Broken Hill Real Estate Debate

Typical miner's cottages

Real Estate
Take another look at my article on real estate which I published on 31 October 2012 see link here. It seems one anonymous reader has strong views on the subject. See what the nameless 'commentator' had to say and my response, and let me know if you have anything to add to the discussion.

I know I am certainly still house hunting up in Broken Hill for my "country pad".

Cheers, Jane D

Broken Hill's Summer Vibes Festival ends today

Back from left me, Susan Thomas and
Jeanette Wormald with Kat in front

Entertainment
I am just home from the final day of the 'Summer Vibes Festival' and had a lot of fun. I met many people including special guest actor Tony Bonner and caught up with a number of locals too. A beautiful full moon shone down upon the good sized crowd as some short films produced by ABC Open's Jenia Ratcliffe and the feature film 'The Castle' (1997) screened.

I will report further details shortly and also post some more photos.

Enjoy the day off tomorrow for Australia Day.

Cheers, Jane D

Happy Australia Day 2013 and congratulations to award recipients

Happy Australia Day to everyone in Broken Hill, Melbourne and across Australia. Australia is a great country. We Australians are very lucky.

Congratulations to Ita Buttrose AO OBE (media icon) - Australian of the Year 2013.

Shane Phillips, Akram Azimi, Prime Minister Julia Gillard (centre),
Ita Buttrose and Professor Ian Maddocks courtesy www.australianoftheyear.org.au

Congratulations also to Senior Australian of the Year Professor Ian Maddocks AM (pallliative care specialist), Young Australian of the Year Akram Azimi (mentor) and Australia's Local Hero Shane Phillips (indigenous leader).

Margaret Corradini
photo courtesty Gavin Schmidt
Barrier Daily Truth

Broken Hill
Margaret Corradini was awarded the Broken Hill Citizen of the Year so congratulations are due to Margaret, well done.

Margaret is the President of the St Patrick's Race Club, and has held this position since 2001. She is an avid and dedicated volunteer with a long history of representing the community via numerous organisations.

Enjoy that lovely long weekend.

Cheers, Jane D

Summer Vibes Festival continues tonight Friday 18 January 2013

Entertainment

The Patton Village 'Summer Vibes Festival' continues tonight with film, a live band, markets, etc... Sounds like a lot of fun and definitely worth attending.

Date:     18 January 2013

Time:     from 6.00pm.
              The feature film "Liquid Bridge"
               (an entry in the '48Hr EcoFilm Challenge')
               is scheduled to commence at 8.30pm

Venue:   Patton Village, Patton Street, South Broken Hill

For more details on tonight's program see the link here.

Website:                www.summervibes.org.au

The whole 'Summer Vibes Festival' runs from 30 November 2012 - 27 January 2013 and as well as film, the festival includes markets, art and music.  See also my earlier post regarding the festival here.

I wish I could be there, but am back home in not quite so hot Melbourne. Enjoy, cheers, Jane D

Broken Hill and FIFO (fly in fly out) workers

Poppet Head on the Line of Lode

Mining Industry
Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) mine workers are a big issue Australia wide at the moment so what is happening in Broken Hill on that front? For starters the FIFO lifestyle is widely recognised as having a significant impact on the miner or other type of FIFO worker and their family's lives. It is difficult to cope with long periods apart from loved ones even though there is good money to be earned.

A great deal has been written about this subject, much of it negative. Broken Hill however is seen in a relatively good light for FIFO workers as it is an excellent, friendly, well serviced city in which to reside whilst working in the local mines or other fields which use FIFO workers. Broken Hill is quite unlike some of the more remote mining areas and towns which lack the significant cultural side that Broken Hill enjoys.

As I am no expert on the subject however, other than to understand the difficulties I mentioned above, I have instead listed some links to sites below that cover the topic more thoroughly.

• For starters, the topic is considered so serious that there is a Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into the subject which is being chaired by Federal Independent MP Tony Windsor. At the time of writing this article there were 231 submissions on the subject and the final report is still to be tabled in Parliament.
• ABC News article 18 April 2012, which refers to the Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into FIFO, and refers to comments by the inquiry's chair Federal Independent MP Tony Windsor's regarding the positives of Broken Hill, as well as comments from a Broken Hill FIFO worker Jac McLaurin, who seems quite happy with life in Broken Hill.
• www.miningoilandgasjobs.com article on FIFO also looks an interesting read. 

I am sure there many more articles that Google etc... can 'dig up' (excuse the pun) about this often controversial subject.

