UPDATE OF A STORY I WROTE IN 2021

^{I was intrigued by reports that Donald Trump has given the Oval Office a major renovation, with a strong gold accent. It reminded me of another American President’s house that sits right on the edge of one of Australia’s most productive gold mines in a spectacular outback setting. Don’t tell Mr Trump as he might want to move there!}

^{He might have to share though with other travellers. You can still there as it offers bed and breakfast for under $200 a night.}

^{Not quite the White House, but this President’s house is just as unique, with Australia’s deepest underground gold operating on its doorstep. It also happens to be the deepest trucking mine in the world. Don’t go sleepwalking over the front fence at night – you might take a high dive in the mine!}

^{Herbert Hoover, the USA President from 1929 to 1933, worked as a Geologist and Mining Engineer in Western Australia before he got into politics. In 1898 he was appointed Manager of the Sons of Gwalia gold Mine in WA’s remote Northern Goldfields, just over 950 kilometres from the State’s Capital, Perth.}

^{Aged only 23, Hoover designed a beautiful Mine Manager’s house and oversaw its building. He intended to live there, but he was transferred to China before the house was complete. However, he and his wife stayed there occasionally guests on return business trips to Gwalia.}

^{I’ve overnighted at the house on a few occasions. It has several bedrooms. One is called the Hoover room – presumably that was his. If so, I can say I’ve slept in a President’s bedroom!}

^{The mine was a traditional underground operation when Hoover was there. Today, it’s an impressive open cut mine. It’s given up more than 6 million ounces of gold since its discovery, and still retains a high-grade multi-million production.}

^{From Hoover house, you have a front row seat. The house sits precariously at the edge of the massive Gwalia open pit gold mine – providing a breathtaking overview of the operation, especially at night when it’s lit up like a fairyland, with massive mine trucks winding up and down tracks etched out from its steep sides.}

^{The house today is owned by the local shire council and has been beautifully restored to meet modern accommodation standards. The council won a State Heritage Award in 2019 after completing a $3.3 million dollar upgrade project for the nearby Gwalia historical precinct, a few minutes walk downhill from the house. Visitors can tour free through the house and its surrounds during the day, or book in for bed and breakfast for under $200 a night. Rooms range from $168 to $199.50 Australian.}

^{Hoover house is elegant and mainly styled in the period when Hoover was working at Gwalia. Though, the restoration offers modern conveniences such as bedroom ensuites and air conditioning for guests. Wide verandahs on two sides look out to stunning outback scenery. Sunrise and sunset should not be missed!}

^{You need to stay at least two nights at Herbert Hoover house to allow plenty of time to explore this very interesting outback Aussie region. A nearby town, Leonora has a good tourist bureau, shops and a couple of country pubs for a meal.}

^{Continental breakfast provisions are provided for overnight guests. No cooking inside is allowed, but there is an outdoor barbecue, a kitchen fridge and microwave available. The kitchen includes a large dining table for guest use. Friends and I staying have easily put together a fairly good barbecue and salad dinner!}

^{Part of Hoover House is set up as a museum. If you are staying there, you can lock your bedroom door so that day visitors can’t come in. I’ve left my door open if I’m in the room so that people can see it as they’ve likely come a long way to view the house. But that’s a personal choice.}

^{A cafe operates from 10 to 3 on some days, but that’s worth checking on before arrival. For various reasons, it’s not always open. Hubby and I enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea served on the house verandah for a small cost on one of our visits.}

^{There’s other small buildings of interest that are set up as mini museums around the house – you can spend hours going through them. And a short walk down the hill from the house is the original Gwalia – now pretty much a ghost town that has been restored as a museum piece. It was damaged badly in a freak storm earlier this year – 2025 – sparking a major repair effort. You can wander through old miners cottages .. many of them not much more than corrugated iron shacks. It’s incredible to think families lived in these places only 60 years ago. Great for photography!}

^{Gwalia town was abandoned when the mine closed in the early 1960’s. Many of the workers back then were European migrants, many from Italy and Yugoslavia. Modern technology has allowed the mine to reopen and thrive again, but workers now live in the nearby town of Leonora and elsewhere.}

^{There’s also the old hotel – quite magnificent and built by the West Australian State Government in 1903 to curb the sly grog trade at the time. The hotel is no longer accessible to the public. When I was last in Gwalia, the Council hoped to obtain it from the mining company and renovate it as a tourist lodge. I’m not sure how far that plan has progressed as several million dollars needs to be raised to go forward with it. Currently some rooms are used as mining offices, and many of the hotel’s magnificent fixtures such as its jarrah wood bar are gone. But it would be wonderful to be able to see it inside.}

^{Accommodation bookings: museum@gwalia.org.au or ring 08 9037 7122 Mobile: 0419 958 199}

^{Herbert Hoover house is a place in outback Australia worth visiting. I mean, really, when are you ever going to sleep at the edge of an open pit gold mine in a house built by an American President.}

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