A walk through Kalgoorlie's red light district

The outback mining city of Kalgoorlie is famous for two things – goldmining and the red light district on Hay Street. In fact, the two go pretty much hand in hand. It was because of the miners who settled the town that a demand for the second profession arose, with men vastly outnumbering women in the early days of the town’s history. Some of the old ‘tin shed’ brothels still stand, and even though they double as a tourist attraction these days, they are still utilised by the locals and visitors to escape the hardships of living a miner’s life.

The brothels are pretty much an everyday part of the culture here, and while prostitution is illegal in Western Australia, the brothels are tolerated by police so long as they stay out of trouble. This relationship between the law and the brothels has existed since the beginning and was solidified in the early nineteen hundreds when men with families began moving in to Kal. Eager to keep their wives and children from being exposed to such trade, complaints were made about what was then known as Brookman Street. The name was strategically changed at this time to Hay Street, so that when a good law abiding citizen reported a brothel operating on a premises out of Brookman Street, the police could kindly inform them that no such address existed.

Back in the day, you could walk down Hay Street (or Brookman), and see ladies of the night on every corner, doing a ‘high kicking show’ for the gentlemen as they walked past. Since there were virtually just miners and prostitutes living in the town, nothing was thought of it. With its pink lights shining on the tin shed brothels and scantily clad girls, Hay Street remains a curiosity for visitors. The colourful brothels sit side by side with other businesses, next to shops selling things like tiles and windscreens. Incidentally, there’s a backpacker joint or two on this street as well. The unofficial speed limit down the street is a slow 20 kilometres an hour. Even if you’re not planning a visit into any of the houses, an outside view is colourful enough to keep you entertained.

The largest and most well known brothel in Kal these days is Langtrees, with its themed rooms, swimming pool and infamous owner, Mary-Anne Kenworthy. During the day, tourists who want a look inside a working bordello can take a tour with full commentary, meet some of the girls and hear about the history of brothels and Kalgoorlie. And no, this does not come with a ‘full service’, so it’s safe to take your gran and whoever else wants to come! One of the more interesting things to have happened at Langtrees over the years was back in 2002, when Liberal politician Barry Haase was sold as a ‘slave for a day’ at a charity auction. He probably wasn’t expecting Mary-Anne to be amongst the bidders, but it was she who won the right to put him to any task she thought appropriate for the day for the tidy sum of $1000. She, of course, thought it best to put him to work in Langtrees. As a cleaner and tour guide mind you!

While in other places people might generally look down upon those working in the world’s oldest profession, it’s a different story in Kal. Working girls are afforded a special respect as valuable members of the community, as they make a huge contribution to it and always have. The profession found a political voice in 1999, when Leigh Varis-Beswick was elected (to no one’s surprise) as a local council member. Leigh is a transsexual brothel madam, born and raised in Kal. It’s this sort of open-mindedness that makes Kalgoorlie a truly special place, and dispels any myth that the outback city is a redneck backwater. This culture of open-mindedness towards sex and sexuality extends further than Hay Street. Barmaids all around Kal are often of the skimpy variety, and are really more the norm than a subversion of it. Not only does it entertain the men, but going topless can be a good way to cool down on those hot summer afternoons. So if you walk into a pub here and find yourself face to face with a pair of bare breasts, don’t worry – that’s just how it is in Kal!

Kalgoorlie may have changed a lot since the days when brothels were housed in tents and sex workers were forced or tricked into working rather than choosing of their own free will, but some things it seems will never change. Brothels and mining have long been the two constants in Kal, and this symbiotic relationship looks like it has a healthy future ahead!