A second day in the outback

Today started with a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service base here in Broken Hill.  This RFDS base is one of 21 bases in Australia, and it has 4 of 47 planes that are a part of the service.  The Broken Hill Base is unique because it is one of the only working RFDS bases located at an airport and open to the public.

At the turn of the 20th century, Rev. Dr. John Flynn, of the Australian Inland Mission, believed strongly that improved medical care for those living in the outback was urgently needed and it was because of his efforts that the world's first Aerial Medical Service was established in 1928, with its operations beginning in Concurry, Queensland.  In 1942, with bases now all over Australia, the service was renamed the Flying Doctor Service.  The Service became the Royal Flying Doctor Service in 1955 after Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, visited the Broken Hill base.

Today, the RFDS is the largest, most comprehensive, aeromedical organization in the world.

Now just to give you an idea of what outback Australia can really look like, these are the Mundi Mundi Plains, located just outside Broken Hill.  You really do feel a little bit like you are on top of world standing here, looking out ... forever!

After driving through a very small portion of the Mundi Mundi Plains we arrived at the Umberumberka Reservoir, which is one of two major reservoirs (with a third one available when needed) that supply Broken Hill with water.  It was constructed in 1915 with a capacity of 6935ML and a catchment area of 407.5 km2.

Now just in case Broken Hill isn't remote enough, today we went further north to a very little town called Silverton.  I was talking to someone in one of the local shops who believes the current population of Silverton is 37 - so it really is a very little town!
The town sprang up after the discovery of rich silver deposits in the 1870s - pre Broken Hill - but these deposits were soon eclipsed by the even richer silver-lead-zinc ore body at Broken Hill.
Today several artists live in or around the town but despite its small size Silverton is quite well known on the world scene --- especially to any of you who have seen Mad Max and Mad Max 2, Priscilla Queen of the Desert or  Dirty Deeds, to name but a few movies that have been shot in and around Silverton. 

And today, especially with its resident donkey, it really does look like an outback town from long ago.

This stone wall was built in Silverton in 2009 as a memorial to the town's pioneers.  The stone came from the remains of three significant Silverton buildings and the sculptures on top are made from old mining tools, commemorating the importance of mining to Silverton.

The Silverton Historical Cemetery is an historical site that cannot be disturbed.  Mining accidents were common, as well isolation meant that freshwater, fruit, vegetables and sanitation was often in short supply.  Typhoid was also a part of life for the early settlers in Silverton.

Around Silverton these two 'local' residents were very curious about what I was doing when I was out walking a bit.  As I've said before, actually getting photos of them in the wild is not that easy to do as they are quick to hop away, but I tried my best here.

Back in Broken Hill again and I took myself on a little self-guided walking tour they have of the 'downtown' area with some of the town's original buildings.  To give you an example of just a few ...
This building was erected in 1888 and in 1890 the Kidman Bros., who were butchers, owned it and it has been occupied by butchers ever since.

The Town Hall, built in 1891, using stone from the Block 14 Mine.

The Post Office, constructed in 1890-1892.

The original Barrier Truth building opened in 1905 and was a single-storey building.  The second storey was added in 1908.  The Barrier Truth was launched by the Australian Labour Federation in 1898 and in 1908 it became the first labour sponsored daily newspaper in the English speaking world.   
Today the Barrier Truth is still the daily newspaper here in Broken Hill.

The Trades Hall was the first privately owned Trades Hall in the southern hemisphere.  Built and paid for entirely by the people of Broken Hill, it stands as a proud and fitting monument to all workers, past and present.  The cornerstone was laid in 1898 and officially opened, albeit not completed, in 1899.  Work on the building continued until the final section was added in 1905.  Today the building is an historical landmark, owned by the union members of Broken Hill.

In yesterday's blog post I mentioned that the Line of Lode runs right through the middle of the town and here you can really see it.  I'm standing on the main street, and just one block away and across the railway tracks, is the Line of Lode.  The Miners Memorial (also from yesterday's blog post) is on the top at the left.

The Sculpture Symposium is a striking range of sculptures located on a hilltop outside of town, created in 1993 by 12 international sculptors.  They were responding to the limitless landscape; using 52 tonnes of Wilcannia sandstone and they borrowed old tools from local miners to work on the rock.
I went out to the Sculpture Symposium at sunset tonight and the late day lighting helped bring out the lovely red colours of the sandstone.

First day of exploration in Broken Hill

Today dawned bright and sunny --- and HOT (nothing new about that) --- and by about 9:30 am I was on my way to Broken Hill, in the state of New South Wales.  Broken Hill is located near the border with South Australia, and is just under 500 kms north and a bit west of Waikerie.  To this day Broken Hill is considered an isolated town in outback New South Wales - a town built on a rich mining history.

