Broken Hill - 'Art Gallery without the Walls'
After four lovely quiet days in Silverton, it was time to move on to Broken Hill. Apart from the 39 dips along the road back into town, the drive wasn’t too bad. I did count the dips, but somehow I missed 1 or 2 along the way. We chose to stay at the Broken Hill City Caravan Park; a bit more expensive than the other two in town, but after taking a quick look at them during the week, a much tidier park.
For the first half of the week we were kept quite busy visiting the many attractions, as one does. As we know, Broken Hill is an active mining town; the wheels are still turning at the Perilya headframe. For generations the miners work was backbreaking and dangerous with long hours and low pay. However, this all changed in 1920 when, after the miners being on strike for 18 months, they were awarded improved safety conditions, health conditions, health monitoring and for the first time a 35 hour week. The actions of these battling miners would eventually influence the rest of Australia’s working conditions.
Our first port of call was a drive up to the Line of Lode Miner’s Memorial and restaurant which stands prominent on the top of a mullock/slag heap behind the railway station. It was built as a memorial to the 900 or so miners who have lost their lives working along the Line of Lode. On 8th October 1902, two young lads (mullockers) Thomas 19yrs & Leopold 21 were killed by a fall of rock in Stope A5, 500ft level. Owing to the ground conditions their bodies have never been removed & remain the only fatalities still entombed on the Line of Lode.
After a good night sleep we decided to venture out to the Broken Hill Sculptures & Living Desert Sanctuary, but not until we had collected the gate key (we were a bit lazy & didn’t want to do the steep walk up to the sculptures). Each of the 12 sculptures is designed by a different artist. The artists came from Mexico; Tiwi, Bathurst Island; Tbilisi, Georgia; Damascus, Syria; Katoomba, NSW; Rustiva, Georgia; Koolewong, Australia & Broken Hill, NSW. Some of the carvings were obvious as to what they resembled while others needed to be explored closer. As quoted by Dr Ahmad Al Ahmad, sculptor “The symposium is a necklace for the maiden – the maiden being the incredibly beautifully desert landscape around the mountain.”
After spending time soaking up the ambience amongst the sculptures Colin headed back down the way we came while I walked down to meet him at The Living Desert Flora & Fauna Sanctuary. The view across the Barrier Ranges was stunning & most enjoyable. The 2km Sanctuary Cultural Walk is nestled within the 2400ha reserve protected behind an electric predator-proof fence. The trail had 9 points of interest along the walk including many clusters of the Sturt Desert Pea which is now in full flower. Fauna was limited to a few lazy old Kangaroos that wouldn’t stray far from the provided feed bins.
We just had to visit ‘Pro’ Hart’s (Kevin Charles Hart) Gallery while in Broken Hill. Pro started putting pen to paper at an early age. His correspondence school teachers were impressed with his talent that they encouraged him to run with it. When he was working down in the mines as a train driver he continued to paint. He often said that it was the only thing that kept him sane. We were so overwhelmed when we entered his gallery. I have not come across an artist who was able to display the variety of techniques, styles & medium. Not only was he an artist with paint, but also a sculpture. We had the opportunity to spend a short time talking with his widow, Raylee. Amongst the vast array of paintings, glass etchings etc; over 3 floors of his gallery, was his famous ‘Dragonfly’ masterpiece which he did on a piece of carpet; remember the ad? (“Oh! Mr Hart, what have you done?”). I’m sure he would have been an inspiration to any young artist who is setting out in this field of work. If you ever come to Broken Hill, why not call in to the gallery. We would recommend the visit.
Another point of interest was The Silver Tree. The tree was created by a German silversmith Henry Steiner in 1878-79 for a Melbourne exhibition. The tree is a fabulous & elaborate display of craftsmanship decorated with animals & outback figures. Over 600mm high & weighing 8.5kg, the tree is hollow & the base is beaten out to a single sheet of silver. Have a look at the link for details.
We found Broken Hill to be a great place to visit. It is a busy city; one event highlighted the way the town is, a person was mugged in daylight and it made big news because these things don’t normally happen in the town. It is considered a safe place to bring up your children. We found the people in the town shops, cafes and tourist venues to be very friendly and welcoming to tourists. We had some great home-made soup, chips and hot chocolate at one cafe. The local Toyota dealer went out of the way to get a small problem attended to. The City is bisected by the slag heaps from the Line of Lode Mining past. I think that this is an ugly reminder of the reason for Broken Hill. However of disappointment to these visitors, there is little to see that reflects the vast wealth that the town has created. Though the people are resilient to the downturns of the industry, they are creating work alternatives but the numerous old houses along the wide streets, the tired old shops, don’t reflect any of the opulence that the mines have created.
There is a lot of the classic Australia evident in Broken Hill and I can’t help but feel that there, the old values of mateship and tolerance will prevail.
