The Scarlet Mile: A History of Prostitution in Kalgoorlie

(Paperback)

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Then it happened that so great a noise was spread abroad by the lucrative traffic in vice in the Cities of the Desert, that whole hordes of immoral women descended upon our shores...And they use all their vicious beauty and accursed arts to cause men to gaze upon them, and to stir up evil passions within their breasts. These are not the words of an Old Testament prophet but those of a Western Australian newspaper in 1897. Yet while the 'scarlet women' - the 'harlots' of the gold-fields - were vilified and demonised in print, they were welcomed with open arms by lonely men living in the tent cities of the desert during the gold rush. That welcome continues to this day, and Kalgoorlie's red-light precinct has become one of its most famous tourist attractions. The Scarlet Mile is a compelling and fascinating social history of prostitution in Kalgoorlie, where the local brothels and the police station have shared the same street for more than a century.

Author Bio

Elaine McKewon was born in New Orleans in 1966 and backpacked solo around Australia before completing an Honours degree in Geography at The University of Western Australia in 1993. She has since worked in local and state government agencies while publishing academic articles and discussion papers on prostitution. Her comments on law reform have often been featured in newspapers, on radio and on television news and current affairs programs, including ABC Television's Stateline. Elaine is currently working on a PhD in Geography at UWA.