Paddy Hannan

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For other persons named Patrick Hannan, see Patrick Hannan (disambiguation).

Paddy Hannan in the 1920s (courtesy LISWA)

Paddy Hannan's miner's right (courtesy LISWA)

Patrick "Paddy" Hannan (1840 – November 4, 1925) was a gold prospector whose discovery on June 17, 1893 near Kalgoorlie, Western Australia set off a gold rush in the area.

Born in Quin, Ireland, Hannan was the son of John Hannan and Bridget Lynch. He emigrated to Australia in 1863.

Hannan, Tom Flanagan and Daniel Shea discovered gold near Mount Charlotte less than 40 kilometres from the Coolgardie Goldfields. After registering his claim an estimated 700 men were prospecting in the area with three days.

In 1904, at the age of sixty-one, having prospected for all his adult life, Hannan was granted an annual pension of £100 by the Government of Western Australia. He ceased his prospecting activities in 1910, and moved to live with two nieces in Brunswick, Melbourne. He died there in 1925.

The main street and a suburb in Kalgoorlie both bear his name and in 1929 a statue of him by sculptor John MacLeod^[1], was erected there. A popular Irish pub at the Burswood Entertainment Complex is also named after him.

There is a plaque dedicated to his memory opposite Quin Abbey, in Quin, County Clare Ireland.