COBAR, SILVERTON and the DARLING RIVER

13^th March, 2015

We're heading west now – making our way out of the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and onto the arid plains. We freecamp beside the Macquarie River for one night and then check into Cobar Caravan Park for a couple of nights. Cobar gets its name from the aboriginal word 'Kubbur' meaning 'burnt earth'. It was here in 1870 beside a waterhole, that three 'tank sinkers' noticed an unusual colour in the water They took samples of the rock from the area which were later identified as rich copper ore. Up until 1870 the Cobar district was made up of huge pastoral holdings which relied heavily on the Darling River trade. The discovery of copper led to the formation of the Great Cobar Copper Mine which became the largest copper mine in Australia. At its peak in 1912 the mine employed over 2000 workers. Once again we are walking in the footsteps of ancestors. Robyn's grandmother (Mary Maidens) was born at Cobar in 1887 and in 1907 married Robyn's grandfather (Edward Parkes) who was working in the mine. In 1962 at 14 years of age, Robyn accompanied her grandmother from Newcastle to Cobar by train to visit family. They stayed in the residence attached to the fire station as the relative they were visiting was the Cobar fire chief. We've driven through Cobar several times in our travels but have never stopped to look around. Any close relatives have long since left the area.

In the morning we take a drive to Fort Bourke Lookout to view Cobar and its surroundings. Copper mining is still carried out in the area but at a much reduced level of production. Below the lookout is a massive open cut gold mine.

Gold Mine at Cobar (town in distance at top of photo)

The New Cobar Open Cut Gold Mine opened in1969 and we watch as heavy equipment winds its way up and down the steep incline and disappears into the underground tunnel at the bottom of the pit. In the distance we can see several mines – some are mining gold, others copper and still another mining silver. The range of minerals in this area is astounding. We call in at the information centre which is housed in a two storey building built in 1912 and used as the Administration Centre for the Great Cobar Copper Mine. When the mine closed in 1920 the building was used as a guest house for a number of years before being abandoned. In 1969 the building was restored and reopened as a museum and Information Centre. The lady at the centre tells us about the weather station just on the outskirts of town where the weather guy in charge conducts a short tour each Monday and Wednesday morning and launches a weather balloon. So after hitching up the caravan in the morning we drive out to the weather station and join two other tourists on the guided tour. Our weather guy (have forgotten his name) is full of interesting facts and figures and guides us in and around all the meteorological equipment.

Checking the temperature ... it was 'hot' !

We never knew there were so many bits and pieces of technology calibrating and testing the atmosphere all over the world. At 10.15 am precisely a siren sounds and a weather balloon pokes its head out of the automatic release machine.

'Thar she blows' - weather balloon release

Yes – we know!  We have all seen those pictures of guys holding up the balloon in one hand and releasing it into the heavens … but our weather guy tells us that humans are slowly being replaced by machines … henceforth automatically released weather balloons. Its a windy day so within seconds the balloon is on its way with its GPS locator giving altitude, humidity and temperature (probably some other stuff too) dangling below.

Up,  Up  and Away .................

With the balloon flying off and out of sight we bid adieu to the weather guy (and Cobar) and continue our way west. Halfway between Wilcannia and Broken Hill we stop for a freecamp at a rest area. There were no other campers around when we pulled up, but as soon as we had settled on a spot and set up, a couple of goats came jogging into the rest area and stood beside the water tank. While on our journey west we had been noticing quite a lot of small herds of feral goats along the roadside. Of course we had also been seeing the odd kangaroo and quite a few emus too but the goats were much more numerous. We decided that maybe these goats had become wise to the fact that water could be obtained from the tap at the water tank so Robyn walked over and turned on the tap. Immediately the larger of the goats stuck its head under the tap and gulped great quantities of water down its throat while the smaller goat lapped up water from the catchment bowl underneath. It was a hot day and the goats drank and drank and drank. Finally they seemed to have had their fill and stood back. Every now and then they would come back to the tap, nuzzle it and lap up some more water.

Two very smart goats !

By the time nightfall came there were seven other caravans and motorhomes camped in the rest area. We had to laugh when in the morning everyone had packed up before us and gone. Yep – we are in no hurry to get anywhere. We are nearly always the first in and the last out! By midday we were pulling into the Lake View Caravan Park at Broken Hill. We are still wondering where the lake is – but it does sort of have a view across the dry plains. We take a trip to the supermarket to stock up on some supplies and in the morning head out to Silverton (25 klms north west) where the discovery of silver and lead deposits in 1883 opened the area up to mining. At the same time the discovery of silver at Broken Hill led to the formation of Broken Hill Proprietary Limited, setting the company on a path to become Australia's richest company. By 1907 Broken Hill became the second largest settlement in New South Wales (after Sydney) and is known as the Silver City. We drive past Silverton to the lookout over Mundi Mundi Plains.

