16 Tower Street, Leonora, Western Australia 6438 Australia

In 1896, the Sons of Gwalia Lease (Lease 190C) was registered in the name of Thomas Tobias, a storekeeper in Coolgardie. The name Gwalia, the ancient poetic name for the country of Wales, was chosen because of Tobias' Welsh heritage. The find was one of many reefs opened up in Gwalia during the year. From the earliest days, there was considerable competition between the ‘towns’ of Gwalia and Leonora. Leonora was gazetted an official townsite in 1897 and developed rapidly. By 1898 there were three hotels, two banks, a telegraph office and many private shops. The government refused to gazette a townsite at Gwalia, arguing that a replication of services only two miles apart was unnecessary. Residential lots were surveyed in Gwalia in 1901 to give some order to the haphazard growth; however, many chose to remain living in a ramshackle settlement close to the mine known as the 'Gwalia Block'.