 by John Godl © 2005 | ||
Near the settlement of Leonora, 830 kilometers east of Perth, he made his most important find, a mine called "The Sons of Gwalia". Prospectors were drawn to the area in 1896 by huge gold strikes at Southern Cross, Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. In that year the mine was founded by a small group who never appreciated what they had and sold it to George Hall for £5000, a large sum but one he recouped in just a month. Needing additional funds to exploit the find he approached Hoovers employer who sent him out to evaluate it, analyzing ore samples and the overall quality of gold found he believed it had great potential and urged his company to acquire the claim which they did and made him manager. Soon millions of dollars worth of bullion was issuing forth from the mine making headlines around the world, it would rank as one of the 10 richest gold strikes in Australian history. Its snaking shafts producing 2.6 million ounces of gold, a stream of bullion which didn't run dry until 1963. Hoovers superior, partner Charles Moreing, was stunned by the discovery and would later write, "It was the mine out of which we made the most profit of any business we did". He was also greatly impressed by Hoovers management techniques, the general efficiency of his operations in WA. The settlement being remote there were few mechanical engineers on the ground and he had to work with what they had, handle technical problems himself, local mining engineers had innovative ways of adapting equipment and doing things which was new to him and he harnessed them to good effect.  Hoover on a camel in Western Australia Although at first Hoover had been put off by the harshness of the Australian outback, the red dust, black sand flies and whirlwinds called 'willie willies' by local aborigines which could blow tents and wrought iron structures to pieces the remote place grew on him. He found wildlife of particular interest, the area abounding with kangaroos, emus and wedge tail eagles. One animal he hated was the camel, but in a pre motor vehicle world there was no other way of crossing the desert regions safely. The heat was also like nothing he had known before, it never rained, was always dry and the sandy red dust got in everywhere. The multi cultural make-up of the area also appealed to his curious nature, Afghan tribesman drove the camel trains and prospectors from the metaphorical four corners of the world flocked to the area making it a melting pot. Although he wasn't impressed by the independence of Australian miners who, unlike foreigners who'd accept any conditions and rate of pay given, demanded to be treated and paid fairly for their labor. So he preferred to hire foreign laborers, which didn't always endear him to locals but his no nonsense approach created a managerial reputation which went beyond the shores, the Times of London noting him as "one of the ablest mining engineers in Australia".
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