Copi Hollow, August 3rd-6th
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Copi+Hollow,+New+South+Wales&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=32.628652,54.580078&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Copi+Hollow+New+South+Wales&z=10
We found this cute sounding place by accident, as you do. We were at Broken Hill and wanted to go south-east to have a look at the Menindee Lakes System, a huge water storage area of the River Darling. Many South Australians suspect that this is where all the water that should be coming down to the River Murray is being stopped.
We found a pamphlet about the caravan park at Copi Hollow, one of the smaller lakes. If you look for it on Google Earth, you will see that it is one of two lakes joining Lake Pamamaroo to the bigger Lake Menindee. The Caravan Park is owned by the Broken Hill Speedboat Club Inc; there isn’t much water near Broken Hill so the club members set up this place, about 110km away, for their chosen recreation away from the mines.
This is a good year to come as the lakes are all full and the surrounding land is covered in rich vegetation, a far cry from the previous dry years. All we need is for the fish to come back, no luck tempting them yet.
It is quite amazing to come across these lakes for the first time, the River Darling has wound its way though some of the driest semi-deserts of New South Wales; the land all around is pretty flat for hundreds of kilometres. The lakes must be a natural basin off of the river. Aborigines lived and hunted in this region for thousands of years and would have been used to the seasonal ebb and flow of the river and lake water levels, winter and summer seasons would have shown a marked difference. However, since Europeans came to Broken Hill, a reliable all-year water supply was needed so the Menindee Lakes Scheme was started. Construction of a Main Weir, several Control Blocks and additional channels to direct all water from the Darling into the Lakes for storage have since been the major source of water for Broken Hill and surrounds. There is a 100-odd kilometre pipeline connecting the precious resource to the north.
Attractions here of course include the lakes and many forms of water sports, trail bike riding; walking trails and just quiet relaxation. Probably not that quiet when the Speedboat Club is holding a regatta. Water Skiing is their main activity. The caravan park is a little village of around a hundred permanent caravans, lucky for us this week nearly all are unoccupied.
We have had a relaxing three days here, backed up on the lawns abutting the lake-front, feeding the friendly minor-birds, and catching up with a bit of writing and photo editing. Gorgeous sunsets before the rain!
A little ge
m!
Click on the link below to view more photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/108879761974384702036/BrokenHillToCopiHollow?feat=directlink
After four lovely quiet days in Silverton, it was time to move on to Broken Hill. Apart from the 39 dips along the road back into town, the drive wasn’t too bad. I did count the dips, but somehow I missed 1 or 2 along the way. We chose to stay at the Broken Hill City Caravan Park; a bit more expensive than the other two in town, but after taking a quick look at them during the week, a much tidier park.
For the first half of the week we were kept quite busy visiting the many attractions, as one does. As we know, Broken Hill is an active mining town; the wheels are still turning at the Perilya headframe. For generations the miners work was backbreaking and dangerous with long hours and low pay. However, this all changed in 1920 when, after the miners being on strike for 18 months, they were awarded improved safety conditions, health conditions, health monitoring and for the first time a 35 hour week. The actions of these battling miners would eventually influence the rest of Australia’s working conditions.
Our first port of call was a drive up to the Line of Lode Miner’s Memorial and restaurant which stands prominent on the top of a mullock/slag heap behind the railway station. It was built as a memorial to the 900 or so miners who have lost their lives working along the Line of Lode. On 8th October 1902, two young lads (mullockers) Thomas 19yrs & Leopold 21 were killed by a fall of rock in Stope A5, 500ft level. Owing to the ground conditions their bodies have never been removed & remain the only fatalities still entombed on the Line of Lode.
After a good night sleep we decided to venture out to the Broken Hill Sculptures & Living Desert Sanctuary, but not until we had collected the gate key (we were a bit lazy & didn’t want to do the steep walk up to the sculptures). Each of the 12 sculptures is designed by a different artist. The artists came from Mexico; Tiwi, Bathurst Island; Tbilisi, Georgia; Damascus, Syria; Katoomba, NSW; Rustiva, Georgia; Koolewong, Australia & Broken Hill, NSW. Some of the carvings were obvious as to what they resembled while others needed to be explored closer. As quoted by Dr Ahmad Al Ahmad, sculptor “The symposium is a necklace for the maiden – the maiden being the incredibly beautifully desert landscape around the mountain.”
After spending time soaking up the ambience amongst the sculptures Colin headed back down the way we came while I walked down to meet him at The Living Desert Flora & Fauna Sanctuary. The view across the Barrier Ranges was stunning & most enjoyable. The 2km Sanctuary Cultural Walk is nestled within the 2400ha reserve protected behind an electric predator-proof fence. The trail had 9 points of interest along the walk including many clusters of the Sturt Desert Pea which is now in full flower. Fauna was limited to a few lazy old Kangaroos that wouldn’t stray far from the provided feed bins.
