Gwalia is a former gold-mining town located Western Australia's Great Victoria Desert. Established in 1897 with a mining find at what became the Sons of Gwalia. Overseen by the London-based Bewick, Moreing & Co. The company sent a young American geologist to the area to develop the find into a working concern. Herbert Hoover, who later become President of the United States, traveled to Gwalia from Coolgardie by camel and became manager of the new mine. Among his suggestions for cutting labour costs was to hire mostly Italian labourers. As a result, the town's population was made up mostly of Italian immigrants, as well as other Europeans, who sought riches in Australia's newest gold rush. Today Gwalia is a ghost town having been largely deserted since the mine closed in 1963.