Burra was a sleepy little historic town on a Sunday, and bread was nowhere to be found! However, we did enjoy checking out the Old Town Hall, open to the public and displaying old photos and memorabillia in a gorgeous, restored building. What the kids especially enjoyed was being able to explore the old dressing rooms behind the stage, fitted out with some awesome period costumes for boys and girls, and trying them out on the stage! What a fantastic idea for tourists Burra, our family loved it! (I even got into one outfit!)
On Tuesday, we arrived in Broken Hill, after staying in Yunta o/n and crossing our sixth border that morning! Broken Hill is technically more associated to SA though, rather than NSW, trading mostly with them and staying on Central time (SA time) rather than Eastern, like the rest of NSW.
We were pretty excited about Broken Hill, wanting to visit for a long time, after seeing glimpses of it on TV and movies, and just hearing about it as an iconic outback town. And from first impressions, it really did live up to our expectations...it was dry and dusty, had wide streets and workers cottages, shops and pubs with wide verandahs lining them, and the 'in your face' line of lode (big wall of rock) from the mines running through the town East to West! You sure can't forget where you are!
We settle in at Lake View Caravan Park, which is really a view of brown hills with a large dam at the bottom, and is quite hilarious for a van park really...as it sits on a hill itself, so you can imagine how level the sites are! You do wonder about the vision of someone who stands on a property like this and says..."yeah, this is a great spot for a caravan park!" But hey, it has some grass.
On Wednesday, we do the Guided Walking Tour around the town which was fabulous. The kids managed to stay interested for the whole two hours and we all learnt a lot about Broken Hill and its characters. Broken Hill has an amazing respect and appreciation for its artists, and has many sculptures, murals and paintings on display around the town and in its many galleries. Pro Hart is one who's sculptures stand in the park in town. Movies and TV is also huge in Broken Hill with several movies, series and ads being partly or fully shot in and around the area. We walked past The Palace Hotel, a place some may recognise from the film "Pricilla, Queen of the Desert".Whenever we visit these outback towns, the stories of strength, tenacity and passion are always there though, and the tough places like these all seem to have so much heart and soul keeping them going.
Because the kids did so well, a spider at Bells Milk Bar is in order! The Milk Bar has tried to stay as close to its likeness in the 1950s as possible, and is amazing! It has a small museum section with 1950s furniture, books and household items in it and also sells some of the old style toys (even in the 1950s packaging) and some retro teatowels and cards. The spiders and shakes are delicious and the lollipops are huge! A great little spot on a hot afternoon. Some of the older locals remember sharing a shake with friends here over 60 years ago!
A day out at Silverton was the plan for Thursday, and we head out there for some 'real outback' scenery. Silverton is described as the 'Hollywood of the Outback' as so many Movies, TV Series and ads have used this iconic place as their backdrop. The Silverton Hotel has had 13 different names for 13 different movies or ads it has featured in! There is no bitumen road and every building has been maintained in the town to look the same as it did in the early 1900s, making it ideal for anyone wanting a backdrop like that.
Beyond the few buildings is the Mindi Mindi Plains, unfenced outback that goes on forever...and this is where the Mad Max films were made. And that brings us to the reason Silverton is home to the 'Interceptor' (Mad Max car) and the very quirky Mad Max 2 Museum, a private collection of Mad Max memorabillia by a very mad fan! You can also wander through the pub and the souvenir shop to view the many photos and autographs of movie actors who have worked on a scene in Silverton at some stage.
After a picnic lunch in Silverton, at Penrose Park, we head across to a place called The Living Desert Reserve where the Sculpture Symposium lies just outside of Broken Hill. This is a fascinating spot, where different artists from around the world each completed a rock sculpture which now all stand on the top of a hill with the amazing backdrop of the Mindi Mindi Outback behind them. This is quite a spectacular thing to see, especially for those who appreciate visual arts and we really enjoyed it.
We continued our art theme on Friday with a visit to the Pro Hart Gallery. What an extraordinary man! Such talent, but so humble and quiet about it, enjoying a simple life of family and faith in the country lifestyle of Broken Hill while he painted. Maybe starting out as a humble mine worker helped shape his character as he was often described as a 'blue collar artist'. We really enjoyed this gallery, and even Reuben tried his hand at some Pro Hart Art,but if you are into the visual arts, there are about 30 different galleries you can visit in Broken Hill if you really wanted to!
And that brings us to the end of our time in Broken Hill for now...we will really miss it though, another one of those places that has wormed its way into our hearts very quickly...I think we may be back someday. Love you Broken Hill!
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