Mining and Resource Records

The Department of Mines was created on 1 January 1894 in response to the rapid growth in mining in Western Australia following the discovery of significant deposits of gold. The records of the Department of Mines and its successor agencies can be located through our online catalogue

Early colonial references to mining in Western Australia may be found in the indexes to the Colonial Secretary's Office correspondence, under the headings "Mining", "Gold" and "Lands". See also further information on the records of the Colonial Secretary's Office.

The following are examples of Department of Mines records held by the State Records Office:

General Files, 1892-1992, Series 20

These early files consist largely of correspondence files relating to gold mining lease applications, although there are also miner's right applications, reports, circulars to wardens and various other files included.

It should be noted that not all general correspondence files have survived. Nominal, subject and numerical indexes to the general correspondence are available for the period 1892-1909 and can provide an indication of whether a particular file has been archived or destroyed.

Mining Tenement Nominal Indexes, 1892-1909, Series 1028

Entries are listed alphabetically by name of lease or lease-holder and note the district and date leases were cancelled. Details of the leases can then be found in the relevant Lease Registers which are available through the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.

Following the establishment of the Department of Mines in 1894, mining districts were created and Mining Registrars and Mining Wardens appointed to the various mineral fields. Mining Registrars were responsible for recording mining claims; Mining Wardens who were also Resident or Stipendiary Magistrates, presided over the Mining Courts which were established in the major goldfields.

The State Records Office holds a variety of records created by the Registrars and Warden's Courts of various mining districts. These records include letterbooks, indexes and registers. Mining Registrar and Mining Warden records are available for a number of districts including: Cue, Kalgoorlie, Ravensthorpe, Yandanooka, Kanowna, Laverton, Marble Bar, Northampton, Southern Cross and Yalgoo. These records can be located online using the name of the required locality. Additional material can also be located in the Clerk of Court records for the various districts.

Some examples of Mining Registrar and Mining Warden records include:

• Mining Registrar Cue, Leaseholders Quarterly Returns, 1897-1899, Series 1524: List of gold mining leases registered in the Cue district showing number and name of lease, manager or attorney and date.
• Mining Registrar Cue, Correspondence - Intestate Estates, 1893-1904, Series 1675: Inward correspondence to the Curator of Intestate Estates which was one of the functions performed by the Registrar, Cue.
• Laverton Warden's Office, Prospecting Areas Registers, 1896-1924, Acc 1290, Items 22-30, AN 17/LAV
• Mining Registrar Leonora, Mining Accident Registers - Mount Margaret, 1906-1931, Acc 1456, Items 57-59, AN 17/LEO: Contains the name of the accident victim, the nature of the accident and/or injury, the name of the mine, and the date of the accident.
• Perth Warden's Court, Minute Books, 1899-1949, Acc 1371, AN 17/PER: Includes section for register of leases taken up in districts throughout the State between 1910-1913.
• Mining Warden Yalgoo, Letterbooks, 1895-1896 & 1899-1901, Series 393

Prior to the establishment of the Department of Mines, control of mining was regulated by the Lands Department. The following represent some of the early records of mining leases for the Colony which were created by the Department of Lands and Surveys and its predecessor agencies:

Survey Office, Mining Leases and Licences Application, 1865-1882, Series 1841, Consignment 5000, Items 39/1a - 39/1e

Contains copies of mining leases and letters arranged by district. Districts represented include North, Victoria, Swan, Avon, Cockburn Sound, Kent and Melbourne.

Crown Lands & Surveys Department, Register - Mining Leases, 1872-1883, Series 1212, Consignment 5000, Item 1383

Register of lease applications grouped by district. Also contains an alphabetical list of licensee names.

Department of Lands & Surveys, Mineral Leases, Descriptions and Permits, 1873-1898, Series 2134, Consignment 5000, Items 1384-1388

Information relating to mining leases may also be located through the records of the Department of Mines and the various Mining Registrar, Mining Warden and local courthouse records available for particular mining districts. These records include applications for mining leases and registers of mining leases. Files relating to specific leases may also be located within the General Files series of the Department of Mines.

The following are selected examples of mining lease records held by the State Records Office:

• Department of Mines, Nominal Indexes of Registered Lessees and Applicants to 1905, Acc 1371, Items 22-23, AN 350: Arranged alphabetically provides the name of lessee, number of lease, goldfield and cancellation date.
• Department of Mines, Applications for Leases 1890-1966, Series 266: Covers various Mining Wardens.
• Mining Warden - Marble Bar, Register of Mining Leases 1891-1898, Series 636: Contains information on leases in the localities of Marble Bar, Bamboo Creek, and Mallina. Details include name of lease and lessees, number of shares, area surveyed, date of transfer and who to, and other comments of note.
• Mining Registrar Southern Cross, Lease Registers, 1891-1957, Series 1148: Registers in this series include leases connected with minerals, water, tailings, machinery, property, agriculture, homesteads, gardens and quarries. Information varies depending upon the type of lease, but can include the name of the mine, registered shareholders, date of registration, class of holding, number of shares, and the name of registered shareholders.

