As Gary said I got my marriage certificate (thank you to Gary's parents for sending it), so after a bit of hassle (but not too much), I was able to get registered in the good state of Victoria. Working at a nursing agency here in Melbourne has so far proven to be quite different than it was in Perth. In Perth there was a lot of butt kissing going on which was nice since it was my butt being kissed. "Sure Tracie...Whatever you want Tracie..." Here they don't hide the fact that they're inconvenienced when I tell them I do or don't want to work. Anyway, time will tell how they are to work for. So far not so good though because my very first shift which was supposed to be last night got cancelled. Oh well, c'est la vie.
The nice thing on the other hand is that this agency has a couple of houses which they rent out to their out of town nurses. A few days after coming to Melbourne, we moved into the Miller house - so called because it's on Miller Street. It's quite spectacular, especially compared to the flat we were renting in Perth. The living room has massively high ceilings, there are four beds, two baths a courtyard in front and a little patio area in back. Seven of us live here in total...There's Me, Gary & Julie from Canada and Lynsey, Chris, Clare & Vivian from the UK. Everyone but Gary is a nurse. We have all gotten along fabulously, going out together every day and every evening. It's been really fun for us to have 5 new instant friends. I've posted a few pics of the appartment on flickr. This is a pano of our living room.
Melbourne so far has been ok. To be completely honest, we didn't know what to expect when we got here so we were neither disappointed nor pleasantly surprised. We've just been muddling around. The weather here isn't as nice as Perth...about 10 degrees colder actually...but I won't complain about weather for the sake of all of my Canadian readers. The view of the city from the Yarra river is spectacular, especially at night when all the lights are reflecting, but so far I haven't gone down at night to take photos. You can walk along the river on palm tree lined walkways take in the beauty of the city. My friend said he figured it was more beautiful than Sydney...they just need the opera house. People here have been really nice, although they have been everywhere in Australia so far. (Except the guy in Adelaide who tried to run us over...when Aussies get behind the wheel, watch out!) They have thicker accents in Melbourne than they do in Perth and at first we found them much harder to understand, although it's getting easier now.
Yesterday Julie, Lynsey, Gary and I went to the top of the Melbourne Obsevation Deck which is on the 55th floor of Rialto Towers downtown. You get a nice 360 degree view of the city, which is quite beautiful. After that we went down to the Old Melbourne Gaol which is the jail where Ned Kelly was hanged, which is now just a tourist attraction.
We are slowly getting to see the city, although we are supposed to leave in less than two weeks, so it's all going so fast and I'm sure we won't get everything in that we want to.
Well...so far I am scheduled to work tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Life In Melbourne
Tracie got everything with her Victora nursing registration worked out yesterday after our marriage certificate arrived. She is schedueled to work night shifts for a week starting today.
This morning, we went to the lookout deck of the tallest office building in the southern hemisphere. It costs $13.50, but luckily they have a backpacker discount which brought the price down by $2.00. I'm still not sure if it was worth it, but at least is was something to do.
After lunch Tracie and two of our nurse roommates went to the old Melbourne Gaol. It's where they hanged Ned Kelly. They wanted $12.50 to get in so I decided not to go even though Tracie and her friends went. It seems to me that they should be thrown into their own jail for charing $12.50 to get in. I figure that maybe if they caught me shoplifting something, I could probably get a free tour of a new jail but I didn't want to take a chance on being too good a criminal and actually making it out of the gift shop with a Ned Kelly puppet and not getting a free jail tour.
In anycase, it seemes to me that almost everything in Perth was free and that almost everything here in Melbourne costs $12.50+.
I'm looking for a job today, but I feel bad telling restauranteurs that I'm planning on being here several months when in fact we are only planning on being here for two weeks. It not only is an outright lie, it seems dishonest. Although I'm pretty sure no one wants to hire someone for only two weeks. I wish I had a job where I could work for 8 hours and then move on and they love you for it like Tracie can.
