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Published: August 12th 2014
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Wednesday 6th August was another cool sunny morning as we packed up the car and caravan and headed away from Red Cliffs. Our journey took us over the NSW border towards Wentworth some 45 klms from Red Cliffs. This was the last town we would encounter until we reached Broken Hill 260 klms further along the Silver City Highway. Along the way we did see many many dead Kangaroos most of whom would have been hit by the many road trains that use the highway especially at night. We did see a couple of live Kangaroos that were hopping along the fence line and we did see lots of Emu's plus lots of Goats and birds of prey.
The Silver City Highway is flat and crosses uninteresting farm land. It does make you realise that you are in the middle of nowhere. About 130 klms north of Wentworth we came to the Coombah road house, a petrol stop and café again in the middle of nowhere and the only place to fill up with petrol (at $1.70 a litre) and have our lunch before heading off on the final 130 klms to Broken Hill.
We reached Broken Hill around
3.00pm or was that 2.30pm? Broken Hill is in NSW but because it is close to the South Australian (SA) border it is actually on SA time which is 30 minutes behind NSW. Very confusing. We found BCA house and after a call to the Revd. Neville Naden about where to park our caravan it was not long before we were set up at the rear of this large accommodation house. Revd. Neville was in Sydney at a conference and was due to return to Broken Hill Thursday morning so we spent the rest of our day relaxing, recovering from the drive and finding our bearings.
Thursday 7th August and after a restful night we awoke to a fine sunny day with the temps expected to be around 20 degrees for the next few days.
After talking with Revd. Neville and after lunch we set of to visit Silverton an original outback town some 25 klms from Broken Hill towards the SA border. Silverton has long been abandoned as a town but has been taken over by art galleries however the original town street has been left as was and it looks like a old movie set.
After looking around Silverton we drove further 5 klms towards the SA border to Mundi Mundi lookout where you can view the landscape where Mad Max was filmed. It's a very desolate place and you can see the South Australian border in the distance.
We then drove a further 5 klms to the end of the bitumen road to the Umberumberka Reservoir, Broken Hills water supply in the middle of the only hills around. It is certainly an oasis in this wilderness and had picnic tables and BBQ's so we sat and had our afternoon tea accompanied by the many flies!!!!! It was then time to head back to BCA house.
Friday 8th August and where is the time going? Well it was another fine sunny day in Broken Hill. After breakfast we headed to the Broken Hill Baptist hall where Revd. Neville holds his Sunday evening services at the 'Living Desert Indigenous Church'. A Working Bee has been organised for tomorrow, Saturday, so Revd. Neville and his wife Kathryn wanted to compile a list of the work that needed to be done and the materials that would be required. After the visit to the hall it was
off for a coffee and a good chat with Revd. Neville & Kathryn. It was great to hear about BCA house, it's involvement in the community, it's involvement in the greater NSW community and also some of the plans for the future especially those concerning the Aboriginal community.
After lunch we took a short drive up to Keenan Lookout which gives a good perspective on how Broken Hill is nestled into the ore mines, the historical reason for Broken Hill.
On
Saturday 9th August we were up bright and early at 5.30am ready to help with the working bee. We started by helping Revd Neville pack the trailer before we headed to the Baptist hall. At around 6.30am we started cooking breakfast for those who had indicated they would help. We cooked the bacon and sausages while someone else cooked the eggs. It was a great breakfast and an opportunity for us to meet members of the congregation.
After breakfast working bee tasks were allocated and we were allocated work in a room that is to be used as a nursery. One panel in a wall was broken and required replacing. Once the panel had been replaced
Broken Hill BCA House
Caravan parked at rear of house we needed to apply a coat of undercoat before applying two coats of Blackboard paint so that the lower half of the wall can be used as a blackboard.
Everyone worked so hard and by 11.00am all the tasks inside and out were finished. We had replaced the panel and filled some holes etc but now had to wait for the filler to dry before proceeding so we headed off to the Saturday community market for a wander around before going back to sand the filler and apply the undercoat.
After lunch it was back to the hall to where we were able to apply the first coat of 'Blackboard Paint' something we had never used before and it did prove a challenge to apply it evenly.
Sunday 10th August was an opportunity for us both to attend the 10.00am Children's Church which is run by Revd. Neville and his wife Kathryn and is held at the Broken Hill Baptist Church. Children's Church is held in a hall at the rear of the Church and was attended by 18 Children, 14 Aboriginal and 4 non Aboriginal. The ages of the children range from a toddler to high
school. Children's Church included lots of singing with an acoustic guitar, a memory test on a Bible verse, a word search competition and a Bible story. The children are divided into teams, Kangaroo, Emu and Goanna and are awarded points during the hour which encourages participation. Another encouragement is paper chains which hang down. Each child has a chain and each week they attend another link is added which includes the weeks Bible verse. The idea is to see who can reach the floor first with there chain. What a great idea.
After all activities are completed the children are served a meal of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and a drink. It was a privilege to be able to sit in and see how some of the young in Broken Hill learn about Jesus.
After Children's Church we went back to the hall to apply the second coat of Blackboard paint to the wall and finish up the Blackboard. We headed back to the hall for the Sunday 'Living Desert Indigenous Church' service at 6.00pm. The service does not follow the lectionary or use prayer books. It is a service of praise through modern hymns accompanied by acoustic
and electric guitars plus electronic drums. The sermon was delivered by Revd. Neville and was based on 2 Corinthians. The service was followed by a cuppa, cake & sandwiches.
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