Information relating to miner's rights (a form of prospecting licence) can be located within the records of Mining Wardens, Mining Registrars, local courthouses and local police stations, as well as through the records of the Department of Mines. Some examples of the types of records which provide information with regard to miner's rights are:

• Department of Mines, Applications for Miner's Rights 1892-1913, Series 266: Covers various Mining Wardens.
• Onslow Police Station, Miner's Rights Granted 1895-1935, Acc 1256, Item 6, AN 5
• Department of Mines, List of Miner's Rights Cue, 1896-1897, Acc 787, Item 140, AN 17
• Phillips River Mining Registrar, Register of Miner's Rights 1899-1923, Acc 792, Item 16, AN 350

The following agencies maintain information relevant to researchers investigating mining history.

Companies Registration Office

The State Records Office holds records transferred from the Companies Registration Office dealing with defunct State and Local companies, as well as records of some defunct Foreign companies operating in Western Australia. These records date as far back as 1893 and include references to mining companies that have gone bankrupt during this period.

Information pertaining to mining companies prior to 1893 may be located through the Register of Mining Companies Registrations, 1888-1893 (Acc 2805), which was maintained in compliance with the Mining Companies Act 1885.

Records relating to bankrupt mining companies prior to 1961 may also be located through the Supreme Court bankruptcy records listed in our online catalogue.

Colonial Secretary's Office (CSO)

References to mining can be found within the Colonial Secretary's Office correspondence. Records can be located through the Subject Indexes located in the Search Room. Headings to check for relevant correspondence include "Mining", "Gold", "Minerals" and "Lands", as well as checking for correspondence from Resident Magistrates of mining districts.

See also further information on the Colonial Secretary's Office records.

Courthouses

In some instances records relating to mining, particularly those pertaining to mining licences, can be located through the records of local courthouses for mining districts. This is most notably the case for areas that did not have a Mining Registrar or Mining Warden, in which the courthouse assumed those responsibilities.

Courthouse records can be located either at the hardcopy AN 17 finding aid available at the State Records Office Search Room or through the online catalogue under the name of the relevant district.

Selected examples of the types of records available include:

• Collie Courthouse, Collie Coal Miners Accident Relief Fund Register of Accidents, 1918-1940, Acc 1366, Item 62, AN 17
• Leonora Courthouse, Register of Mine Managers, 1907-1920, Acc 1456, Item 56, AN 17: Provides details on the appointment of mine managers for the Leonora area along with information on the owners of the mines concerned, the locality and name of the mines, and particulars of termination.
• Clerk of Courts - York, Register - Prospecting Areas, 1924-1940, Series 479, Consignment 3826

Geological Survey of Western Australia

In 1886 the Legislative Council passed a resolution to establish a Geological Survey. However it was not until the appointment of Andrew Gibb Maitland in 1896 as Government Geologist that the structure of the Geological Survey was established.

Geological Survey records can be located through the catalogue. Of particular interest are the General Files which include reports and surveys relating to various goldfields, petroleum and other fossil fuels, country town water supplies, and other geological matters.

Records relating to Government Geologists between the period 1847 and 1896 can be located through the records of the Colonial Secretary's Office and the records of the various Lands Departments.

Government Chemical Laboratories

Formally established on 1 March 1922 with the appointment of Dr Edward S. Simpson as Government Mineralogist and Analyst, the Government Chemical Laboratories combined the existing laboratories of the Health, Agriculture and Mines Departments. The Government Chemical Laboratories later became the Chemical Centre (WA).

General Files, 1922-1984, Series 2191

Contains technical papers, research papers and results of analytical and research work into asbestos, minerals and water among other things.

Notebooks, 1896-1939, Acc 2776, AN 539

This collection of notebooks contain the original notes and data gathered by Dr Simpson, Mineralogist and Assayer to the Geological Survey, the results of which were ultimately published in his three volume set the "Minerals of Western Australia" - long regarded as the definitive reference. The note books contain catalogues of minerals, details of analytical methods used, public assays, and daily logs of Dr Simpson's work as Government Mineralogist.

Department of Industrial Development

The Department of Industrial Development was created in 1937 to coordinate major resource development projects within the State and improve utilisation of the State's natural resources (including mineral resources). The records of the Department of Industrial Development and its successor agencies contain subject files and correspondence files relating to mineral exploration and the encouragement and development of mining operations. These files often deal with mining matters, in particular agreements between the State and individual mining companies concerning the development of mineral resource projects.

Records relating to the Department of Industrial Development and its successor agencies may be located in the Search Room finding aids at AN 183 or through the catalogue under the name of the required agency.

Please Note: Some records of the Department of Industrial Development and its successor agencies are restricted access records. See also further information on accessing restricted records.