train services from Kalgoorlie to Perth.

There is a locally owned and operated charter company with a flight school, Goldfields Air Services.