Leinster, Western Australia
Leinster | |
|---|---|
Site of the Agnew Nickel mine before open-pit mining began. | |
Leinster | |
Interactive map of Leinster | |
| Coordinates: 27°54′43″S 120°41′49″E / 27.9119°S 120.6969°E | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Western Australia |
| LGA | |
| Location |
|
| Established | 1976 |
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Area | |
• Total | 8,151 km2 (3,147 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 497 m (1,631 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 395 (UCL 2021)[2] |
| Postcode | 6437 |
| Mean max temp | 28.4 °C (83.1 °F)[3] |
| Mean min temp | 14.8 °C (58.6 °F)[3] |
| Annual rainfall | 245.1 mm (9.65 in)[3] |
Leinster is a town in the northern Goldfields area of Western Australia. It is 4 km (2.5 mi) east of the Goldfields Highway in the Shire of Leonora, and 968 km (601 mi) northeast of the state capital, Perth.[4]
The town was established in 1976 by Agnew Mining, initially as a dormitory town for miners working in the nearby Perseverance and Rockys Reward nickel mines, now the Leinster Nickel Mine, and Agnew gold mines, now the Agnew Gold Mine. It was named for the nearby Leinster Downs station. Facilities at Leinster include a supermarket, service station, community school, day care centre, medical centre and tavern. Sporting facilities include an indoor sports centre, a 50 m (160 ft) Olympic sized pool and a baby pool, squash courts, BMX track, football and cricket oval, and an 18-hole golf course. The school is an independent public school for students up to year 12.[5]
The Leinster Nickel Operation is part of the BHP's Nickel West business group. As at 2006, the operation employed 992 workers and produced 40,000–45,000 t (88×106–99×106 lb) of nickel in concentrate per year.[6][7] Leinster Airport was built adjacent to the mine.
Apart from the nickel operations, gold was mined 41 km (25 mi) south-east of Leinster, at the Thunderbox Gold Mine, from 2002 to 2007 and again since 2016.
Geography
Climate
Leinster has a subtropical desert climate (Köppen: BWh) with very hot, slightly wetter summers and mild, very dry winters.[8] Extreme temperatures ranged from 47.8 °C (118.0 °F) on 8 January 2013 to −1.6 °C (29.1 °F) on 15 July 1999. The wettest recorded day was 23 February 2001 with 94.0 mm (3.70 in) of rainfall.[9]
| Climate data for Leinster Aero (27°50′S 120°42′E / 27.84°S 120.70°E) (497 m (1,631 ft) AMSL) (1942-2025) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 47.8 (118.0) |
46.9 (116.4) |
43.3 (109.9) |
39.7 (103.5) |
35.3 (95.5) |
29.2 (84.6) |
29.8 (85.6) |
33.7 (92.7) |
37.9 (100.2) |
40.2 (104.4) |
44.3 (111.7) |
45.8 (114.4) |
47.8 (118.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 37.4 (99.3) |
35.7 (96.3) |
32.2 (90.0) |
28.0 (82.4) |
23.3 (73.9) |
19.3 (66.7) |
19.0 (66.2) |
21.9 (71.4) |
25.8 (78.4) |
30.0 (86.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
35.9 (96.6) |
28.4 (83.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.3 (73.9) |
22.3 (72.1) |
19.4 (66.9) |
15.4 (59.7) |
10.4 (50.7) |
7.3 (45.1) |
6.2 (43.2) |
7.9 (46.2) |
10.9 (51.6) |
15.0 (59.0) |
18.4 (65.1) |
21.5 (70.7) |
14.8 (58.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 12.5 (54.5) |
13.5 (56.3) |
8.7 (47.7) |
5.3 (41.5) |
1.4 (34.5) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
1.4 (34.5) |
2.8 (37.0) |
7.9 (46.2) |
12.5 (54.5) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 39.3 (1.55) |
39.8 (1.57) |
35.1 (1.38) |
23.5 (0.93) |
13.3 (0.52) |
14.1 (0.56) |
14.8 (0.58) |
8.6 (0.34) |
4.1 (0.16) |
11.1 (0.44) |
17.1 (0.67) |
24.1 (0.95) |
245.1 (9.65) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 5.1 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 51.4 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 20 | 27 | 28 | 34 | 34 | 40 | 38 | 28 | 22 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 27 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) |
8.5 (47.3) |
7.4 (45.3) |
7.4 (45.3) |
4.7 (40.5) |
3.3 (37.9) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
1.8 (35.2) |
3.5 (38.3) |
3.6 (38.4) |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology (1994-2025)[10] | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Leinster (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Leinster (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Leinster Aero Climate Statistics (1994-2025)". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "{{{name}}}". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- ^ "Leinster Township". Shire of Leonora. Archived from the original on 2 May 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
- ^ "Nickel West". BHP Billiton. Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ Perseverance Mine, Leinster, Leonora Shire, Western Australia on Mindat.org
- ^ "Climate classification maps: Köppen - all classes". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "Leinster Aero Climate (1994-2025)". FarmOnline Weather. Australian Community Media. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "Carnegie Climate Statistics (1994-2025)". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 11 January 2026.