Boyd, Roosen, Quartermain: It takes grit, invention, luck to make the big time
Mining industry legends discuss the backstories on their multibillion-dollar successes.
Hard to believe, but an American president’s road to the White House actually began in Perth, Australia, working as a young and saavy mining engineer.
The future president learned business acumen, made a name for himself and also accumulated a fortune that allowed him to seek higher office in the US.
The Perth Mint of Australia has the rest of the story.
The glamour, excitement and riches of the Western Australian goldfields in the 1890s attracted a diverse cross-section of people from all over the world. Some came in search of fortunes, others because they had expertise to offer the burgeoning gold mining industry.
Among them was Herbert Hoover, destined to become the 31st President of the United States of America. Aged just 23, he arrived in Perth in 1897 to take up a post as mining engineer.
He fast established a reputation as an astute, exceptionally talented “doctor of sick mines”. He also demonstrated intuitive ability to judge the worth of prospective gold shows.