Mundi Mundi Plains

Two of Australia's best known movies, 'Mad Max' and 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' were shot on the Mundi Mundi Plains. The plains disappear into the distance and we can just make out the Olary Range 90 kilometres away. There are only a few buildings left in Silverton to remind us that this was once a thriving town of 3,000 people. The gaol (now a museum) was once used to house Australia's gold reserves during the war.

Silverton Gaol

Many of the buildings have appeared in movies. The Silverton Hotel has featured in over 100 films and commercials.

Silverton Hotel ... Mad Max type VW parked out front

Mad Max memorabilia can be found all over the town and rusty hulks are used as front yard decorations.

Just what every home needs ... a rusty 'over the top' car in the front yard

Of course we couldn't finish off our historic buildings of Silverton without a photo of a church – so here it is.

We've decided to take some time out and check on some camping spots along the Darling River near Menindee which is approx 100 kilometres south east of Broken Hill. It's an easy drive along a tarred road and then about 10 kilometres along a dirt road to the main weir. We drive along a track beside the river

Track beside the Darling River at Menindee

and find a spot to our liking and set up camp.

Our campsite beside the Darling River at Menindee

Unfortunately we have picked one of the hottest days to go camping. The temperature soars to 42 degrees inside the van and without electricity we can't use the air conditioner. Whew … ! To say it was 'bloody' hot would be an understatement. Thankfully a change came through late that night which dropped the temperatures back into the low thirties. We love the old river gums along the bank and wonder what age they may be.

Wok admiring this old river gum ... it's had a hard life

Wok has taken to throwing a line in every now and then with the hope of catching a cod or a yellow belly … wishful thinking ! He has however, managed to snag a few carp, which makes him happy that he is actually catching fish, but not happy to see that they are the predominant species. There is nothing good to say about carp …. !

Yep !   It's a carp !

We've enjoyed our stay here along the river. What could be more Australian than watching the kangaroos come down for a drink and listening to the 'whistling kites' as they fly along the water course.    Ahhh … the serenity !

Wok watches as some pelicans paddle by - he is still hoping for a 'yellow belly'

 

HILL END

10^th March, 2015

It was time to move on again. We'd had a lovely time visiting with Trent and after moving the caravan from the reserve and replacing the fence panel it looked as it had before we arrived. We do so like to leave our sites as we found them or in some cases better than we found them. After a day of travelling we were pulling into the village camping area at Hill End. 

Camping area at Hill End

We had promised ourselves that we would return to Hill End to spend a few days exploring this historical gold mining town. Robyn's great grandfather (John Lloyd) spent eight months working the Tambaroora/Hill End creeks in 1855/56 panning for gold. He did not make his fortune here but gained a lot experience which would serve him well over the following years. Prior to the 1870's most of the gold was won from alluvial mining but in the early 1870's a rich parcel of earth some 50 metres below the surface of Hawkins Hill was discovered. Speculators poured money into Hawkins Hill's mines and the town provided unlimited opportunity for fraud and swindle. This hastened the need for investment regulations and was the impetus for the formation of the Sydney Stock Exchange. Hill End's boom in the 1870's was based on mining gold still locked up in quartz veins. This meant that the field had the opportunity to continue expanding over years and years. Alluvial gold miners had to move on once they'd worked over all the river bed gravel whereas reef mining ventures could stay in one spot and just keep on developing their underground operations. Most people who flocked to Hill End in the early 1870's came to stay. They bought their families with them and set about either working as an employee or establishing a business. Hill End rapidly developed into one of the largest towns in New South Wales and a major commercial centre in its own right. After the boom had passed and people moved away the town became quieter. With an excess of buildings and little need or money to build new ones, the town landscape gradually opened up as buildings were recycled for other uses. Today Hill End's dwellings are a snapshot of working class life in the 1870's. Our first port of call is at the Information Centre which is housed in the restored hospital.

The Information Centre in the old hospital

Suitably armed with a walking mud map of the town and goldfields area we first take a drive to some lookouts. The first lookout was at Kissing Point which afforded a panoramic view of the Turon River winding its way through the valleys.

Wok takes in the view of the Turon Valley from Kissing Point

Then it was on to Merlin's Lookout

Wok reads the information panel at Merlin's Lookout

which gives an expansive view of Hawkins Hill and the old mine workings.

Some of the old mine workings can still be seen on Hawkins Hill

Five kilometres north of Hill End lies Tambaroora. Although little remains of the town today it was once a thriving community in the early 1850's with over 2,500 people working the rich alluvial gold deposits found along its creeks. We work our way along a dry creek bed to Golden Gully.

Wok wanders along Golden Gully at Tambaroora

Once miners had worked over the surface ground of their leases they'd often dig down to bedrock through the ancient river gravels in search of new gold bearing leads to follow. The results of their work is evident in the gully where massive erosion has exposed evidence of the underground warren of mines that once dotted the creek line.

