Gold was discovered at Bullfinch by Charlie Jones, who unearthed a rich reef under 6 feet of clay in 1909. The reef was close to the road from Golden Valley to Southern Cross where prospectors had walked past for twenty years.
The find at Bullfinch received a blaze of publicity; a town quickly developed at the site, soon a row of banks, shops, boarding houses, agencies and mining offices stretched for half a mile before a proper township was surveyed and named after the Bullfinch mine, which continued bagging the ore which was so rich it had to be especially treated.
The discovery of gold in the area led to a speculating boom, as leases were pegged in all directions, companies floated, and money invested from shareholders on properties with no proof if gold existed. Within a year the boom had bust, with many people losing their life savings.
The original find however just east of the town continued to be developed as Bullfinch Proprietary. In the first six months the mine produced 964 tonnes of ore for an incredible 694.8 pounds of gold. Gold grades over time declined until the mine closed in 1923.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10080326
http://emfauto.org/EMF_photos_1909.php
http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/wa-goldfields/rush-gold/on-track
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