Perth’s heart of gold came to life on the weekend as hundreds descended on the city for the Gold Industry Group’s (GIG) annual celebration.

Following the successful launch of Perth’s #heartofgold Discovery Trail in October 2017, a free community event took place in the city to unveil the trail’s reverse option - with new interactive features to uncover.

Coinciding with Heritage Perth Weekend, the event celebrated the important role gold has played and continues to play in the development of the State, bringing the stories of early prospectors who first discovered gold, as well as the operations of today, to life.

The event kicked off in the forecourt of The Perth Mint, where GIG Vice Chair Kelly Carter officially opened the reverse trail and MC Tim McMillan worked the crowd immersing everyone in the golden vibe.

“It was great to see the event attracted and engaged a mix of locals, families, students, tourists and industry representatives,” said Ms Carter.

“The event and reverse trail received fantastic feedback, with the majority rating their experience 5 stars out of 5 and 92% rating the trail 4 or 5 stars.”

Before setting off, attendees enjoyed posing with large gold nugget replicas in an interactive gold mine site themed photo booth and exploring the inside of a gold mine using virtual reality with students from the WA School of Mines. All the kids eagerly lined up at the face painting station to get their own glittery heart of gold.

REVERSE TRAIL EXCITES

Collecting their free heart of gold cap, gold fun facts and eco-bag, walkers hit the trail using the free Heart of Gold Australia app.

Traversing 11 sites of golden significance, trailblazers unearthed brand new content in the reverse version, including new augmented reality, fun widgets, fascinating tales and mesmerizing audio-visual clips.

Along their journey, participants encountered sponsors AngloGold Ashanti Australia, Gold Fields, Gold Road Resources and Northern Star Resources at four trail stops, with golden gifts to collect including real gold leaf, phone chargers, chocolates and first aid guides. There was also an elusive ‘gold prospector’ hiding along the trail throughout the day, who proved popular in trailblazing selfies!

The Golden Eagle nugget replica marked the trails end where walkers claimed their commemorative #heartofgold medallion, along with special rewards: a ‘2 For 1’ pass to WA’s new Mine to Mint Tour, a gift voucher to Willie Creek Pearls’ Elizabeth Quay showroom and a free voucher to their live Pearl Harvest Experience on the day.

GOLDEN REVIEWS

Here is what some of our trailblazers said:

“Good fun and enthusiastic volunteers along the way.” – Iain, Local
“Great experience! Thumbs up to the organizers!” – Mary, Tourist
“Loved the trail, great to see the history of gold showcased!” – Hamish, Industry Worker
“Very detailed and fun way to spend the day. And a good workout too 😊” – Diona, Local
“It was fantastic and something completely different to do with the kids.” – Caroline, Parent
“It was a brilliant event! Awesome, family friendly.” – Martha, Local
“Great fun, thank you for an educational golden day out.” – Mark, Parent

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

A big congratulations to our social media winner, Sam, whose trailblazing pics of her family scored them a real gold nugget from Ramelius Resources’ Gold Mine!

In the lead up to the launch we also gave away a gold iPad Pro and $400 cash to five lucky listeners of Mix 94.5. Congratulations to Danielle from Hillarys, Fiona from Osborne Park, Derek from South Yunderup, Paige from South Lake and Anthony from Middle Swan!

Missed the event?

Don’t worry you can walk the trail in both directions using the free Heart of Gold Australia app any day of the year.

After finishing the trail at the Golden Eagle nugget replica and collecting your medallion from The Bell Tower, you can now extend your time in Elizabeth Quay by joining their Bell Chiming Experience Tour. Mention the trail or show them the completed quiz screen to receive a discount!