But before I start with more information about Broken Hill I thought I'd give you a taste of what the countryside was like along the way.
First we had to cross the Murray River - this time we did it at a little town called Cadell.

We weren't long on our way when the car swerved suddenly (but gently) to avoid some sleepy lizards that were crossing the road.  Sleepy lizards are also sometimes called stump-tailed skinks, or shinglebacks - they are all the same thing.  They are often seen sunning on roadsides or other paved surfaces, and I guess when the temperature is already about 35 degrees at 10:00 am, that makes for ideal lizard sunning conditions.  Although this little fellow was clearly not too happy with me and having his picture taken, this defence strategy is, unfortunately for him, all bluff.

After that we had the 450+ kms to Broken Hill.

Broken Hill is Australia's longest-lived mining city (town?).  In 1844 the explorer Charles Sturt explored the area of Broken Hill on his quest for an inland sea (which BTW he never found), and silver ore was later discovered in 1883.  The "broken hill" that gives its name to Broken Hill actually comprised a number of hills that appeared to have a break in them.  The broken hill no longer exists, having been mined away.
Broken Hill has a massive ore body, which formed about 1,800 million years ago, and has proved to be among the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposits.  The ore body is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre.  The protruding tip of the ore body stood out as a jagged, rocky ridge with plain country on either side.  This was known as the broken hill by early pastoralists, and the miners called the ore body the Line of Lode.

Junction Mine, at the northern end of the outcropping was first pegged in 1884 and from here you can see where three shafts were sunk. Mining continued on this site until 1972.  Today the site is still amazingly intact, and also provides a lovely view over the city of Broken Hill, which currently has a population of approx. 18 000 - 19 000 people.

The original syndicate of seven that held the seven mining leases on the broken hill named their venture the Broken Hill Mining Company.  This stone chimney marks the site of the first stone hut built by the Broken Hill Mining Company to house its first manager, in 1885.  Broken Hill Mining Company soon became known as Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd. (BHP) and is now known as BHP Billiton.

And these are some of the original administration offices of BHP.

The stark reality of working in Broken Hill's mines over the ages is writ large on the Miners Memorial, built at the Line of Lode Mine.  It lists the names of more than 800 miners who have lost their lives on the job.

Broken Hill is also the scene of  the only enemy attack on Australian soil in WW1.   The Battle of Broken Hill took place on New Year's Day, 1915, when two men fired upon a trainload of people who were heading to a New Year's Day picnic.  At that time Australia was at war with the Ottoman Empire and these two men were first thought to be Turkish.  They were later identified as being from the British colony of India, modern day Afghanistan.  They killed six and wounded seven and then lead policemen and soldiers on a chase through the outback.  After running for about 3 kms the killers took refuge at an Afghan camel camp and there ensued a three hour gun battle during which four civilians were killed and seven wounded.
This old train car, an example of the ones the people would have been riding in on their way to the picnic, marks the site of the ambush.

As you can see, Broken Hill definitely has a lot of history associated with it - and to think I only got here about 3 o'clock this afternoon!  I'm really looking forward to my next couple of days here.

A sneak peak at Adelaide

My friends had an appointment in Adelaide this past weekend as well as a 50th wedding anniversary celebration to attend, so along I went for the ride and it gave me a chance to say a quick 'hello' to Adelaide, a city I haven't visited in at least 10 years.

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and Australia's fifth largest city with a population of just over 1.2 million.  I quite enjoyed my time in Adelaide previously, and I'm really looking forward to the few days I'll have back there again in a couple of weeks.

Adelaide was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely settled British province in Australia.  Adelaide is set out in a grid layout, with many wide-boulevards and lots of public spaces - plus the entire downtown city area is completely surrounded by parklands.  Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political progress and civil liberties, which led to the moniker, "City of Churches".  Today Adelaide is known for its many festivals and sporting events, its food, wine and culture, its long beachfronts and its large defence sector.  It is frequently ranked as the most liveable city in Australia.

Several of Adelaide's original and very beautiful buildings are all within a very easy walking distance in the city centre.  To give you an example, these buildings are all one beside the other.

The Railway Station (this current building built 1926-1928):

Parliament House - the seat of the parliament of South Australia (built in stages beginning in 1874):

The State Library is a wonderful place to visit and the complex of buildings the Library inhabits are just beautiful.  The Institute Building (1861 - top photo) and the Mortlock Wing (1884 - bottom photo) are joined by the modern Spence Wing which is the entrance to the Library.

The interior of the Mortlock Wing has two galleries and if you're a book lover you'd be hard pressed not to feel some awe when you first walk into it.

Next in line is the South Australian Museum (1856) and beside it (right hand side of the photo) is the Art Gallery of South Australia (1881).

