Women on the Goldfields

Article | Updated 4 weeks ago

Western Australian Museum Dwyer collection GM 1369
Mrs Irvine’s Tearooms near Hampton Plains condenser, c.1920s

A number of enterprising women on the goldfields set up businesses running tearooms and boarding houses to service the many single men on the ‘fields. These businesses also provided a family income in economically precarious times. Some women who had lost their husbands to mining accidents or illness turned to businesses of this nature to support themselves and their families.

Men outside Mrs Irvine’s Tearooms near Hampton Plains condenser, c.1920s
Mrs Irvine’s Tearooms near Hampton Plains condenser, c.1920s
Image copyright WA Museum