Tuesday 5 June 2012 - Broken Hill Exploring

DAY 3 – Tuesday 5 June 2012
Broken Hill (exploring)

Me and my Dad - Broken Hill Memorial Hill

Fuel Costs & Consumption
No filling up today

Comments -  Luke Baker

I saw the biggest canvas painting of the local area (see mum and dad’s comments below).  I also bought chocolate from the Arts Centre that looked like fake rocks.  At the tourist place there were fossils and lots of beautiful polished rocks.  If I was a millionaire I would have bought all of them.

Comments – Nicole & Mark Baker (Mum and Dad)

Went to the Silver City Arts Centre and City Mint which is home of the mighty acrylic canvas by Peter Anderson who has painted ‘The Big Picture’.  It is the world’s largest painting on canvas and is 100 metres long and over 12 metres high and painted with nine tonne of paint.  It is held in place by hydraulics, pulleys and counter weights.  The painting features natural and man-made landmarks within 300 km of Broken Hill, including the Pinnacles, Flinders Ranges, Mundi Mundi Plains, Menindee Lakes etc.  It took the artist 2 years (day and night) to complete.

We then explored the Line of Lode Miners Memorial.  The site looks over Broken Hill and has a cafe built into the hillside.  The memorial pays tribute to those young men who have lost their lives mining over the last 150 years.

Al & Mark at campground Penrose Park just short of Silverton

We decided to head to Silverton to camp the night, this time at a powered site with lots of hot showers; Penrose Park which is on 76 acres for $20 buckeroos a night for 2 adults and 2 children (Happy days!).  Unfortunately no tv reception to watch ‘Revenge’ tonight (pathetic I know); Alison Tarplee (“Tarps”) my bridesmaid decided instead to shared some ‘Coolabah’ I picked up on special ($8) at some weird Red Neck Roadhouse 76 km out of Broken Hill.  A couple of drinks later, who needs TV; we are the entertainment.