Zanthus is a remote and uninhabited outpost on the Trans-Australian Railway approximately east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
History
Zanthus was established as a railway town during the construction of the Trans-Australian Railway. Trains arrived in 1915 mostly carrying materials to the railhead from Kalgoorlie. The 1933 Australian census recorded Zanthus as having nine dwellings and a population of 47.Population and Occupied Dwellings in Locations Commonwealth of Australia 30 June 1933 As at the 2021 Australian census, Zanthus had a population of zero.Zanthus Australian Bureau of Statistics
In 1996 the timber station building was donated to Rail Heritage WA and relocated to the Railway Museum in Bassendean.Here & There Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 701 March 1996 page 95
Passengers were stranded at Zanthus in 1948 when a train was delayed resulting from floodwaters causing washaways along the tracks between Zanthus and Kalgoorlie. Several passengers completed the journey to Kalgoorlie via a Goldfield Airways aeroplane while over 50 men worked to fix the two big washaways.
A derailment of a train occurred in 1953 when five carriages of an eastbound transcontinental express left the tracks near the town tearing up a section of the line. Repair crews worked through the night and built a deviation by the following day.
In 1975, large amounts of rain had inundated inland Western Australia from the remnants of Cyclone Trixie. A large washaway close to Zanthus had resulted in the closure of the line. A new bridge was constructed as part of the repairs in just two weeks.
Zanthus has a crossing loop on the line. On 8 August 1999, an Indian Pacific passenger train collided with a stationary freight train.Collision between Indian Pacific Passenger Train 3AP88 and Freight Train 3PW4N Australian Transport Safety BureauIndependent Investigation Report: Collision Indian Pacific Passenger rain 3AP88 and Freight Train 3PW4N Department for Planning & Infrastructure
The locality also has notoriety due to its position in place name lists of Western Australia.Murray, Ian,(2003) Araluen to Zanthus : a gazetteeer of Perth suburbs and Western Australian towns / Ian Murray and Brian Goodchild, in association with the Department of Land Information
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