Is the end in sight for www.ilovebrokenhill.com?

I've always loved this photo of me
with one of the sculptures from the
Living Desert Sculpture Symposium
at sunset New Years Eve 2005-06

The romance may not be over, but sometimes ... well ... breaks are necessary. Even endings are needed. After all, stories usually do come to an end.

Next week is www.ilovebrokenhill.com 's two and a half year anniversary.

Separation is coming.

60,000 visitors have checked out the site, not inconsiderable.

Lots is happening in Broken Hill, but there are many other places and things to spend my writing and research energy upon.

I actually have another blog/website project which I began on 1 January this year. It's called www.coworkingiscool.com . The title may tell you, I'm pretty keen on coworking. I have written about coworking on www.ilovebrokenhill.com , see link to these posts here 8 October 2013 and 8 November 2013. I was focusing on how coworking could benefit regional areas such as Broken Hill.

There may be life yet in www.ilovebrokenhill.com after my break, it may not be over yet. After all, when the subject is Broken Hill, I can always find something to write about.

I'm pondering a potentially final post, and maybe a few others before then.

I've had many story ideas, and there are still plenty of possibilities. There's always something going on in beautiful fascinating Broken Hill.

Difficult decisions to be made. Letting go is hard!

Cheers, Jane Deany

Outback Astronomy - starry skies shine in Broken Hill

Outback Astronomy delivers personal, guided night sky experiences in Broken Hill

'Outback Astronomy' is a pilot business which began providing night sky astronomy shows in March 2014.

The inaugural night sky presentation was attended by students from the Mornington Peninsula.

Eager star gazers - image courtesy
Linda Nadge from Outback Astronomy's Facebook page

The feedback from the Year 11 and 12 students and their teachers was overwhelmingly positive.

Since then, night sky shows have been scheduled on a regular basis, and are advertised on the website www.outbackastronomy.com.au.

This pilot business seeks to develop astro-tourism in Broken Hill, featuring a variety of experiences and themed night sky shows.

At present, night sky viewing is done mostly with the naked eye. Yes, the sky is that dark that you can still see stars filling the vast outback skies!

Binocular assisted viewing is also pursued to demonstrate the contrast in observing. It’s terrific to see people visibly moved by the magnificence of what they see with just a little boost in magnifying power.

There are plans to add in powerful telescopes when a permanent observatory structure is built.

The viewing is conducted on the edge of Broken Hill at the race course. The business plans to build an observatory and other facilities at this sight. An architect is currently designing the facility.

"It’s terrific to see people visibly moved by

 the magnificence of what they see ..."

Eager star gazers - image
courtesy Linda Nadge from
Outback Astronomy's Facebook page

As the business owner, I am looking forward to implementing a broad business plan over the next several years.

The naked eye and binocular assisted sky viewing is therefore the pilot business which is designed to prove many of the underlying business assumptions.

Since the first paid guests attended our sky shows, the feedback has continued to be extremely positive.

A variety of sky shows have now been developed, including one that targets young children, from 5 years to 12 years.

The sky shows are designed for the night sky novice.

This article was written by -

Linda Nadge, owner - Outback Astronomy

Linda kindly accepted my offer to write a guest blog post.

This is the first guest post on www.ilovebrokenhill.com

Thanks very much Linda for writing this article and telling us about your very exciting new Broken Hill business that you are in the process of creating.

Cheers, Jane Deany

Broken Hill Mining news-Resources Investment Symposium 2014 kicks off this week

Mining Industry
The 4th annual Resources Investment Symposium (RIS) for 2014 is on again in Broken Hill from May 25-28.  The inaugural event was held in Broken Hill in 2011 and seems set to be be a permanent fixture as an annual Broken Hill event.

The Twitter hashtag for the event is #RIS2014.

RIS2014 will showcase ASX-listed resource companies presenting their investment stories alongside renowned industry leaders and experts, from Australia and across the world, giving their insights into world markets, companies that should be on your radar and more.

