Australian gold rush towns face the dilemma of depopulation and vacant housing

On August 25, 2024, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on the severe dilemma faced by Australia's inland gold rush towns. These towns that were once prosperous due to the gold rush are now deeply mired in the problems of depopulation and vacant housing.

In a town with only 450 people in the inland of Western Australia, Kent, the butcher, as the last butcher in the town, is full of worries about the future. He lamented that it is very difficult to get people to come and live in the inland areas, especially since young people are reluctant to come.

In the "gold mining area" several hundred kilometers east of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, dozens of towns that were once glorious but now desolate are distributed. Most of these towns flourished during the gold rush period from the second half of the 19th century to the early 20th century. They have similar architectural styles. A main highway runs through the town center. Important buildings include the town hall, post office, restaurants and bars. During the golden age of the gold rush, many towns had a population of several thousand, but now it has  to only a few hundred, and some even only have more than a hundred people.

Taking the Shire of Mount Magnet as an example, due to an aging population, dilapidated infrastructure and lack of funds, the town is declining. Locals hope to bring in economic income through passing mining and transport trucks and build the town into an important transportation hub to achieve industrial diversification. However, the dilemma of difficulty in recruiting workers makes it difficult for the scarce local education and medical resources and boring spare time life to attract people to come to work and settle down. At present, the future of these gold rush towns is full of uncertainties. How to get out of the predicament and achieve sustainable development has become a major challenge facing the local area.