An entry in the Occurrence Book at Coolgardie Police Station, Western Australia, for June 17th, 1893 read as follows:
“At 7 p.m. Patrick Hannan reported at the station that he and Thomas Flanagan had discovered payable alluvial gold on the 15th inst. about thirty miles east north east of Coolgardie and unearthed 100 oz.in two days. Hannan states that there is no water on the field.”
It was the opening chapter in the story of the greatest gold find ever, thought to be worth more than 1,100 million dollars to the Australian economy and it all began with a Quin native!
Patrick ‘Paddy’ Hannan was born at Gorteen, Dangan on the 26th April 1840. The family later moved to Ballyroughan, about 6 kilometres east of Quin. This was during a period of great strife and severe food shortages in Ireland, with the worst year of the Famine in 1847. As a teenager he worked a little with the Armstrong family at Ballyroughan House.
There was local mining activity near Quin in Hannan’s youth, with Kilbricken lead-zinc mine worked from 1834-1854 and Ballyhickey mine from 1834, intermittently operating until 1854. It may have been these enterprises that prompted Patrick in 1863 to emigrate to Australia to try his hand at prospecting. Like many Clare residents the young Paddy was met by relatives on his arrival.
Initially Hannan tried working in the Ballarat and Bendigo gold fields in Victoria, and later moved to New Zealand. After six years he was back in Australia spending time at several gold-digging centres across the country, without much success. In 1889 he was amongst the first wave of miners in Western Australia.
He was joined there by two fellow Irishmen, Thomas Flanagan from Ennis and Daniel O’ Shea from County Cork. Hearing some rumours they decided to try their luck east of Coolgarlie town.
In June 17th 1893 while supposedly searching for a wandering horse or perhaps creating some space for himself, Hannan happened on some gold ingots on the scrubland surface. He and his colleagues dug deeper and found yet more gold pebbles.
They lodged their claim at the police station in Coolgarlie in August 1893. News of their gold find spread quickly, leading to a rush to find new nuggets of gold. Prospectors began arriving in huge numbers in the area.
Ballyroughan Townland, (blue shading), north of the Kilkishen road from Quin
Initially for new arrivals, there was little or no food, accommodation or, most importantly, water to be had. This led to much distress and many early deaths were listed amongst the miners.
The local gold field became known as the ‘Golden Mile’. In time it was deemed to be the ‘richest square mile in the world’. New mining companies were constantly being created to speculate on the riches pouring forth from the ground there. In time Government agencies laid on better amenities to the area, especially piped water. For transport a new rail line was added from Perth. Two towns – Kalgoorlie and Boulder – grew out of the gold rush.
Patrick Hannan’s right as the discoverer of the huge gold field was never disputed. In 1897 he was feted like royalty on his return to Kalgoorlie. Over time civic offices, the railway station and a statue in Kalgoorlie’s Main Street were named after him.
Oddly, neither Paddy Hannan nor his compatriots benefitted greatly from the new wealth coming from the gold field. Their own site failed to deliver any significant quantities of gold. Patrick received an annual pension of €150.0 dollars from the Government of Western Australia in acknowledgement of his founder role. He lived out his life in Melbourne in the care of his cousins. He died there at the age of 82 and is buried in the city’s cemetery.
What is known of the character of the man Patrick Hannan? An 1897 article in the newspaper The Kalgoorlie Miner recorded him as being ‘pleasant and genial as his nationality could not well prevent him from being, while in appearance, a ruddy complexion betokens a healthy and outdoor life. Concerning himself, he is not disposed to be very communicative’.
This year marks the 100 year anniversary of Patrick Hannan’s death in Melbourne in November 1925.
The Ballyroughan Hannan’s were related to the Dangan Lynch’s. Patrick Hannan is an ancestor of Fergal Lynch, the current Priomhóide of Scoil na Mainistreach and ex county hurler.
The Kalgoorlie gold field is still active. 132 years after Patrick Hannan’s initial find, mining there is now on a huge industrial scale, with pits running hundreds of metres deep. Gold is still being found.
MH, 2025.
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Sources: Michael Mac Mahon, ‘Paddy Hannan from Quin, Pioneer of the Golden Mile’, The Other Clare, Volume 5, 1981.
Ann McNamara, historian, Quin Heritage.
