Jumping out of bed this morning, our first business was to check that we still had all our possessions in hand. The copious signs around the van park telling us to lock up did nothing for our confidence the night before, nor did the late-night text message from the park owners to all residents warning us of impending theft. A quick check revealed that Kalgoorlie thieves had targeted someone else.
We headed off meeting Trevor and Sue on the outskirts of town. From here we convoyed into the centre of town to take on the museum. The free mining museum at the eastern end of town if ridiculously good. It explores the history of the town, the mines and the people. Some of the figures related to how much gold has been located nearby are mind blowing. The lengths people go to in order to get gold are equally beyond belief. This was a quality stop leading to lunch.
We lunched at a café called ‘Dome’ being the sister of one we dined in at Esperance. The food was equally good, the service fantastic so long as you did not want all of what you ordered, and the company right up there with the best.
As we headed over to Woolies for a bit of shopping we experienced another of Kalgoorlie’s treasures. The public toilets here are super technical with push button entrances, audible warnings that warn you have only 10 minutes to do your business and leave; all in a stainless-steel box in the middle of the footpath. As we approached one of these structures a sizable male exited just in front of us. One wonders with all ones wondering power what internal conflict was going on in that poor man. Being down wind with no escape, we were caught by a 40 knot gust. We staggered at the weapon a single human had unleashed. As our knees buckled we lurched eastward in every effort to gain an upwind advantage, not reaching safety for far too long. Kalgoorlie had again amazed us.
Following Woolies, we realised we were just in time for our appointment at the longest running working brothel in Australia. The Questa Casa runs tours for curious visitors. We had heard about the tour from our friend Lynne, who recommended it highly.
Lynne was on the money. For about 2 hours, we were educated, entertained and bewildered by the owner and Madam of the establishment. Her knowledge of the industry history and local history, combined with her candour about the industry, was refreshing. The tour crowd was almost all our age, save three 30ish people and a miniature Dashhound.
To say we had a great time is an understatement. We are not sure we will change professions any time soon but when G asked, “Is it lucrative,” the answer came in a simple, but forthright ‘yes’. Known for its 11 pink doors at the front where to this day the professionals display their goods, the iconic picture of the ‘starting tables’ is an imperative. G obliged.
After brothelling, we made our way back to the vans to research the latest on COVID, learning that the news was considerably different from the official health directions for each state. Who would have ever thought the media would exaggerate!
Peter submitted his ‘changing human behaviour’ assignment and breathed a long sigh of relief.