Anyway, look for new pictures on flickr in a day or two.
-Gary Milner
This morning, we went to the lookout deck of the tallest office building in the southern hemisphere. It costs $13.50, but luckily they have a backpacker discount which brought the price down by $2.00. I'm still not sure if it was worth it, but at least is was something to do.
After lunch Tracie and two of our nurse roommates went to the old Melbourne Gaol. It's where they hanged Ned Kelly. They wanted $12.50 to get in so I decided not to go even though Tracie and her friends went. It seems to me that they should be thrown into their own jail for charing $12.50 to get in. I figure that maybe if they caught me shoplifting something, I could probably get a free tour of a new jail but I didn't want to take a chance on being too good a criminal and actually making it out of the gift shop with a Ned Kelly puppet and not getting a free jail tour.
In anycase, it seemes to me that almost everything in Perth was free and that almost everything here in Melbourne costs $12.50+.
I'm looking for a job today, but I feel bad telling restauranteurs that I'm planning on being here several months when in fact we are only planning on being here for two weeks. It not only is an outright lie, it seems dishonest. Although I'm pretty sure no one wants to hire someone for only two weeks. I wish I had a job where I could work for 8 hours and then move on and they love you for it like Tracie can.
Anyway, look for new pictures on flickr in a day or two.
-Gary Milner
Monday, November 28, 2005
Margaret River
The shire of Augusta-Margaret River is a short drive from Perth through Bunbury and Busselton, offering some of the most picturesque scenery in Western Australia. Margaret River town is situated on the banks of the Margaret River approximately 10kms from the ocean, and lies amidst lush green pastures and forests.
The development of Margaret River can be attributed to the Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920's, when some 100 settlers found themselves setting up industries with the assistance of the Government Scheme.
Today the town rests in the heart of the state's largest premium wine producing region. This, combined with the stunning natural surroundings, supports a thriving tourism industry attracting visitors from all over the world.
As a result of its popularity, there has also been an influx of added attractions and facilities created in the area to meet the guests every whim.
When we got there we went to the visitors center and Tracie asked one of the girls what the best thing to do if you only had half a day and didn't drink wine was. For some reason this rattled the girl and she became visibly nervous. Maybe it's because the only thing there is to do here that isn't anywhere else are the wineries.
We settled on seeing one of the caves. The Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge is scattered with over 350 limestone caves. Six of these have been developed into major public attractions, all of which are on the Caves Road.
Visitors are encouraged to start their discovery of the regional caves with a tour of the Cave Works Interpretive Center at the Lake Cave site. There they have interactive displays, a crawl-through cave model, and an amazing outside viewing platform which looks down into the cave.
Lake cave, which recently celebrated its 100th year as a tourist cave, has been entirely relit to fully show off its delicate formations and famous reflective lake.
The next morning we went to the mouth of the Margaret River to see the beach and to do a little body boarding. The Margaret River area has some of the best surfing in WA. The waves were pretty small while we were there, only a meter and a half at maximum, but they were really fun. The beach had a very shallow incline and so the rides were a lot longer than they would have been at a beach in Perth. I can see what a big difference good waves make on how much fun you can have.
We stopped at a chocolate factory on our way home but it was pretty disappointing. There were no Ommpa Loompas, and it was more of a chocolate store than anything else. I didn't feel like spending an arm and a leg to buy a few tiny pieces of chocolate. I would probably skip the chocolate factory if I had it to do over again.
We made it back to Perth but were an hour late taking the van back to the rental place. They were good about it and didn't charge us a late fee.
This trip has put both Tracie and I into a vacationing mood. We feel like we are having a trip instead of just working and living in a new place.
The development of Margaret River can be attributed to the Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920's, when some 100 settlers found themselves setting up industries with the assistance of the Government Scheme.
Today the town rests in the heart of the state's largest premium wine producing region. This, combined with the stunning natural surroundings, supports a thriving tourism industry attracting visitors from all over the world.
