The Strike, Perth

The Strike is a bronze sculpture outside the Perth Mint. Created by Western Australian sculptor Greg James in 1991, it honors the gold rushes that transformed Western Australia in the late 19th century. The work is also sometimes referred to locally as The Miners, and its position at the Mint’s entrance makes it a fitting introduction to the story of gold in Perth.

The sculpture depicts prospectors Arthur Bayley and William Ford, whose 1892 discovery near Fly Flat, Coolgardie, helped trigger one of the most important gold rushes in Western Australian history. Their find brought new attention, wealth, and migration to the colony at a time when its future was still uncertain. The gold rushes that followed helped secure Western Australia’s economy and eventually led to the establishment of the Perth Mint in 1899.

For visitors, the sculpture gives a human face to the gold-rush story. Instead of presenting gold as an abstract symbol of wealth, it shows two prospectors caught in the moment of discovery, examining the nugget that would change the colony’s direction. The figures suggest effort, uncertainty, and sudden fortune: the ingredients behind many goldfield stories.