Well, dear readers, here we are finally back again on the keyboard. I'll not bore you with the reasons from this rather prolonged absence, other than to say I've been dealing with some family matters which have demanded all my time and energy over the past four weeks. (apologies for the line spacing here....another of those blog gremlins is at play)
So now, let's return to Lightning Ridge, or more to the point, the quite incredible opal fields some 70 kms distant, known collectively as 'The Grawin'. We had been encouraged by several or our travelling companions to make sure we did not miss this......how right they were.
Even en-route we were treated to another of the area's quite spectacular attractions, a further offering from the redoubtable John Murray. Meet 'Stanley', the huge metal emu which towers over the highway between Lightning Ridge and Walgett.
I'll let a local publication, 'The Land', take up the story in its article of 11 May 2013 which I gratefully acknowledge.
"John Murray’s dream of creating a giant emu perched over the highway outside Lightning Ridge has finally come to fruition. An 18-metre-tall emu constructed from more than a tonne of scrap metal, three Volkswagen bodies and a pair of rusting satellite dishes now sits by the Castlereagh Highway, about 10 kilometres from town towards Walgett.
Mr Murray’s dream from 2007 was taken up by Coonamble welder and co-creator Tim Parsons, who constructed “Stanley” on his farming property, “Orwell”, Combara. The metal was recycled from the old Dubbo Police Station when demolished for the new “modern” block.
“Stanley” got his name from Orana Police Local Area Commander Stan Single, who originally hailed from Coonamble, Walgett and the ‘Ridge region."
Is there no end to the imagination and drive of this bloke who now calls 'The Ridge' his home? 'Stanley' has lit something of a fuse....the Walgett Shire Council is now offering a prize of $10,000 for the creation of the next locally themed sculpture. It is hoped that eventually the highway will be lined with them, although I must comment that this is not happening overnight!
Past the massive emu we continued on to the turn off road which was to take us to and through the small town of Cumborah. We were still on good bitumen and there was still any amount of residual evidence of the recent heavy rains.
Past the massive emu we continued on to the turn off road which was to take us to and through the small town of Cumborah. We were still on good bitumen and there was still any amount of residual evidence of the recent heavy rains.
Apart from the opal beneath the surface, this is real grazing country, flat and open.
Carpets of wildflowers covered many of the paddocks
where large flocks of sheep
and farmed goats (as opposed to the thousands of feral animals which roam this part of the country) were all merrily munching away on the lush pastures.
As we approached Cumborah a few low hills and much more roadside timber were features of the passing landscape.
This prominently placed sign in the town confirmed that we were still on the right track.
As we had seen on the approach to Hebel a week or so previously, the roadside weeds on this remaining stretch of blacktop had grown to such as an extent that they formed a real avenue of green and yellow.
The comfort of a good sealed surface was now behind us as we approached the entrance to the opal fields. We foolishly thought this was a tad rough.....we soon learnt there is nothing sophisticated about the roads in The Grawin and this was but the opener!
As is the case in Lighting Ridge itself (which you will see later), here on the Grawin fields old car doors are used as route markers
and for advertising the local delights. As I have commented before, given the plethora of abandoned vehicles throughout this region, there is no shortage of this material.
Everyone gets in on the act!
By now the road was seriously deteriorating and we had reached the cattle grid which
marked our 'formal' entrance onto the fields. This 'G.G.S.M.A.' business had us puzzled for a while, but we then discovered this stands for 'Grawin, Glengarry, Sheepyard Miners' Association'. What an interesting bunch these are, and, of course, each area has its own pub or club. This is why were here.
The advertising signs continued to dot the roadside in all their 'rustic' glory.
'Sophisticated' is not a word associated with this area, believe me, but what a bunch of 'doers' this lot are.
As we head further into this unique area, it is as good a time as any to take a quick look at its history.
I am indebted to the group who publish at 'LightningRidgeinfo.com' for the following:
"The Grawin, located about 40 km south-west of Lightning Ridge, refers to the group of opal fields made of Grawin, Glengarry, Sheepyard, and Mulga Rush. Opal was first discovered in the region in 1905 by Charles Phipp while working on Morendah Station (a few kms to the east of Grawin), but little mining was carried out there at the time.
With the discovery of opal at Hammond Hill in 1908, The Grawin was established and further discoveries at Richards Hill in 1920 saw the establishment of a small village. Early opal mining in the area, was a lot more difficult than that of today (not that anyone would describe opal mining as easy) with picks and shovels to dig ground and hand operated windlass’ to get it all to the surface. Add to that, it was all done by the light of a candle.
In 1928, an opal named ‘The Light of the Worlds’, which was the size of a man’s fist and weighed 0.45kg was unearthed at Richards Hill. This huge opal caused a flurry of activity and inflow of miners seeking to make their fortune on the Grawin opal fields.
During the 1950’s, post-war technology enabled more technology to be used in mining and with it came electrically generated light, motorised hoists as well as electric jackhammers. These innovations enabled a lot more opal dirt to be extracted and also opened the door for more potential miners as the task of opal miner become ‘easier’; the process that is, not finding the elusive stone.