As a result of its popularity, there has also been an influx of added attractions and facilities created in the area to meet the guests every whim.
When we got there we went to the visitors center and Tracie asked one of the girls what the best thing to do if you only had half a day and didn't drink wine was. For some reason this rattled the girl and she became visibly nervous. Maybe it's because the only thing there is to do here that isn't anywhere else are the wineries.
We settled on seeing one of the caves. The Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge is scattered with over 350 limestone caves. Six of these have been developed into major public attractions, all of which are on the Caves Road.
Visitors are encouraged to start their discovery of the regional caves with a tour of the Cave Works Interpretive Center at the Lake Cave site. There they have interactive displays, a crawl-through cave model, and an amazing outside viewing platform which looks down into the cave.
Lake cave, which recently celebrated its 100th year as a tourist cave, has been entirely relit to fully show off its delicate formations and famous reflective lake.
The next morning we went to the mouth of the Margaret River to see the beach and to do a little body boarding. The Margaret River area has some of the best surfing in WA. The waves were pretty small while we were there, only a meter and a half at maximum, but they were really fun. The beach had a very shallow incline and so the rides were a lot longer than they would have been at a beach in Perth. I can see what a big difference good waves make on how much fun you can have.
We stopped at a chocolate factory on our way home but it was pretty disappointing. There were no Ommpa Loompas, and it was more of a chocolate store than anything else. I didn't feel like spending an arm and a leg to buy a few tiny pieces of chocolate. I would probably skip the chocolate factory if I had it to do over again.
We made it back to Perth but were an hour late taking the van back to the rental place. They were good about it and didn't charge us a late fee.
This trip has put both Tracie and I into a vacationing mood. We feel like we are having a trip instead of just working and living in a new place.
Melbourne
Things here in Melbourne are OK.
Actually things in Melbourne are getting a lot better. The marriage certificate arrived today a little after the rest of the mail.
Tracie is in the process of getting her registration and if all goes well, she will have her first shift tomorrow.
-Gary Milner
Actually things in Melbourne are getting a lot better. The marriage certificate arrived today a little after the rest of the mail.
Tracie is in the process of getting her registration and if all goes well, she will have her first shift tomorrow.
-Gary Milner
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Travel Nursing in Victoria, Australia
The other day Tracie went in to the Victoria Nursing Board to get her registration done so that she could get working right away. She had her old nursing agency send all her information to a the nursing agency here in Melbourne, Australian Nursing Solutions. She was planning on working within the first three days.
It turns out that it is a rule here in Victoria that you have to show them a pile of identification knee deep. All of Tracie's information is in her married name except her birth certificate. Which means that she also has to show her marriage certificate. Even though she is registered in two other states here in Australia. They just won't believe her or the other states.
Mutual recognition doesn't really mean much to them, I guess. We almost left that day to go to Sydney just to avoid the hassle. In any case we thought it over and discussed it over lunch and decided to have my mother send it to us and emailed her the request.
We called them and they said they had sent it, which was very nice of them. There were two options one for about $40 and one for $57 or something like that which would have been three days faster. Three days of work is significantly more than the $20 we saved. In fact it would have been worth it to pay $200 for to get it here one day quicker.
The agency here has been very nice and accomodating to us so far, as have been everyone at all the nursing agencies that we have seen so far including the nursing boards in Western Australia and New South Wales.
-Gary Milner
It turns out that it is a rule here in Victoria that you have to show them a pile of identification knee deep. All of Tracie's information is in her married name except her birth certificate. Which means that she also has to show her marriage certificate. Even though she is registered in two other states here in Australia. They just won't believe her or the other states.
Mutual recognition doesn't really mean much to them, I guess. We almost left that day to go to Sydney just to avoid the hassle. In any case we thought it over and discussed it over lunch and decided to have my mother send it to us and emailed her the request.