Early the next morning we set out on a hike along the Bald Hill Track. There are information panels along the track which detail points of interest as well as abandoned pieces of machinery such as this stamper used in crushing the quartz.

Stamper used to crush quartz

Crossing a bridge

Old wooden bridge on the Bald Hill Track

we spotted this lizard happily sunning itself on one of the wooden posts.

"If I stay real still maybe these humans won't notice me!"

The track meandered along the hillside following the creek and we passed abandoned shafts and mines and stone footings of houses partially hidden in the bush. 

Frame over abandoned mine shaft

We gradually worked our way down towards the creek where the remains of Chappells Stamp Battery can be seen.

All that remains of the largest stamp battery building at Hill End

This 24 head stamp battery was the largest on the field and the dams and spillways which were necessary for its operation can still be seen along the creek bed. This is only one of many stamp batteries around the town which ran 24 hours a day. It is so peaceful and quiet here now that it is impossible to imagine what it must have been like to live in the town with the incessant din of the quartz crushing machines pounding away day and night. We make our way back to town and wander along the streets checking out the old buildings and reading the information panels. The first building we come to is the Post Office which is still fulfilling its original function.

Hill End Post Office

As it is a week day it is pretty quiet around town with little or no traffic. Even these geese have no trouble crossing the road.

No need to hurry ... geese have right of way at Hill End

However on weekends and in holiday time the place comes alive with tourist buses, cars and campers. Many come to hike the trails or soak up a bit of history while others come to try their luck at finding gold in some of the designated fossicking areas. We're just happy to have the place to ourselves - without all the crowds. Obviously when you have a sizeable town you also need to have a plethora of places to worship. Hill End was no slouch in that department with several churches dotted about the town. There are only a couple left standing today – the Presbyterian Church is one that has managed to survive being dismantled for other uses.

Presbyterian Church at Hill End

Further along the street is the Great Western Store and a residential cottage,

Wok checks out the Great Western Store

while around in Clarke Street is a lovely two storey building which was once a Grocery and Produce Store operated by Robert Northey.

Robert Northey's Produce and Grocery Store

There are many other buildings from the 1870's at Hill End and we have only put a snapshot of them in the blog. Near the campground is a slab-sided mud brick corrugated iron cottage. Many of these types of cottages would have once dotted the town.

Residential cottage in Hill End

What better way to finish our visit to Hill End than to watch the sunset from Merlins Lookout where echoes of a bygone era drift up from the abandoned mine workings below. 

 

Fortunes won and lost have now faded away. It was but a moment in time.

SYDNEY HARBOUR and GOAT ISLAND

26^th February, 2015

We have spent two months at Tina and Paul's home on the Sunshine Coast and with Christmas holidays over and medical/dental stuff out of the way it is time to hit the road again. Sadly we said goodbye to Mitzi over this time. She had served us well for more than three years but the extra weight of the new caravan was proving too big of a strain for her and the Jeep has now taken her place.

Our new Jeep with our Crusader Caravan,
Ranger (the dog), Usher and Pedro (the alpacas) at Tina and Paul's

The Jeep is a diesel 4WD Jeep Grand Cherokee. We hope with its bigger engine and towing capacity the Jeep will pull our Crusader caravan up steep mountains in a single bound – time will tell. We're heading south to spend some time with our son Trent before making our way west. The first day sees us giving the Jeep its first taste of what it will be like travelling with the caravan following along behind. We are most impressed with its performance as it handles the long climb up the Great Dividing Range through Cunningham's Gap with ease. We are also more than pleased with the amount of diesel it is using – much less than Mitzi.  It bodes well for the Jeep!

We pull into the reserve adjoining Trent's place and park beside his side fence. By the time Trent has come home from work we have made ourselves at home. A simple matter of taking a small panel off his fence gives us an easy walkway into the back yard and access to power and water for the caravan. If only some of the caravan parks we have stayed in were this easy! We spent the following week catching up with family and friends and stopped in at Redhead to watch Trent's team play cricket on Saturday afternoon. They had already made it into the finals so it really didn't matter if they won – but they did anyway. Not far from where Trent lives is Munmorah State Recreation Area which has a camping ground near the beach. We couldn't resist taking a look and getting a photo – you can probably guess why?

Catchy name - don't you think?