We just had to visit ‘Pro’ Hart’s (Kevin Charles Hart) Gallery while in Broken Hill. Pro started putting pen to paper at an early age. His correspondence school teachers were impressed with his talent that they encouraged him to run with it. When he was working down in the mines as a train driver he continued to paint. He often said that it was the only thing that kept him sane. We were so overwhelmed when we entered his gallery. I have not come across an artist who was able to display the variety of techniques, styles & medium. Not only was he an artist with paint, but also a sculpture. We had the opportunity to spend a short time talking with his widow, Raylee. Amongst the vast array of paintings, glass etchings etc; over 3 floors of his gallery, was his famous ‘Dragonfly’ masterpiece which he did on a piece of carpet; remember the ad? (“Oh! Mr Hart, what have you done?”). I’m sure he would have been an inspiration to any young artist who is setting out in this field of work. If you ever come to Broken Hill, why not call in to the gallery. We would recommend the visit.
Another point of interest was The Silver Tree. The tree was created by a German silversmith Henry Steiner in 1878-79 for a Melbourne exhibition. The tree is a fabulous & elaborate display of craftsmanship decorated with animals & outback figures. Over 600mm high & weighing 8.5kg, the tree is hollow & the base is beaten out to a single sheet of silver. Have a look at the link for details.
We found Broken Hill to be a great place to visit. It is a busy city; one event highlighted the way the town is, a person was mugged in daylight and it made big news because these things don’t normally happen in the town. It is considered a safe place to bring up your children. We found the people in the town shops, cafes and tourist venues to be very friendly and welcoming to tourists. We had some great home-made soup, chips and hot chocolate at one cafe. The local Toyota dealer went out of the way to get a small problem attended to. The City is bisected by the slag heaps from the Line of Lode Mining past. I think that this is an ugly reminder of the reason for Broken Hill. However of disappointment to these visitors, there is little to see that reflects the vast wealth that the town has created. Though the people are resilient to the downturns of the industry, they are creating work alternatives but the numerous old houses along the wide streets, the tired old shops, don’t reflect any of the opulence that the mines have created.
There is a lot of the classic Australia evident in Broken Hill and I can’t help but feel that there, the old values of mateship and tolerance will prevail.
Copi Hollow, August 3rd-6th
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Copi+Hollow,+New+South+Wales&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=32.628652,54.580078&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Copi+Hollow+New+South+Wales&z=10
We found this cute sounding place by accident, as you do. We were at Broken Hill and wanted to go south-east to have a look at the Menindee Lakes System, a huge water storage area of the River Darling. Many South Australians suspect that this is where all the water that should be coming down to the River Murray is being stopped.
We found a pamphlet about the caravan park at Copi Hollow, one of the smaller lakes. If you look for it on Google Earth, you will see that it is one of two lakes joining Lake Pamamaroo to the bigger Lake Menindee. The Caravan Park is owned by the Broken Hill Speedboat Club Inc; there isn’t much water near Broken Hill so the club members set up this place, about 110km away, for their chosen recreation away from the mines.
This is a good year to come as the lakes are all full and the surrounding land is covered in rich vegetation, a far cry from the previous dry years. All we need is for the fish to come back, no luck tempting them yet.
It is quite amazing to come across these lakes for the first time, the River Darling has wound its way though some of the driest semi-deserts of New South Wales; the land all around is pretty flat for hundreds of kilometres. The lakes must be a natural basin off of the river. Aborigines lived and hunted in this region for thousands of years and would have been used to the seasonal ebb and flow of the river and lake water levels, winter and summer seasons would have shown a marked difference. However, since Europeans came to Broken Hill, a reliable all-year water supply was needed so the Menindee Lakes Scheme was started. Construction of a Main Weir, several Control Blocks and additional channels to direct all water from the Darling into the Lakes for storage have since been the major source of water for Broken Hill and surrounds. There is a 100-odd kilometre pipeline connecting the precious resource to the north.
Attractions here of course include the lakes and many forms of water sports, trail bike riding; walking trails and just quiet relaxation. Probably not that quiet when the Speedboat Club is holding a regatta. Water Skiing is their main activity. The caravan park is a little village of around a hundred permanent caravans, lucky for us this week nearly all are unoccupied.
We have had a relaxing three days here, backed up on the lawns abutting the lake-front, feeding the friendly minor-birds, and catching up with a bit of writing and photo editing. Gorgeous sunsets before the rain!
A little ge
m! Click on the link below to view more photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/108879761974384702036/BrokenHillToCopiHollow?feat=directlink
No comments:
Post a Comment