Thanks in advance for doing it. I don't know what it will cost to send urgently, but just pay whatever gets it here the fastest and you can take the money from my bank account.
We called them and they said they had sent it, which was very nice of them. There were two options one for about $40 and one for $57 or something like that which would have been three days faster. Three days of work is significantly more than the $20 we saved. In fact it would have been worth it to pay $200 for to get it here one day quicker.
The agency here has been very nice and accomodating to us so far, as have been everyone at all the nursing agencies that we have seen so far including the nursing boards in Western Australia and New South Wales.
-Gary Milner
Monday, November 21, 2005
The Proposition
I've been working at a fruit and veg shop for the last month and a half. My boss has offered me a pretty exciting deal.
My boss (Nick)is looking forward to his retirement. He has found an appealing way to supplement his pension. He has come across a deal that will allow him to build a new building to house a fruit shop. Since this is a deal that very rarely comes around, he jumped at it with the idea of selling his current business, starting a new one in the new building and once it is doing good business, sell it, but keep the building to rent to the new owners.
Starting a fruit shop, getting it going and then selling it is something that he has been doing just about every year for the last 30 years. It has slowed in the last little while because of increases to the Australian capital gains tax which means that by keeping a shop going for a few months longer he makes an adddional 60K from the tax savings. In any case he has a pretty good system laid out for starting a new shop and being profitable a few months.
Nick is taking possession of the new building at the end of December or the beginning of Janruary. It will be an empty shell and will take about another 4-6 weeks to be ready for the shop. At the start of February the new shop will be ready to go.
This is where I come in. Nick would like to ease himself and his wife into retirement. He feels that the best way to do this would be to take me on as his apprentice and teach me everything he knows about the business over the next few years. Tracie would take over Marilyn's (Nick's wife) job of doing the books and schedueling the cashiers etc. When the shop is firmly established or near around the first year mark, we would enter into a partnership and then as more time passes and we get to know each other, Tracie and I would take over more and more of the responsabilities of the shop until eventually they could be out all together.
After five years or so, Nick wants to be out of the shop and retired completely. He would sell me the shop at a vast discount or if I couldn't afford it lease it to me, and if I didn't want it sell the shop to someone else with Tracie and I shareing the procedes of the sale.
For the first little while we would be getting $1000/week for enterprenuer's hours. Which isn't a lot of money for the time you are spending. Tracie makes about that much as a nurse without all the stress.
As things are going, we will run out of money in Canada sometime near July and we might not be able to send much back. Student loans are a pain.
We would have to get working visas here, which isn't a problem just a hassle of the paper work.
On the other hand, we would know how to start and run a fruit and veg shop here in Australia. It is a very profitable business. You make most of your investment back within the first three months if you are doing it correctly.
The wholesalers give you a week's credit before they bill you, and so you have sold most of your stock before they even send the bill.
If you start it properly, you can sell the shop at a huge profit of several hundred thousand.
Unfortunatly, when you have your own business, you are so determined to make it work that you don't get vaction and work long hours. Basically Nick closes for statutory holidays and Sundays. But he is never not thinking about the shop.
An enterpreneur has to be a hard worker.
This is the back room of the fruit shop.
This is the bulk section out front. It accounts for about 10% of sales in the shop and would fall under Tracie's control.
This is the tomato room. We keep tomatoes and other tropical type fruits in here.
-Gary Milner
My boss (Nick)is looking forward to his retirement. He has found an appealing way to supplement his pension. He has come across a deal that will allow him to build a new building to house a fruit shop. Since this is a deal that very rarely comes around, he jumped at it with the idea of selling his current business, starting a new one in the new building and once it is doing good business, sell it, but keep the building to rent to the new owners.
Starting a fruit shop, getting it going and then selling it is something that he has been doing just about every year for the last 30 years. It has slowed in the last little while because of increases to the Australian capital gains tax which means that by keeping a shop going for a few months longer he makes an adddional 60K from the tax savings. In any case he has a pretty good system laid out for starting a new shop and being profitable a few months.
