Day 238 - Around Lightning Ridge

We have just realised the right description for Lightning Ridge and its inhabitants is - eccentric.   But then it may be quirky.  Mining is a weird industry and mining for opals seems to attract more than a fair share of eccentric folk.  The town itself demonstrates this.  A lot of the signs are not done professionally and the home painted ones go a long way to making the place - well, different.  Time does not seem of any great consequence and the activity in the place seem to be dictated by the temperature.  Mind you, this is not all bad for the people are most laid back and probably don't suffer from heart attacks or strokes.  Being miners, some are pretty fit as well.  As for the animals, the humans' behaviour is catching.

301114 Who's hot?  Not me

301114 A typical working mine in Lightning Ridge,
eccentric, quirky and .... untidy

301114 Eccentric, quirky or even humorous,? The answer is "2000 in the town,
another 2000 in the region and who knows how many underground"

301114 The entrance to the cactus farm, where else but in Lightning Ridge

Today the uniqueness of the place was demonstrated by the tour we did today, around an open cut mine, the Lunatic Hill Mine, and through the Chambers of the Black Hand.  

301114 A thoroughly unprofessional sign

301114 On the "yellow door" self drive tour

301114 Lunatic Hill open cut

301114 Lunatic Hill open cut

301114  The story about the Lunatic Hill open cut and the biggest
nobby found in it, the "Haley's Comet, valued in 1986 at $6 million

301114 Over burden from a newer open cut, which will be returned
to the pit after mining is completed

The Chambers of the Black Hand, what a quirky name. This is a one hundred year old opal mine, which provided us with a walk through the underground mine itself, but also through many galleries of carvings done in the sandstone in the layer above the opal bearing claystone. There were about 500 carvings in all.  The guy who did the carvings is a miner who owns 50% of the mine, is over 70 years of age and has had no artistic training. The carvings that drew the most comments were those of Australian politicians.  This could reasonably be described as an "ooh-aah" experience.  We have included but a few photographs of the carvings.

301114 Where we visited today

301114  Some young boys showing how mining for opals is done

301114 Down in the mine proper

301114 Sandstone carving in the mine

301114 Sandstone carving in the mine

301114 The last supper

301114 A cherub

301114 Mother Teresa, Ghandi and the Dalai Lama

301114 Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Menzies
and Tony Abbott amongst others 

301114 Bob Hawke, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Peter Garrett amongst others

301114 Barry Mackenzie (?), Rolf Harris in jail and Steve Irwin

After the mine tour we did some fossicking on the ground around the mine.  While we found lots of "colour" none was of any value.  Gee it is fun though, and one can imagine how easy it would be to get the "bug".  

This afternoon we did the last two of the car door tours - a self drive trip around mines in the area with comments on other features of interest, including the first hole sunk in Lightning Ridge.  

301114 Plaque near the site of the first shaft sunk in Lightning Ridge
by Charles Nettleton in 1902

301114 Thought to be the first shaft dug in Lightning Ridge

While the "car door tours" were at best imaginative in the descriptions of the sights and rough, in that the roads were terrible, they did at least get us out into the area. As a result, we feel that we have given Lightning Ridge a "good shake".   Tomorrow we will move on, happy that we have seen Lightning Ridge.  Maybe we will come back one day and do some fossicking.

Incidentally, storms came up again this afternoon and we did see lightning striking near the ridge just out of town.

The Gnome was right at home here.

301114 Thoroughly at home and ready to go to work with his shovel