Museum Precinct - Tower Street

The only surviving timber incline headframe in Australia is a prominent landmark for visitors as they enter Gwalia Ghost Town.

The Oregon headframe with its 45° incline runway was designed by Herbert Hoover and constructed in 1899.

The headframe guided the hauling ropes between the Winder and the skips in the shaft and the design enabled the skips to be elevated and tipped to release the ore into the storage bin.

The chutes and primary crushing facilities have been modified several times during the life of the mine to suit changing mining techniques and crushing and treatment plant facilities.

The height of the headframe was extended to 62 feet (18.9 metres) in 1913 to accommodate the installation of the Fraser and Chalmers steam winder engine.

Relocated to its current position in 1987 due to the expansion of the open cut mining operation, the headframe has been identified as the most significant object in the museum collection because of the construction method used and its association with Herbert Hoover.