Although mining at Glengarry had been going on for some time, it wasn’t until the early 1970s that Glengarry become the focus for opal mining in the region due some good early finds.
The 1980’s was a boom time for a lot of the country and the Grawin shared the experiences of the heady time with a opal rush that started on Melbourne Cup day, 1985, when the an opal named 'Sheepyard Rush' was unearthed. It was on for young and old, and with it came the short-throw tipping hoist and tip-trucks to remove the soil. It was becoming big scale and led to the more stream-lined process of ‘rickshaw to wheelbarrow to hoist’.
'Carters Rush' was the next big event in the 1990’s and with it saw the introduction of blowers, which were primarily giant vacuum cleaners, as well as hydraulic diggers and boggers.
The new millennium brought with it the 'Mulga Rush' in 2000, and was the biggest rush since the rush at Corcoran opal field in the early 1900s.
Today, the Grawin is still actively mined and now the mining exists with efforts to attract more visitors to the area as a way of spreading the opal experience and giving visitors an insight to the life on an opal field."
This is a different world as we were soon to discover as we turned off the 'main road' along the entrance track to the 'Club In The Scrub'.
Believe it or not, this is the local golf course, where strange as it may seem
many of the tees are quite close together, there are no greens, and the fairways are less than perfectly clipped.
This does not deter both local and visiting golfers one jot. 'Have clubs....will travel'. This group was even equipped with an electric golf buggy. It might be the scrub, but there are still mod cons on hand,
which is exactly what we found at the club house, not that this was evident as we pulled into the bare red gravel car park.
For some perspective, this is an aerial shot of the Club in the Scrub (courtesy of 'smh.com') Well named indeed!
This place is truly 'different,
beginning with all the clutter and oddities at the front door,
For some perspective, this is an aerial shot of the Club in the Scrub (courtesy of 'smh.com') Well named indeed!
This place is truly 'different,
beginning with all the clutter and oddities at the front door,
including, amongst many others, the Club 'lucky dip' pail.
The main entrance to the bar and dining area is almost 'normal' with its club
and community notice boards (we shall see this very house later...note the asking price) where the advertisements placed had a very local flavour. A second hand opal blower for sale does not feature large on many city supermarket or club notice boards, for example.
The visitors' sign in book and the formal notice of dress and behavioural standards, something which is standard in all licenced establishments, seemed almost incongruous here,
as did one of the first rooms we came to inside.....the very well stocked club library. And then it dawned on us. This club really is the social hub for all the miners dotted throughout the surrounding bush, beavering away on their claims.
The bar was what we had expected.....large, cluttered with all sorts of 'bits and pieces', a pool table in one corner
tables and chairs for those weary after a round on the scrub course, and well stocked fridges under the shanty style ceiling. I have it on good authority that the beer here is icy cold, but cannot attest to the truth or otherwise of this fact. Guess who was driving, and in any event, 1030 hours is just a tad early even for your scribe.
As would be expected in an environment like this, the bar area opens onto an outdoors patio
(complete with a very modern looking and well maintained toilet block)
whilst at the other end of the bar room itself we found the large club dining room/auditorium.
During the school holidays this area becomes the 'party play pen' for all the local school kids.
It was this sign which reinforced our acquired view of the 'local hub' nature of the Club in the Scrub and the fact that this is an area which is not exclusively inhabited by the stereotypical bushy bearded battler, but also by miners with their families which include children of school age. As we later drove around the area, this did seems hard to grasp, but clearly it is the case.
Mind you, not all the signs in the club in the Scrub are quite such an expression of altruism!
What an introduction to this trio of 'scrub pubs' this had been, but it was now time to move on and as you can see, the local miners' association responsible for the construction and maintenance of the road network is less than fussy about the state of the surface.....'as long as there is a track through the bush' seems to be the criterion.
And now we entered the moonscape which is 'The Grawin'. The road on to the next two pubs
took us through claim site after claim site, where order seemed to be non-existent in a landscape which is an almost continuous series of mullock heaps where ever one looks.
Here and there along the roadside we could see the formal 'claim' notices which identify the owner of each particular lease. In this case we were driving past the patch in which I Poole is master of all he (or she) surveys.
Out of sheer curiosity I looked up the lessee's home address on Google Earth. Could the comparison be more stark?....... from the coastal area of NSW between Newcastle and the waters of Lake Macquarie to the dry, dusty destination of The Grawin. Let's just hope that I Poole is striking it rich!
On we drove through this alien world where those who claw at the earth below in a fever of constant hope spend their 'topsides' life in homes of all descriptions.
One thing most have in common is that they are made from whatever happened to be readily available. Galvanised iron is common
as are old caravans, some with 'improvements'.
Water is a very scarce and precious commodity here on The Grawin. Home gardens are non-existent, but here one house proud inhabitant has made good use of artificial blooms to provided a splash of colour to greet all who pass by.
In a real quirk of nature, it was but a few hundred metres beyond this bed of fake flowers that we came across the real thing, a small patch of wildflowers which stood in complete contrast to all around them.
And speaking of water, as if on queue, here we have a home delivery, Grawin style.