About three blocks away from this line of spectacular buildings are two more, equally impressive buildings, the Central Post Office (1867) and the Town Hall (1866).

Other than a quick peak in the State Library I didn't go into any of these buildings on this trip but that could be something I do when I return to Adelaide.

An interesting landmark/sculpture in Adelaide are the solar Mallee Trees, located outside of the Adelaide Festival Centre.  These 'trees' were erected in 2005 and although fun to look at during the day apparently they are even more interesting at night when they light up in an assortment of different colours.

This is out in front of the Festival Centre, with the back of the Parliament House in the background.

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to find out that Adelaide has a river running through it - the River Torrens.  In total the River Torrens is 85 kms long, flowing from its source in the Adelaide Hills, across the Adelaide Plains, through the city centre, and eventually emptying into the Gulf of St. Vincent.  In the section of the river that runs through the city centre there are beautiful parklands on either side - but it doesn't take long to travel along the river to get to sections that are much narrower and undeveloped (even though you're still within the city).

Torrens Lake was created in 1881 with the construction of a weir, and this little lake and the parklands around it are the site of many of Adelaide's festivals.

City Bridge, opened in 1856, was the first substantial bridge built to join North Adelaide with the city centre.  The original bridge was replaced with this concrete-arch bridge in 1931.

The Albert Bridge is a wrought iron bridge built in 1879.

The river is home to large numbers of water fowl and I was lucky enough to see this swan family out enjoying the river at the same time I was.

Rundle Mall is the premiere retail area in the centre of Adelaide.  It was opened as Australia's first pedestrian street mall in 1976 and remains so today.  Along the mall there are several iconic statues: "The Spheres", now known colloquially as "The Mall's Balls" as well as the  "Mall's Pigs".  Oliver is checking out the garbage can (rubbish bin), Horatio is over by the bench and Truffles has her nose down at the front of the photo.

I'm looking forward to spending more time in Adelaide but in the meantime, a trip to Broken Hill is being planned for me this week.  Perhaps heading to Australia's outback in the middle of summer, and in the middle of a heatwave, is not something most people would be doing but hey, now is when I have the opportunity.  And besides, after travelling in the Gulf during summer there I'm sure I can stand a few days of Australian outback heat.

And since it's been awhile since I posted a photo of myself, here is one from this weekend, staying with friends in Adelaide who mercifully had a pool as the temperature on Friday climbed to 45+ degrees in the city.

Relaxing in Waikerie

I've had a very quiet and relaxing time in Waikerie these past few days;  not really doing a lot to post about but because of plans for the next few days I thought I'd do a post now rather than wait until next week (at some point I think I did promise at least one post per week).

There's no doubt it's summer time in South Australia now - I don't think I've had a day much below 30 degrees since getting here and right now, and for the next week or so, temperatures are expected to climb into the mid-40s every day (and maybe even higher)!

I've been out for a walk a few days this past week, and this might give you a bit of an insight into what the countryside is like here.

As I've mentioned before, my friends live about 10 kms outside of the town of Waikerie and they live on a property that is just over half an acre.  On Christmas Day I posted a couple of photos of one the many gardens and this is what their front lawn looks like, looking at the house from the road in front. If you look carefully at the right-hand side of the photo you can see a little bit of the house peeking out through the trees.  All of the trees are native to Australia and can survive in drought conditions and as you can see, there's no lawn --- not enough rain and not enough water to water it.

Despite the very dry conditions the Riverland area is still a major fruit producing region in Australia - but obviously this requires irrigation!  Across the street are orange orchards - some of which are still producing:

and some of which have obviously just been left without water during Australia's recent drought years.  The tree at the end of the row closest to the road is still producing a bit of fruit because it might get a bit of rain run-off from the road,  but the rest are all in orange tree heaven.

Australia is definitely a land for me though --- not much grows here without irrigation these days and yet these hardy little flowers can be found all along the roadside.  Just my colour!!!

Now for those of you who are wondering, I thought I'd take you back to the baby birds that hatched on Christmas Day.  Whereas I originally thought there were only two, there are actually three little babies - and I am pleased to report that they are all doing well.

Here they are on the day I returned from Edithburgh (Dec. 29):

on New Year's Eve Day (Dec. 31):

on New Year's Day (Jan. 1):

and now today (Jan. 2).  One week after hatching and they are just about ready to fly.  (Unfortunately I'm going to be away for the next three days and will probably miss their actual flight day.)

Something that Waikerie is actually rather famous for is its Gliding Club - with some of the best gliding conditions in the world.  Currently the South Australian Gliding Association State Championships are being held here and it's quite cool to see the gliders up in the sky.  Today we took a drive out to the airport to watch some of the gliders coming in to land after today's flight challenge.

I hope everyone is doing well and for those of you still on holidays - enjoy!