Monday, August 22, 2005
Day 37 - 22/08/05, Broken Hill, NSW.
When we planned to pass through Broken Hill on our drive back to Melbourne, we just wanted to see what it was like, maybe spend a couple of hours and then set off. We hadn't realised how much more there was to Broken Hill! As we went through the brochures it became apparent that there were many things to see and do, and so we decided to spend an entire day here and then carry on. Broken Hill belongs to New South Wales, but Sydney is much further away than either Melbourne or Adelaide. It is very isolated, but a thriving town, full of charm and character. The city is founded on mining. It is unbelievably rich in many ores and gemstones. Here there is silver, lead, zinc, copper, garnets, jade and many other gemstones. Its mining roots are hard to miss. On the south side of the city proper is enormous mound of tailings (the earth that is dug out during mining). Atop this mound sits a cafe and a memorial to miners who have lost their lives in the mines. Many of the buildings in the city are old, and have that colonial charm. The main street with the post office, council offices, courthouse and pub-hotels retains its character.
When we planned to pass through Broken Hill on our drive back to Melbourne, we just wanted to see what it was like, maybe spend a couple of hours and then set off. We hadn't realised how much more there was to Broken Hill! As we went through the brochures it became apparent that there were many things to see and do, and so we decided to spend an entire day here and then carry on. Broken Hill belongs to New South Wales, but Sydney is much further away than either Melbourne or Adelaide. It is very isolated, but a thriving town, full of charm and character. The city is founded on mining. It is unbelievably rich in many ores and gemstones. Here there is silver, lead, zinc, copper, garnets, jade and many other gemstones. Its mining roots are hard to miss. On the south side of the city proper is enormous mound of tailings (the earth that is dug out during mining). Atop this mound sits a cafe and a memorial to miners who have lost their lives in the mines. Many of the buildings in the city are old, and have that colonial charm. The main street with the post office, council offices, courthouse and pub-hotels retains its character.
We took a tour from the Information centre in the city. This was a walking tour led by a volunteer. Our tour guide was a lady who had just turned 72 the previous day! She was very local, having been born and brought up in Broken Hill. She led us around the town stopping at various buildings and telling us stories about them, including some of her memories. (Her late husband was a miner). The group consisted of about 7-8 people, most of them really really old. We were the only young couple. But they were all friendly and we spent a pleasant two hours or so. The only shortcoming was the weather. It was freezing! And none of us had expected it, and we were all cold to the bone. (more to come....)