Nick is taking possession of the new building at the end of December or the beginning of Janruary. It will be an empty shell and will take about another 4-6 weeks to be ready for the shop. At the start of February the new shop will be ready to go.
This is where I come in. Nick would like to ease himself and his wife into retirement. He feels that the best way to do this would be to take me on as his apprentice and teach me everything he knows about the business over the next few years. Tracie would take over Marilyn's (Nick's wife) job of doing the books and schedueling the cashiers etc. When the shop is firmly established or near around the first year mark, we would enter into a partnership and then as more time passes and we get to know each other, Tracie and I would take over more and more of the responsabilities of the shop until eventually they could be out all together.
After five years or so, Nick wants to be out of the shop and retired completely. He would sell me the shop at a vast discount or if I couldn't afford it lease it to me, and if I didn't want it sell the shop to someone else with Tracie and I shareing the procedes of the sale.
For the first little while we would be getting $1000/week for enterprenuer's hours. Which isn't a lot of money for the time you are spending. Tracie makes about that much as a nurse without all the stress.
As things are going, we will run out of money in Canada sometime near July and we might not be able to send much back. Student loans are a pain.
We would have to get working visas here, which isn't a problem just a hassle of the paper work.
On the other hand, we would know how to start and run a fruit and veg shop here in Australia. It is a very profitable business. You make most of your investment back within the first three months if you are doing it correctly.
The wholesalers give you a week's credit before they bill you, and so you have sold most of your stock before they even send the bill.
If you start it properly, you can sell the shop at a huge profit of several hundred thousand.
Unfortunatly, when you have your own business, you are so determined to make it work that you don't get vaction and work long hours. Basically Nick closes for statutory holidays and Sundays. But he is never not thinking about the shop.
An enterpreneur has to be a hard worker.
This is the back room of the fruit shop.
This is the bulk section out front. It accounts for about 10% of sales in the shop and would fall under Tracie's control.
This is the tomato room. We keep tomatoes and other tropical type fruits in here.
-Gary Milner
Friday, November 18, 2005
The Valley of the Giants
On our way to Pemberton we stopped in the Valley of the Giants. The entrance to the 'Valley of the Giants' is 14kms east of Walpole and 3kms from Nornalup, in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park. A pleasant 5km drive meanders through the forest to the Tree Top Walk.
The unique red tingle trees found here can reach a height of 70 meters while their heavily buttressed girth can attain a circumference of 20 meters at ground level. Hence the name 'Giants'.
Explore the tingle forest at different levels. The exhilarating Tree Top Walk commences from a jetty at the start of a gully. Sixty meter long steel trusses, supported by steel pylons, weave though the crowns of the trees to give the visitor a truly birds-eye view. After reaching a height of 40 meters above the ground, gradually[ descend to complete the 600 meter loop back at ground level.
The Tree Top Walk is disabled accessible with assistance, and the structure is constructed to a gradient of 1 in 12 to cater for wheel-chairs with assistance. A wheel chair is available on site for visitors to use, although wheel-chairs probably couldn't turn around in the middle of the trusses and would have to go to the platforms above the pylons to turn around. The walk is one way only anyway.
There is also a meandering boardwalk which takes visitors through a grove of veteran tingle trees called the 'Ancient Empire'. This walk will show some of the unique shapes of these giant trees close at hand. You can actually walk through the hollowed out butt of one tree, and into the hollowed trunk of several others.
We finished driving to Pemberton and stayed the night there in the one and only campground. In the morning we went to see the Gloucester Tree, one of the highest fire lookout trees in the world. They were charging $9 per car so we joined the Frenchmen in their van to save a little money.
153 rungs spiral dizzily to the viewing platform 60m above. Saying 153 rungs doesn't really describe it very well though. The rungs are actually three foot sections of inch thick re-bar drilled into the trunk of the tree. There are additional safety bars behind you as you are climbing, but they would only help you if you lost you grip with you hands and not your feet as well.