Some here have made a real effort on the home front. This is the local 'mansion' we had seen advertised at the 'Club'. Remember, yours for a mere $50,000, but bear in mind, this does not give you ownership of the land.....all these sites are 'owned' on a leasehold basis.
We had read about the 'Sweeney Art and Craft' establishment. It was just as well there was a large advertising sign opposite this centre of culture in the scrub or we would have been none the wiser.....and it was closed!! The large drill rig here was but one of the more modern and sizable pieces of equipment which are also a feature of this landscape.
A little further on a large tip truck and dirt blower stood sentinel over our passing on each side of the road.
The moonscape was our constant companion on the road to Sheepyard
but it was not long before we had reached the fork in the road where a decision had to be made......left to the Sheepyard Inn or right to The Glengarry Hilton?
The Sheepyard won out. We headed left through Neds (sic) Corner
and continued on, more than encouraged by the invitation which soon appeared in front of us. Those who know me well will appreciate I was in my element here. What a hoot this place is, and it just got better and better.
We pushed on through the bush on a welcome newly graded section of the road (thanks G.G.S.M.A. Inc.)
past a plethora of improbable and completely nonsensical signs
until another row of large mullock heaps
heralded our arrival at the car park of the Sheepyard Inn.
By now we had learnt that nothing gets in the way of mining, and that these watering holes on The Grawin (in this case at Sheepyard) were surrounded by working and old claims.
The Cruiser came to rest at the back (or is it the front?) door of this second of the Pubs in the Scrub.
Fortunately we were not put to the test as we did so!
Here in the open expanses of the bar room
we came across this extraordinary wall feature. The Sheepyard Inn hosts a huge bash every Anzac Day. Veterans come from far and wide to attend the service at the nearby memorial (pictures shortly) and then repair back to the Inn for a much needed fluid replenishment programme. Many leave their names and units for posterity on this ever expanding white board.
This board lines the wall at the far end of the bar room adjacent to the pool table where
I, as one who just loves quirky signs, had a real treat. Look closely....now that's a practical approach to life! Whether or not the offer has been taken up, I cannot say.
As we wandered out to the back beer garden/smoking area, which as you can see is of a considerable size, (everyone smokes here) we lucked upon one of the real locals.
Well, two of them in fact. 'Miss' had to be the most personable red heeler we had ever come across and in no time
she was performing her party trick for us.....leaping up onto a bar stool and posing with her ball. Sadly it was still too early for a beer,
so after admiring a couple of the wall features in this part of the pub we prepared to leave, lamenting the fact that we would not be here on 18 November.
I think I mentioned that the hunt for black opal continues unabated no matter where....this is the view from the rear bar area where the only concession to the proximity of the pub is the safety fence around the shaft!
So off we went again, out past some of the dongas which line the Sheepyard Inn car park and entrance roadway.
We were now heading to the third of these extraordinary watering holes, the Glengarry Hilton, but first we made a stop at the Sheepyard War Memorial about a kilometre or so from the pub.
This is the focal point for the services each Anzac Day where the flag poles stand proud over the rock walls, the old naval shells, and other assorted military odds and sods. And of course, once the formalities have concluded, the hundreds (literally) who gather here each year on 25 April do their best to drink the Sheepyard Inn dry.
My enquiry with the pub staff revealed that the limited accommodation at the Inn is already booked out for 2017! Liz and I have set our sights on being part of the throng, but not until we have an off-road capable van.
The only question now on our minds was, 'would the Glengarry Hilton live up to the standard set?'
We'll let you be the judge.
As we joined the other vehicles in the pub car park
we were amazed to see another much more intrepid traveller arrive. We had read that caravan sites are available at all three of these decidedly different hotels, but this was the first we had seen....and hardly an 'outback' rig. An old van behind a standard ute no less. We did wonder how many of the nuts and bolts on both were still firm!
As we had now come to expect, the bar of the 'Hilton' is quite different but appropriately ramshackle,
as is the indoors dining area complete with the overhead sign proclaiming, in the typical fashion of The Grawin, that this establishment is 'open 8 days a week'!
For us, like most of the other patrons, it was time for lunch. We chose to munch al fresco
and having made our meal selections from the list on the chalk board
Liz dutifully lined up at the ordering counter where service was provided from behind a very necessary fly screen.
Ours was but a modest meal, a ham and tomato jaffle and a bowl of chips, but both were of excellent quality, and from what we spied at other tables, the claim made here that good food is on offer seemed accurate.
And so it was, that with hunger stifled for the time being, we bade farewell to the Glengarry Hilton, rather relieved (?) that we had no need to do so literally. The outside dunnies (no other word fits) here can be most kindly described as 'rustic'.
En route back to Lightning Ridge we did pass another bold soul, braving the roads of The Grawin for an outback adventure with a decided difference. In this case the rig was far more fit for purpose than that we had seen previously.
This had been an incredible day. We returned to The Ridge firm in our resolve to add 'A few nights at the Grawin pubs' to our 'to do list'. But a new, more capable van is of the essence to manage this with any degree of comfort and safety. Time will tell!