For your reference there are a number of large mining companies operating in and around Broken Hill, plus a number of other mid size and smaller players at the moment. The big 'names' in Broken Hill right now are Perilya Limited, CBH Resources Limited and Cristal Mining Australia Limited (Cristal) which was known as Bemax Resources Limited prior to 1 October 2012. Carpentaria Exploration Limited is also active in the region.

As mentioned above, mining is not the only industry to have FIFO workers. For example, Jac McLaurin referred to above in the ABC article works in a field which services both the mining and other industries.

Deb Hunt (left) with Kylee
Mitchell "Short and Sweet"
regional director, courtesy BDT

FIFO and Film/Live Theatre
On another directly related note, local Broken Hill writer Deb Hunt was one of four successful NSW entrants in the recent regional play festival "Short and Sweet". She was flown to Sydney last week to see the performance of her play "Clean Sweep", which came second in the audience vote and just missed out on a place in the final. It is the first play Deb has written.

Prior to her Sydney trip, Deb's play was well received in Broken Hill where it won "Best Script", "People's Choice" and "Best Production".

Here is a link to an article about Deb and her play from the 'Barrier Daily Truth' (BDT).

I hope I will have the opportunity to see the show sometime. It's theme is related to FIFO.

Cheers, Jane D

Broken Hill visitor information recent snapshot + where it began for me

Snippet
The Big Chair / Bench / Seat in Broken Hill is 2.5 times bigger that your usual seat/park bench. It is painted red and lives on top of the Line of Lode. You can enjoy a great view across Broken Hill from up there. Check it out. It is also a good photo opportunity spot.

The "Big Bench" and me with part of Broken Earth Complex
(left) and Miner's Memorial (centre)

The "Big Bench" and me, yes it is 'big'

There are a couple of photos of me with it here from my visit earlier in the week. Two structures are visible behind me. The one on the far left is part of the Broken Earth Complex and the one to my immediate left is the Miner's Memorial. All three are worth checking out. The Bench was erected in September 2002 as part of the 'Landscapes and Backgrounds' exhibition*.
(*source wikipedia)

Review
I have written more than 100 articles over the last 13 months so there is a lot to look at if this is your first visit to www.ilovebrokenhill.com.

For this reason, I've put together some links to a few of the articles which are all relevant to what's on right now in Broken Hill. Even the final two links listed are, I believe, still useful and current, as they will give you a good feel of the city and surrounds to help you know what to expect when you arrive in Broken Hill (which I hope you do!).

Entertainment

Summer School Holidays in Broken Hill (posted 28 December 2012)

http://www.ilovebrokenhill.com/2012/12/summer-school-holidays-in-broken-hill.html

Enterprise
See It My Way App worth a look (posted 31 December 2012)

http://www.ilovebrokenhill.com/2012/12/see-it-my-way-app-for-broken-hill-worth.html

Tourism
Broken Hill Visitor Information new website launched 18.12.2012 (posted 21 December 2012)

http://www.ilovebrokenhill.com/2012/12/broken-hill-visitor-information-new.html

Reminder of big events still on this January 2013 (including one on until 3 February)

Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery

404-408 Argent Street, Broken Hill
Three Special Exhibitions now on a Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery

http://www.ilovebrokenhill.com/2012/11/three-special-exhibitions-now-on-at.html

Patton Village
Patton Street Park (opposite the shops), South Broken Hill
Summer VibesFestival 30.11.12-27.01.13 Sth Broken Hill

http://www.ilovebrokenhill.com/2012/11/patton-village-summer-vibes-festival.html

Albert Kersten Mining and Minerals Museum (GeoCentre)
Corner Crystal and Bromide Streets, Broken Hill

The Odditoreum exhibition now on in Broken Hill

http://www.ilovebrokenhill.com/2012/11/odd-in-broken-hill-powerhouse-museums.html

Broken Hill Station with Miner's Memorial, Broken Earth Complex and Line of Lode in background

Now, on a more personal note -

A little bit of shameless self promotion for this next article –

www.ilovebrokenhill.com blogger Jane Deany aka me makes the news! (posted 28 October 2012)

http://www.ilovebrokenhill.com/2012/10/wwwilovebrokenhillcom-blogger-jane.html

And finally,

My passion for Broken Hill, where it all began for me (links to the first two posts!)

