The street frontage of the Burt St heritage precinct in Boulder has recently been restored. The aim was to re-establish a vibrant town centre but that has not yet been achieved as about half of the shops and other buildings are vacant. This was not obvious when driving through the area on Sunday, but after walking the length of Burt St it became apparent that the well restored verandas and facades have not attracted the hoped for revitalisation of the area.
Historically Boulder was a blue collar town and has a strong union history. After World War I the only men who could get work in the mines were returned soldiers or those who could prove they had unsuccessfully tried to enlist.
Today I went on a guided tour of the Boulder Town Hall. This was an excellent way to learn the history of the town as well as see parts of the building not otherwise accessible to the public. I didn't know there had been an earthquake to the west of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in 2010 which caused extensive damage to several of the pre-WWI masonry buildings in Boulder. The town hall was severely damaged and had to be extensively restored.
I had never heard of Philip Goatcher and did not know he was a famous scene painter for theatres. The Boulder town hall has the only remaining screen curtain painted by Goatcher in 1908. The centre of the screen depicts the Bay of Naples and is surrounded by painted "curtains". The drop down canvas was restored by conservationists in Sydney after locals raised the money for the project. The curtain is insured for a quarter of a million dollars but is considered to be priceless.
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