Left Adelaide at 7.45 on Friday and drove to Kapunda for a morning tea stop and a walk around the main streets whilst a mechanical problem on the bus was repaired. Then on to Yunta for lunch and to Broken Hill for three nights at the Mine Host Hotel. On Saturday we had a heritage drive around the town which included visits to the Sacred Heart Cathedral and the Mosque. Lunch was at the headquarters of the Broken Hill Historical Society which was formerly a synagogue where we were also given a description of the restoration work done by the society on the building. After lunch we visited the Visitor Centre and Miners Memorial on the top of the ‘Line of Load’ and then to the Royal Flying Doctor Service for an interesting video and tour of the complex. Dinner at the Legion Club was followed by a delightful talk by Brian Anderson of the Broken Hill Historical Society. On Sunday we inspected the old Sulphide Street Railway, Mineral and Train Museum before doing a guided heritage walk through the town centre. We also saw the City Art Gallery and viewed The Big Picture. In the afternoon some of us went on the South Mine Surface Tour whilst others visited some of the local artists’ galleries. Meeting again at the Historical Photo Gallery we saw a delightful set of old photographs which were on display before driving out of the town to see the Living Desert Sculptures. Dinner was at the Rising Sun Hotel where Vic Zanetti of the Line of Lode Association spoke to us. On Monday we had a very interesting visit to the Trades Hall where Eddie Butcher gave us a good insight into the early living conditions in the town and the history of the conflicts between workers and management. We then left and had lunch again at Yunta before driving home via Hallett where we saw a display on the early exploits of the flying pioneer Sir Hubert Wilkins. The trip was devised by Barbara Parker and David Rogers who then took advantage of the skills and knowledge of Greg Drew who had much to do with the development of recording the history of Broken Hill (all of the Burnside Historical Society).
