Herbert Hoover association

Herbert Hoover (later the US president from 1929 to 1933) visited the hotel regularly when he was working as a mining engineer in Kalgoorlie.^[2][4][12] He was twenty-two at the time.^[4] During his stay, he reportedly fell in love with a barmaid, and wrote her a poem.^[12] An excerpt from the poem can be seen in the foyer.^[12] It reads:

Do you ever dream, my sweetheart, of a twilight long ago,
Of a park in old Kalgoorlie, where the bougainvilleas grow?
Where the moonbeams on the pathways trace a shimmering brocade,
And the overhanging peppers form a lover's promenade?
Where in soft cascades of cadence from a garden close at hand,
Came the murmurous, mellow music of a sweet orchestral band.
Years have flown since then, my sweetheart, fleet as orchid blooms in May.
But the hour that fills my dreaming, was it only yesterday...

Before he left for China, Hoover left a mirror as a gift to the hotel.^[4] The Hoover Mirror can still be seen in the foyer, next to his poem.^[4][12] Hoover's Cafe and Lounge Bar in the hotel is also named in his honour.^[13]

Later history

The 60th anniversary of the hotel was celebrated with style in 1957.^[14]

The hotel has been regularly associated with the Diggers & Dealers conferences.^[15][16]

Reference point

The hotel and its location on the corner of Hannan Street has been captured in photographs of Hannan Street^[17] over time as well as at significant historical events.^[18][19][20]