I found it completely incredible that they would allow the public to climb it at all. At the bottom there is a sign that I wish I would have gotten a good picture of that said something to the effect of “Extreme danger, others have been injured, if you have any doubt about safely climbing do not attempt” along with a list of eight or nine rules of which my party broke 3 or 4.
In the parking lot there was a small flock of parrots eating and I got a good set of pictures of them. Then Alex got some bread out of his van and the birds landed right on him. We all got some of the birds to land on us, with up to five at a time. A few even landed on people who didn't have any bread to give them. Tracie did it too even though she doesn't really like birds.
The unique red tingle trees found here can reach a height of 70 meters while their heavily buttressed girth can attain a circumference of 20 meters at ground level. Hence the name 'Giants'.
The Tree Top Walk is disabled accessible with assistance, and the structure is constructed to a gradient of 1 in 12 to cater for wheel-chairs with assistance. A wheel chair is available on site for visitors to use, although wheel-chairs probably couldn't turn around in the middle of the trusses and would have to go to the platforms above the pylons to turn around. The walk is one way only anyway.
We finished driving to Pemberton and stayed the night there in the one and only campground. In the morning we went to see the Gloucester Tree, one of the highest fire lookout trees in the world. They were charging $9 per car so we joined the Frenchmen in their van to save a little money.
I found it completely incredible that they would allow the public to climb it at all. At the bottom there is a sign that I wish I would have gotten a good picture of that said something to the effect of “Extreme danger, others have been injured, if you have any doubt about safely climbing do not attempt” along with a list of eight or nine rules of which my party broke 3 or 4.
In the parking lot there was a small flock of parrots eating and I got a good set of pictures of them. Then Alex got some bread out of his van and the birds landed right on him. We all got some of the birds to land on us, with up to five at a time. A few even landed on people who didn't have any bread to give them. Tracie did it too even though she doesn't really like birds.
Albany
On our way to Albany, we saw an echidna. They are a lot like a hedgehog, but a native to Australia and an endangered species.
Albany was first settled in 1826, two years before Perth. Not only does Western Australia's first white settlement boast one of the best natural harbours in the world, it has within its shire boundaries spectacular coastal scenery, perennial rivers, dense karri forests, rich farmland and the state's most temperate climate.
Albany is 408kms south-east of Perth on a stretch of coast which looks out to Antarctica several thousand kilometers to the south. The hub of the varied Great Southern Region, Albany has some 30,000 privileged people who enjoy permanent residence in the state's most popular tourist destination.
It doesn't matter if the tourist desires safe swimming spots, surf beaches, bush walks, fishing, wining and dining, sight seeing, sport, adventure or god old fashioned relaxation, Albany will cater to every need.
At the western end of the Albany Visitor Center, the Bibbulmun Track is a 964km walking trail extending from Perth's suburbs to Albany. It takes the hiker through some of the most beautiful areas in the southern part of the state. There are overnight huts every 20km. The speed record is 17days which is a little over 60km per day.
Two of the most spectacular natural features near Albany are the Gap and Natural Bridge. The photo to the left is the Gap, a sheer chasm which visitors can view from safely behind a steel rail. View the seething mass of foam, spray and crashing surf 30 meters below. The waves splash high above the gap quite often.
The natural bridge is a large piece of granite which has been eroded by huge seas to form a fantastic arch. It is a very short walk from the Gap allowing maximum enjoyment of this spectacular site.
Further along the coast are the Blow holes-- a series of fissures in the granite which make loud hissing noises and spurt water into the air when large waves are forced, under pressure, between the rock. It sounds very much like a whale spraying water through it's blow hole. I found them to be a little less than impressive especially when compared to the blow hole on Oahu in Hawaii.
