A Desert Coincidence

Went out to Silverton, a mining ghost town 20kms from Broken Hill and home of Mad Max, Pricilla and numerous beer commercials, yesterday and found ourselves parked next to another Suzuki with Albany plates. Ok that's not a huge coincidence but the driver turned out to be Julian Hough who works for Amity Suzuki and sold our car new to it's last owner! That's a coincidence.

Who'd of thunk it? 2 Albany Suzukis.

Silverton Jail

Visited Silverton Jail Museum cos I collect Jail Museums. Have been to them all round the country. I guess it says something about our convict past that we have so many. Maybe my next project should be a guide to Jail Museums of Australia. This one's a real hodgepodge collection of stuff from  Silverton, Broken Hill and surrounds but that detracts from its function as a jail museum I think. Silverton itself is cute but I reckon it's not a patch on Gwalia near Leonora as far as mining ghost towns go.

Matilda, Queen of the desert, visits the Mundi Mundi Plains, one of Australia's largest flat lands just out of Silverton. Does that road in the background look familiar Mad Max fans?

Broken Hill is very like Kalgoorlie. A huge slag heap in the centre of town, old tin miner's huts cheek by jowl with grand mansions of those who got lucky, a pub on every corner but with many of them no longer pubs and some grand public buildings. However, Broken Hiĺl now has art in a big way with numerous art galleries, the most famous being Pro Hart's. Visited there cos I am a fan of his work.

It also has a proud Labor History, being the first town in the world to elect a Labor Mayor (with the fine name of Jabez Wright - remember that for your next quiz night) and the first Trades Hall in the southern hemisphere. The locals were vehemently against Australia entering WWI as they saw it as being a battle  for capitalist interests and not something honest working men should die for (good on you lads - wish you were still with us) and consequently the town was a major centre of opposition in the conscription referendums. Looking at the local pollies offices now though, it seems there are more Libs and Nats here these days. Perhaps that's appropriate given that I've often said the Nats are the only remaining Socialist party  (discounting Mr  Katter that is). If only they could accept that you have to socialise your profits as well as your losses!

This glorious pile is Broken Hill's Trades Hall.