ALIA West

November 2004

Curtin explores a presidential link

In 1897 a young American engineer arrived in Western Australia and was sent to Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie, the centre of mining operations. His name was Herbert Clark Hoover and many years later he became the 31st president of the United States.

In recognition of president Hoover's connection with the area, the Hoover Institution donated to the Western Australian School of Mines at Kalgoorlie a 637-page, limited edition copy of the 1912 edition of Georgius Agricola's De Re Metallica. It is one of the treasures of the Kalgoorlie Campus Library at Curtin University of Technology.

This first English translation was a labour of love by Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, who added footnotes and researched many of the engineering methods detailed in the book. Originally published in Latin in 1556, De Re Metallica was the first book on mining to be based on field research and observation - what we today would call the "scientific approach."

During his stay in Western Australia, Herbert Hoover would travel to outlying mines by camel. On one of his trips he made an inspection of a new mine which he recommended his company buy. It was the Sons of Gwalia mine which proved to be one of the richest gold mines in the world and, as the mine manager, he commissioned a house to be built on the site at Leonora.

This building, known as Hoover House, has recently been restored to its former glory with help from many local volunteers and at a cost of $500 000. It now provides a bed and breakfast for travellers to Leonora as well as operating as tearooms and providing function facilities.

The Hoover Foundation continues to give a grant every year to the WA School of Mines (WASM) with which to buy books. WASM is the oldest constituent part of Curtin University of Technology and celebrated its centenary in 2002. The Kalgoorlie campus is part of Curtin Library and Information Service and covers students studying a range of courses from mining geology to extractive metallurgy and environmental engineering. It is the only institution of its kind in Western Australia.