For our Christmas present this year Trent bought us tickets for a lunchtime cruise on Sydney Harbour which included a tour of Goat Island. We decided to spend a few extra days with Trent and arranged to do the cruise on the following Sunday. Rather than drive to Circular Quay in Sydney and try to find somewhere to park at an exorbitant price we opted for a train ride instead. It took us less than half an hour to drive from Trent's to Tuggerah Railway Station where we could park for free and enjoy a leisurely train ride to Central in Sydney and then catch one of the many trains travelling every few minutes on the city loop subway to Circular Quay. Because it was Sunday we were able to purchase a Sydney Excursion Ticket for $2.50 each which allowed us to travel to and from Sydney and then hop on or off any train, bus or ferry in the Sydney area for the whole day …. bargain ! By 11am we were hopping off the loop train at Circular Quay and joining the multitude of tourists meandering along the waterfront. We didn't have to join our harbour cruise until 12.45pm so there was plenty of time to wander past all the ferry terminals towards the harbour bridge and back to the wharf in time to board the Wangi Queen – a ferry dating back to the early 1900's.

Our ferry (the Wangi Queen) is the little red bottomed boat.
It is kind of dwarfed by the cruise ship moored behind.

While we chugged down the harbour past the iconic Opera House and circled around past Government House the buffet lunch was served on the lower deck. It was quite a feat to climb up the steps to the top deck and stagger back to our seats holding a plate full of food in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other. Trying to eat said lunch and not spill your drink required a smattering of creativity, lateral thinking and a heap of good luck.

Wok has it all worked out ... hold your wine glass between your knees while eating

Our course took us under the bridge and up the harbour towards Balmain.

We leave the bridge and the city behind in our wake

Sydney Harbour is a busy waterway no matter what day of the week, but at weekends the usual commercial traffic is joined by a multitude of pleasure craft all jostling for their place in time and space. We pass and are passed by all manner of maritime vessel – ships, ferries, speedboats, yachts, barges, tinnies, canoes, kayaks, etc. It's a wonderfully chaotic place. Pretty soon Goat Island came into view. It is the second largest island in Sydney Harbour and no-one really knows how it got its name. The consensus is that in the early years of the colony some goats were held on the island for safe keeping – hence the name. The island was used as a place to keep convicts that had committed a crime in the colony. It was large enough to be habitable but far enough from the shore to deter prisoners from trying to escape. Not many people knew how to swim in those days. We disembarked and worked our way up past a couple of large fig trees that had been planted in the 1800's.

The roots of this large fig tree have encased the stone wall

In the 1830's the New South Wales government decided that storing gunpowder in the growing town of Sydney was perhaps not a good idea and Goat Island was selected as the perfect place to build a gunpowder magazine. Convicts were set to work in the quarry on the island to carve out the stone used in building the magazine and other structures.

This building is set against the quarry wall which still bears the convicts marks

The magazine was completed in 1838 and all the gunpowder reserves were moved from Sydney to the island.

Goat Island Gunpowder Magazine

The walls are extremely thick – two skins of solid rock about a metre wide with a gap in between.
There is a phenomenal echo inside the magazine which would inspire any 'tunnel singer' to burst into song.

Inside the Gunpowder Magazine

We climb up the hill to the top of the quarry where we can look down upon the slate roof of the magazine.

Above the Gunpowder Magazine from the convict built stone wall at the top of the quarry

On the other side of the island facing east is a row of cottages that once housed the Harbour Master, staff and families. The Harbour Master's house is the largest cottage and is a wonderful looking building.

The Harbour Master's cottage now stands empty

The island is under the care of the National Parks service and a caretaker lives in one of the smaller cottages. The Harbour Master's house and the other cottages are empty and have been for quite a while. Just a quick look in the windows of the Harbour Master's gives us a tantalising glimpse of period features, wooden floors and high ceilings. It is a crying shame that these buildings have not been restored to their original glory – to be used in some way. With views to die for these cottages would command an astronomical price as tourist accommodation.

View from the verandah of the Harbour Master's cottage  (Wok in foreground)

Apart from the magnificent harbour bridge views the island has 360 degrees of unobscured views across the water taking in the city and surrounding suburbs.

View of the city from Goat Island

In recent times the island was also used in the film industry as a base for the TV Series 'Water Rats'.
After ninety minutes of exploring the island we re-board the Wangi Queen for our trip back to Circular Quay. The captain takes us on a side trip into Darling Harbour and past the Maritime Museum. We have no idea why the submarine has a humongous blow up octopus sitting on its forward deck but it makes for an interesting photo op.

Octopus getting some 'rays' on the submarine at Darling Harbour

By 4pm we are back at Circular Quay and are soon on a train heading out of Sydney to the Central Coast. We've had a great day. It's not often we get to be a tourist in Sydney and it has been surprisingly relaxing. Using the train as our mode of transport was a master stoke! As we watch the world go by from the train carriage windows we can't help but think about what we have seen on Goat Island. There are many historical buildings that need to be protected on the island and structures that need to be removed. One can only hope that Goat Island may one day be restored to a time when its grand old buildings, manicured lawns and picnic areas looked out across the harbour. A place where future generations could discover pieces of our past and marvel at the panorama that is Sydney Harbour.