27^th June

This morning we met a delightful tour guide Daphne Coffey who led a group of us through the streets of Broken Hill for two hours.  She was sprightly, extremely knowledgeable on all aspects of the history of Broken Hill as well as the current mining climate and was at a pinch 78-80 years old.  I was mesmerized by her beautiful green eyes.  A woman in our group commented how well she led us and my response was that besides being all of the above she was a true inspiration and a person who is an example of keeping both body and mind active.

We were shown through a park with one of the late artist Pro Hart’s sculptures of an ant.  His interpretation was that the miners of Broken Hill work like ants underground.

The union industry was the cornerstone for the miners and we looked into a grand building known as Trades Hall. The history of Broken Hill was marked with bitter and protracted strikes, and this building was the focal point of these strikes.  The 1919 strike lasted 18 months and led to the 35 hour week for miners and improved health and safety conditions.  I was very impressed with this beautiful stained glass window gracing the top of the entrance door.

We had been told about White’s Mineral Art and Mining Museum and that it was a “must see”, so we got the bikes out and cycled up to the other end of town to find this place.  It turns out that Kevin "Bushy" White and his wife were given some mine timber and he used this to build White's Mineral Art and Living Mining Museum. 

In fact he took over the back yard as neither of them enjoyed mowing the lawn or gardening, so now a visit to the museum takes you on an illustrated journey through the architectural and mining history of the city. 

Bushy's mineral paintings are complimented with many rare mining artefacts, underground memorabilia and models of mine sites, while his wife has used the back porch area to set up a home for her handmade doll and teddy bear collection.