Road Trip to Mackay

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This year, the Oceania Area Aths Championships are in Mackay from June 7th-11th. We decided to see a bit more of Outback Australia so we set out on Friday to drive to Mackay. We had booked ahead on Booking.com to ensure we had accommodation along the way.



Our first aim was to get to Broken Hill. We left a grey Adelaide about 8-30 and drove via the North/South Expressway to Gawler, stopping at Roseworthy to top up the petrol tank and buy some unappetizing pastries for breakfast. There was very little traffic going our way so it was a relatively easy drive.Once we made the Barrier Highway and lost our radio station, it was on with the audio of Dr No which we had started on our trip to Canberra. The main hassles were road works, which seemed to be occurring every few kilometres. We swapped drivers after a couple of hours and as it was coming up to lunch time thought we would stop at Yunta. Yunta, though, had nothing, so on to the next place which we thought at least had a pub but this proved to be closed. By 1-30 we pulled up outside the Olary Hotel which had a large OPEN sign and promised coffee. Inside, the landlady greeted us warmly and when we asked about food, pointed to a menu. Fletcher had a ham,tomato and cheese toasted sandwich and I had an egg and bacon muffin. While these were being made Fletcher had a beer while I settled for coffee. Janne, the land lady, started chatting and she was very pleasant. We talked about travel, why she had bought the hotel and ideas about the locale and the outback. The food was delicious and my coffee, restorative. Janne was a great conversationalist and interested in all the places we had travelled. After a pleasant 45 minutes or so we were back on the road.



We finished listening to Dr No just before we reached Broken Hill. We found our motel easily and booked into the Comfort Inn Crystal, next to the railway station and looking out to the mine and its tailings.After we had settled in we walked down to Argent St the main street of the city, and wandered along looking at the shops. We found some of the main civic buildings, the old Town Hall, the Courthouse, the Police Station and the War Memorial. We stopped to have a beer in the Palace Hotel. This was the one featured in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and was certainly using that fame for its decorations and theme.Returning to the motel we rested and then decided to visit the Broken Hill Musicians Club for dinner. This club is like the RSL clubs or Footy clubs in other states where you can temporarily join and use their Bistro and Bar etc. We ordered food here. I had fish and chips and Fletcher had a seafood curry. We then went back to our room , had a glass of wine and then to bed.

On Saturday morning we decided to go to the Sulphide St Railway Museum. On the map it looked like a short walk, however, we turned right instead of left and had to retrace our steps. By the time we arrived we were struggling. But, it was worth it. This contains, not only railway memorabilia, but a Migration Museum, a Hospital Museum, several trains including a Silver City Comet and other memoribilia relating to the wars and the royal family. We started in the rail section, looking through the exhibits. I was most interested in the cabinet which detailed the attack on a picnic train in 1915 by two local Turks. My father had always told me the story as my grandfather is supposed to have been in the vicinty of the shooting. Amusingly, there was a copy of a report about the incident which appeared in a German newspaper which stated that 40 troops had been killed in Broken Hill, a seaport on the west coast of Australia!! You can't trust newspapers.



Outside were several old engines with carriages. We explored these, climbing up onto the engines and walking through the carriages. The last Silver City Comet was also there and , again, it was fascinating to wander through and see what was ultra modern in the "50s. From there we explored the other areas, finding various points of interest. I was taken by a replica of the Coronation carriage while Fletcher was captured by the first ambulance in Broken Hill.

After a pleasant couple of hours there we walked back to Argent St but found the pubs opened at 12 so we walked back to the motel, got the car and drove up to the Line of Lode. This has a memorial to all the miners who died working at the mine and sits high above the town, affording excellent views of the surrounding area. It was very cold and windy up there but the names of the miners with a rose next to their names were a stark reminder of how hard mining is. After stopping on the way down to look at the old BHP mine site we drove back into town and to the Palace Hotel for lunch. This place is curious. As it was the setting for scenes in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert it celebrates all things Drag Queen. The ceiling of the dining room has paintings of Adam and Eve and other pictures. Fletcher had fish and chips while I had a nice Chicken and sun-dried tomato filo pastry and salad. They were showing the football on the big screen, but it was the SANFL, not the Crows.

We then drove to the Pro Hart Gallery. I have always loved his outback scenes with those distinctive trees and stick like figures. The Gallery is housed in a pleasant looking building and as we walked down the drive the first exhibits are 3 Rolls Royces and a Bentley. One of the Rolls is painted in his inimitable style. Inside there are three floors of his work and the range of styles he dabbled with. The vividness of his colours and interesting motifs like masks and headless miners caught our attention and we enjoyed looking at the variety and mastery of the works. Downstairs there was a video playing about his life and we sat and watched for a while. Then we explored the downstairs gallery and I loved a full sweep of wall which was covered with various outback scenes. I wish I could have afforded to buy one of his works which were on sale in the shop area but alas, way out of reach. We then went across the road to a small park where some of his sculptures were on display. This showed a different slant on his talents.

We returned to the motel for a rest and found that Channel 7 were replaying the Crows game so we happily rested and watched the footy. Nice to get a win for a change. For dinner we had booked that morning to go to the Old Salt Bush Restaurant. This had been a recommendation from Norm on Facebook as the owner was a member of La Chaines. She had squeezed us in as she had been fully booked but Norm's name ensured we were welcome. This was only a couple of minutes walk so we arrived there easily at 7pm. Lee Cecchin is the owner and she greeted us warmly and chatted at our table. The menu is certainly a cut above the schnitzels and fish and chips offered by most eateries here. We started with a tasting platter incorporating many bush foods, emu pies,lemon myrtle hommus, kangaroo and little quiches with native tomato and mushroom and warrigal tarts. Very tasty and each one an unique flavour. We followed that with entree size confit of quail and gin cured salmon which were both delicious. A Wooly Villain reisling from Gumeracha was a great acompaniment . Lee came over several times to talk about the food and the other waiting staff were very friendly . The place was full and I can understand why! To finish we had some cheeses and a lovely rose. Lee also brought us over a glass of mucat each. All very delicious and unlike most outback town food. We have booked already for our return visit on the 17th. What a great way to end an interesting day!!

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