Hay Street, Kalgoorlie

Hay Street

Information
City| Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Founded| 1890s
Sex services| Brothels

Hay Street, Kalgoorlie was a notorious red light area in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia for most of the history of Kalgoorlie.

The prevalence of the brothels was part of the law and order issue of an isolated mining town, where two-up, prostitution and gold stealing were all regularly reported forms of criminality.[1]

The street and its associations would regularly be reported in mainstream media.[2][3][4]

Towards the end of the twentieth century the prostitution was less infamous, and photographs and stories were more public than in earlier times.[5][6][7][8]

Regulation[9] and prohibition of the prostitution in the street have been publicly discussed a number of times by the local government and citizens of Kalgoorlie.[10]

As of July 2019[update] one brothel remained open.[11]

The street, closer to the town centre, has a number of important administration buildings, and “respectable” businesses.

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/wa-goldfields/life-on-fields/prostitution WA Museum online page about Kalgoorlie brothels
2. ^ Haselhurst, David (10 July 1984), "Sounding the drums of Kalgoorlie: prostitution", Bulletin (Sydney) (10 July 1984): 48–50, ISSN 1440-7485
3. ^ Egan, Colleen (23 February 1995), "Proper madams", Australian (23 Feb 1995): 11, ISSN 1038-8761
4. ^ Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Radio National (19 August 2005), Beautiful ladies, pretty lights - a history of Kalgoorlie's brothels, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 5 March 2017
5. ^ Smith, Robin (Robin Vaughan Francis) (1988), Prostitutes being displayed in brothel hallways on Hay Street, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, 1988, retrieved 5 March 2017
6. ^ Garwood, Roger (1990), Brothel at 141 Hay Street, Kalgoorlie (BA2531/850), retrieved 5 March 2017
7. ^ Ainslie, Trish; Garwood, Roger, 1945- (1992), Stella, Hay Street, Kalgoorlie, retrieved 5 March 2017`{{citation}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
8. ^ Ainslie, Trish; Garwood, Roger, 1945- (1990), Hay Street, Kalgoorlie, 1990, retrieved 5 March 2017`{{citation}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
9. ^ "Fined for brothels". The Canberra Times. Vol. 41, no. 11, 691. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 18 May 1967. p. 10. Retrieved 5 March 2017 - via National Library of Australia.
10. ^ "Controversy rages over Kalgoorlie's street of sin". The Canberra Times. Vol. 52, no. 15, 590. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 29 May 1978. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2017 - via National Library of Australia.
11. ^ Jarrod Lucas (9 July 2019). "Kalgoorlie's 'Pink House' the last brothel standing on Hay Street's historic red-light district". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 January 2020.