A number of high profile speakers will be providing keynote speeches.  Big names include, Tony Locantro - Founder & Managing Director, Locantro Capital and author - Locantro's Life Speculative Investment Newsletter. Tony also featured last year.

Here's an interview of Tony Locantro by Kerry Stevenson, MD of Symposium.

Other high profile speakers include -

Leigh Clifford

Chairman, QANTAS

Prof. Henry Ergas

Economist and columnist for The Australian

The Hon. Ian Macfarlane

Minister for Industry, Australian Federal Government

Tim Goldsmith

Partner, Global Mining Leader, PWC

Trevor Sykes

Finance Journalist & Author, Australian Financial Review - Smart Investor

Dr Paul Heithersay

Deputy Chief Executive, Resources & Energy

Gary Cochrane

Managing Director, Resource Management International

Stephen Galilee

Chief Executive Officer, NSW Minerals Council

Paul Dowd

Non-Executive Director, Oz Minerals

Michael Grant

Tax Consulting Partner, BDO East Coast Partnership

John Roskam

Executive Director, Institute of Public Affairs

Dr Neil Williams

Former Chief Executive Officer, Geoscience Australia

Hedley Widdup

Manager, Lion Selection Group

For more details about the event including a detailed program of events, go to the RIS website www.symposium.net.au .

The three and a half day event kicks off at 10.30am on Sunday 25 May with the Outback Golf Challenge followed by evening social activities at the Broken Hill Golf & Country Club, and the serious stuff (although I hear golf can be pretty serious) starts Monday from 8am. The event ends Wednesday 28th around lunchtime.

I'm glad to see there will be at least two female presenters, who will appear on the final morning -

10am  Industry Presentation: Kate Hine, Geophysics Consultant,
Mitre Geophysics; who'll speak about -

Advances in geophysical technology for modern exploration companies

11am Industry Presentation: Sue Border, Principal Geologist
Geos Mining Minerals Consultants; who'll speak about -

JORC 2012 and shareholder communications

I am sure it will be a highly informative and fascinating event, with a bit of fun thrown into the mix as well.  I've heard great things about the previous three year's events, and the 2014 event is shaping up to be another success.

For my posts on the 2012 and 2013 events, see links to my posts here - 18 May 2013 and 18 May 2012.

Have a great time, cheers, Jane D

White Ribbon and BraveHearts promoted in Broken Hill on 22 May 2014

Domestic violence survivor, Marie Louise is flying around regional Australia to promote the very important work of White Ribbon Australia and Bravehearts organisations which aim to stop violence against women and child sexual assault respectively.

Marie Louise will pilot a light aircraft RV6 2 seater with her friend Bill, and aims to raise $5000.

I found out about the trip via Twitter -

@BDtruth - We thought this would make a great local story ... Fundraiser flying into #BrokenHill on May 22! http://t.co/8Juim8EcuU
— White Ribbon (@WhiteRibbonAust) April 30, 2014

and I also read the article about Marie Louise published in the Barrier Daily Truth on 29 April 2014. She had just visited the city a couple of days earlier on her journey, which she will wrap up by returning to Broken Hill on 22 May 2014.

Itinerary -

Tentative dates based on weather

Broken Hill   27 April

Coober Pedy   28 April

Ayers Rock   29 April

Warburton   1 May

Meekatharra   2 May

Exmouth  3 May

Shark Bay  4 May

Exmouth  5 May

Kalbari   7 May

Geraldton  8 May

Rottnest  9 May

Busselton  11-13 May

Augusta  14 May

Albany  15 May

Esperance  17 May

Caiguna  18 May

Eucia  19 May

Nullarbor

Ceduna  20 May

Port Augusta  21 May

Broken Hill  22 May 

Marie Louise has a website and blog which you can find here www.worldswithinworlds.com.au

I congratulate her on her important fund raising and awareness raising trip.

Safe travels and I wish you success in your mission Marie Louise.

Jane Deany