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| A shot of a part of Broken Hill |
I've been putting this post off for a while. About two weeks ago, I had the opportunity on going on a trip with the rest of the Loyola group here, as well as some of my classmates from Contemporary Australia. We headed out to the small town of Broken Hill, and explored the Outback a bit. I'm breaking the posts down into parts, because we managed to visit a lot of different places in a short time and I want to capture it all :-)
I overslept and almost missed the bus AGAIN (notice that there is no post on the Monash Abroad-sponsored trip to Great Ocean Road...yeah), but it was all good. I made it, and managed to have an....interesting but fun adventure for 5 days.
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| My room at the West Darling |
We spent the first day traveling to Broken Hill. It takes roughly about 12-14 hours to get there, and with stops in between, it took FOREVER! However, I managed to get some work done for class, got a nap or two in, and then discovered the beauty that is the Australian show
Summer Heights High! (Google it...it's like
The Office for high school. Adult material though). We got to our hotel, a quiet and old little place, called the West Darling Hotel. I managed to get a single room all to myself too! Small, but just enough for me :-)
On our first official day of exploring Broken Hill, we went through the town, and learned about some of the landmarks from a Broken Hill native. Well....the rest of the group did, because I, for the most part, was passed out on the bus, except when for a few times when we would get off and look around. An interesting part of the area that we visited was the headquarters for the Royal Flying Doctors Service. Because Broken Hill and surrounding areas are pretty remote, there aren't really many hospitals and doctors around. This service literally flies out to answer emergency calls and care for the injured and sick. We had talked a little bit about it in class, so it was cool to finally see where they're located, see the planes, and everything.
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| Miners' Memorial |
After a lecture from one of our professors at the public library, we went to the Miners' Memorial, a memorial site, as its name implies, dedicated to miners killed in the profession. When you walk in there are names of the miners that were recorded. Mining is a really seriously dangerous business. The miners had died from accidents with dynamite, roof collapses, suffocation from not enough air supply, lung diseases, etc. The youngest miner recorded was a 12 year old boy who had died, I believe, around the 1940s or 50s. Our tutor Rob discussed the symbolism of the memorial. It's built sort of like an narrow entrance to the mine if you look at it. and on the outer side, the observation area is in the shape of a cross, in memory of the miners.
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| One of my favorite sculptures, entitled "The Horse" |
Our next stop was a trip to the Outback Sculpture Park, which holds several rock sculptures, some even made by indigenous people. We happened to see a few wild kangaroos around too! The park was peaceful and serene. Though it was a bit of walk after such a long day to get to the sculptures, it was worth it. They were very finely crafted. We ended our time there with some snacks and wine, and a beautiful sunset!
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| All dolled up for Casino Night |
At the end of the night, we headed to Karaoke Night at the Broken Hill Musicians Club. I performed in hopes to make some money, after Rob told us that a girl from Loyola won a $250 second place prize last year. However, the lazy judges decided to group us all together as "Monash University" and gave us 3rd place. Boooo....It was still so much fun though! We sang and danced the night away. And I played a little at the casino, just for the experience. Apparently an unnamed guy, I think it might have been from Loyola, lost EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS on the slots one year. WHAT?!!! The most I played was $10, and I walked away haha. Can't gamble my money away like that!
Check out some more pictures from the day below!
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A memorial for Broken Hill women who support their men during hard
industrial times |
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| Me on a giant bench by the Miners Memorial |
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| "The Bride" |
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"Motherhood." You might not be able to see it very clearly
but it's a mother kangaroo with a joey :-) |
Day three coming next.....
PEACE.
On our first official day of exploring Broken Hill, we went through the town, and learned about some of the landmarks from a Broken Hill native. Well....the rest of the group did, because I, for the most part, was passed out on the bus, except when for a few times when we would get off and look around. An interesting part of the area that we visited was the headquarters for the Royal Flying Doctors Service. Because Broken Hill and surrounding areas are pretty remote, there aren't really many hospitals and doctors around. This service literally flies out to answer emergency calls and care for the injured and sick. We had talked a little bit about it in class, so it was cool to finally see where they're located, see the planes, and everything.
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