Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s only dedicated bookstore moves to bigger and brighter premises

Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s appetite for good books has seen the city’s only remaining bookstore expand to bigger and brighter premises. The Book Boutique is settling in to its new home just a few doors up from its original home on Burt Street, with owner Donna Hutcheson saying she will be staying put for the foreseeable future. The 36 Burt Street shop provides more light and space, which Ms Hutcheson said gave the business a more open feel. And while it may look like there’s now even more books on offer in the business, Ms Hutcheson said this was not the case. “All the bookshelves in here are the same as what I had in the other place, I’ve only added a few smaller ones and that’s it,” she said. “It’s really quite deceiving, it definitely looks like there’s more.” The business opened its doors for the first time at 42 Burt Street in November 2020, with Ms Hutcheson coming to the rescue of avid book readers in town following the closure of the local Collin’s Booksellers, and the reduction of books on offer at Kmart at the time. It was not Ms Hutcheson’s first experience running a book shop, having opened The Book Box in Esperance in 2015, before selling it to move to Kalgoorlie-Boulder in 2019. Her intentions were never to open a bookstore in the city, but when the opportunity presented itself, Ms Hutcheson could not resist filling the void. The past three years in business in Boulder have been smooth sailing, with Ms Hutcheson saying she had no intentions of closing, or of leaving the Boulder premises. “We live just down the street so it’s in our best interest to attract people to Burt Street,” she said. “This is our home, and there’s some really good little stores opening in the area and there’s a lot of great small businesses and a niche market. “I’m so thankful for the community, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this if it wasn’t for them.”