Mind the hole in the ground ... it's a mine

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The kids were up early today, and had the chance to feed the wildlife – Wallabies, cockatoos, and rainbow lorikeets were in abundance. Bailey and Toby both had the birds land on them and feed out of their hand.

We drove to a place called the Miner’s Heritage in Rubyvale. We took a tour of an underground sapphire mine – 45-48 feet underground. It was good to learn how the sapphires are mined, and to see the enthusiasm from the townspeople, as each of the tourist operators was also mining their own claim. Sapphires have only been mined in Qld since 1902. There have been a few major finds, but apart from that, each miner lives in hope. Only 2 operators mine with heavy machinery in a major operation – the rest mine their claim by hand, digging tunnels just big enough to stand up in, following the lines of ‘gravels’ above the granite floor. These people are obsessive about mining their claims, each with a story about how they were close to the big find.

My favourite story was about 'Bomber' who accidentally blew up the side of a pub in 1994. The owners of the pub now give him free beer in return for not blowing up their pub, again.

After the tour, we drove towards Mackay through the Bowen basin. Coal mining here has turned much of the landscape into a drab moon-like scene. All the billboards are aimed at miners, and keeping their interest until they make it to their families in Mackay. Makes me wonder if everything to miners is marketed with scantilly clad women, and would that have an effect on their ability to keep a healthy family atmosphere.

There were also lots of mining ‘camps’ along the way. These seem so temporary, and yet will be there for the durations of the mines (more than 30 years).

Stopped in Mackay, exhausted after the drive.

Song of the day : Canary in a Coal Mine by The Police

New Car Game : How long is that coal train? (answer: 136 carriages)

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