Broken Hill or bust .. the first trip … 2002 (posted 8 December 2011)

http://www.ilovebrokenhill.com/2011/12/broken-hill-or-bust.html

2005 and I've returned to Broken Hill at last (posted 15 December 2011)
(this was my 2nd trip, more photos and more of a sense of Broken Hill with this, my 2nd post) -

http://www.ilovebrokenhill.com/2011/12/i-have-returned-to-hill-again-yeah.html

Okay, that’s enough reminiscing for today.

Cheers, Jane D

A conversation with Broken Hill artist Karrie Lannstrom

Artist Profile (Art Scene)
I was delighted to chat to local broken Hill artist Karrie Lannstrom earlier this week on my recent visit to Broken Hill.

Tangerine Dreaming at
the Junction Mine in the
Summer of 09' by
Karrie Lannstrom

Karrie is a member of Gaara Arts Inc (Gaara). She is a prolific artist who still practices as a "hobbyist" and has never been a professional artist, although from the work I've seen, she certainly could be a professional artist.

Karrie is also a committee member of the Broken Hill Art Advisory Committee. Her work has been exhibited in the annual Lifeline exhibition in Broken Hill for a number of years.

Karrie has held a solo show of 22 pieces at the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery in October 2010. The title of that exhibition was "Dust to Rust - Impressions of the Hill". There is a piece of her work (from that exhibition) available for purchase at the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery right now which I admired before I realised it was one of her works. It is a lovely piece and is titled 'Sturt Peas Dancing Late @ Night in the Hill.'

I first met Karrie in October 2012 at the "Hidden Carers, Hidden Talents" exhibition which I wrote about at the time, see link here to that article. The exhibition was timed to coincide with Carers Week.

If I had a gallery, which I might one day, I would love to represent Karrie's beautiful, rich, textured works.

Cheers, Jane D

Driving to Broken Hill in summer and year round

Weather, wildlife (and friendly locals)
In a post a few days ago I mentioned the heat wave and high temperatures in and around Broken Hill at the moment and how important it is to have plenty of water with you in these extremely hot conditions.

Kangaroos and joey, courtesy
www.wikipedia.org

One thing I would like to add is that if your car did happen to break down en route to or from Broken Hill (or anywhere in the outback for that matter), you should stay with your car, not walk off looking for a farmhouse or similar as it's quite easy to get lost. If people are looking for you, it is much easier to spot a vehicle than a person.

Kangaroos and other wildlife etc...
While I'm on the driving subject, another thing to remember is that if you are on the road, try and avoid driving at dusk or dawn as that's when kangaroos and other wild life become very active and they can and do hop, run and walk onto roads. Night driving is also risky as the wildlife are still active and visibility is of course poor.

Friendly locals ...
I'll finish now on a much more positive note. A really nice thing I find about driving to and from Broken Hill is that after you leave Wentworth and 'hit' the open road heading towards Broken Hill (and of course on the return trip too), the majority of drivers you encounter, give you a little friendly 'finger' wave as they acknowledge you passing by. I reciprocate of course. It's one of those friendly touches you will notice on your travels in more remote areas of the Australian outback.

Stay safe, enjoy your trip, cheers, Jane D

Weather in Broken Hill can sometimes be hot, very hot ... like now!

Weather
Broken Hill and quite a lot of central Australia is about to have a run of really hot weather.  First up I should mention, make sure you have plenty of water with you, on your person and in your car if you are travelling by car.  Don't underestimate the fact that people can and do die of dehydration in very hot weather.  I don't want to scare you, but I do want you to be prepared so you won't have any problems.

Please see the link to www.weatherzone.com.au and here for the latest information on the weather in Broken Hill.

50 m pool at Broken Hill
Regional Aquatic Centre
courtesy www.visitnsw.com

In a nutshell, from Friday 4 January through to Wednesday 9 January 2013, the temperatures are forecast to be reach 43c, 44c, 43c, 43c, 42c, and wow, a bit cooler for the 9th at 40c.  Now that's hot!  There are plenty of cool places to hang out, there aren't many places in Broken Hill that don't have air conditioning.

Another great place to consider would of course be the new Regional Aquatic Centre which is corner McCulloch and Radium Streets.  I can't guarantee it won't be popular and a bit crowded, but it does include a fabulous new 50 metre pool as part of the complex.

Stay cool (if you can) and stay safe.

Cheers, Jane D

Happy New Year Broken Hill

photo courtesy
www.commons.wikipedia.org 

Happy New Year to everyone in Broken Hill, Melbourne and everywhere else.

I hope 2013 is a wonderful year for you all filled with good health, fun, success and happiness.

Cheers, Jane D