Lot 565 Tower Street

Giovanni (Jack) Longa was born in Gorno, Italy, in 1893, and migrated to Western Australia in 1926.

Jack worked on many mines in the Eastern Goldfields from 1928 but in about 1940 he was stood down when he was diagnosed with 80% silicosis (a lung disease caused by inhaling dust containing silica) and went on to do gold prospecting at Linden where he had a mine.

In the mid to late 1960s Jack Longa retired to Gwalia, where he passed away on 4 February 1976, aged 83, and was buried in Kalgoorlie. He was survived by his wife, children and grandchildren who remained in Italy.

The gable-roofed house consists of a kitchen, two bedrooms and a unique and mostly homemade bathroom. The rear verandah is a covered skillion (lean-to) and the front verandah has been enclosed with corrugated iron and a timber lattice.

The internal walls are lined with painted hessian and filter cloth blinds. External wall cladding has been patched over time and the corrugated iron sheets have been fixed haphazardly.

To experience this character home, enter though the bedhead gate and fenced front garden with its large eucalypt and magenta bougainvillea.