Albany has an incredible amount of things for tourists to do. Unfortunately we were a little rushed and didn't have time to see any of the thing in the city itself before we had to move on. I'm quite sure that it has some of the most amazing scenery in all of the southern coast of Australia.
Albany was first settled in 1826, two years before Perth. Not only does Western Australia's first white settlement boast one of the best natural harbours in the world, it has within its shire boundaries spectacular coastal scenery, perennial rivers, dense karri forests, rich farmland and the state's most temperate climate.
Albany is 408kms south-east of Perth on a stretch of coast which looks out to Antarctica several thousand kilometers to the south. The hub of the varied Great Southern Region, Albany has some 30,000 privileged people who enjoy permanent residence in the state's most popular tourist destination.
It doesn't matter if the tourist desires safe swimming spots, surf beaches, bush walks, fishing, wining and dining, sight seeing, sport, adventure or god old fashioned relaxation, Albany will cater to every need.
At the western end of the Albany Visitor Center, the Bibbulmun Track is a 964km walking trail extending from Perth's suburbs to Albany. It takes the hiker through some of the most beautiful areas in the southern part of the state. There are overnight huts every 20km. The speed record is 17days which is a little over 60km per day.
The natural bridge is a large piece of granite which has been eroded by huge seas to form a fantastic arch. It is a very short walk from the Gap allowing maximum enjoyment of this spectacular site.
Further along the coast are the Blow holes-- a series of fissures in the granite which make loud hissing noises and spurt water into the air when large waves are forced, under pressure, between the rock. It sounds very much like a whale spraying water through it's blow hole. I found them to be a little less than impressive especially when compared to the blow hole on Oahu in Hawaii.
Albany has an incredible amount of things for tourists to do. Unfortunately we were a little rushed and didn't have time to see any of the thing in the city itself before we had to move on. I'm quite sure that it has some of the most amazing scenery in all of the southern coast of Australia.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Adelaide
We crossed the Nullabor Plain on the Indian Pacific Railway over the last three days. I now have proof that Sasketchawan is only the second flatest place in the whole world.
The railway has the longest strait piece of track in the entire world. Almost 500km without a curve. There are only a few trees visible at any given time (and you can see a long way) and they are only about waist high. There is nothing. I have been to the right left and middle of nowhere.
I don't know what I expected of the train journey from Perth to Adelaide, maybe a tree or two. The sheer size of the nothing was amazing. The french people with us said that it was like a trip from Paris to Moscow would be, and they would never think of riding the train to Moscow in a million years.
Cedric said that once he wanted to visit a friend in Northern France, but it was a two hour trip so he skipped it. Now he's up for driving all over Europe.
We found a nice hostel here in Adelaide very easily and are just going to try to catch up on a little sleep that we missed on the train.
-Gary Milner
The railway has the longest strait piece of track in the entire world. Almost 500km without a curve. There are only a few trees visible at any given time (and you can see a long way) and they are only about waist high. There is nothing. I have been to the right left and middle of nowhere.
I don't know what I expected of the train journey from Perth to Adelaide, maybe a tree or two. The sheer size of the nothing was amazing. The french people with us said that it was like a trip from Paris to Moscow would be, and they would never think of riding the train to Moscow in a million years.
Cedric said that once he wanted to visit a friend in Northern France, but it was a two hour trip so he skipped it. Now he's up for driving all over Europe.
We found a nice hostel here in Adelaide very easily and are just going to try to catch up on a little sleep that we missed on the train.
-Gary Milner
Monday, November 14, 2005
All a blur
Life here is nothing but a blur. The days are turning into weeks and the weeks into months, and now we're really leaving Perth in less than two days. I'm terribly sad because I don't want things to change, and yet I'm excited for the new adventure. I feel like I have a million different emotions at once and it's overwhelming at times.
Last week, like Gary mentioned, we took a trip to the South of Western Australia avec nos amis francais, Stephane, Cedric et Alex. In one week we covered Kalgoorlie and the "Super Pit" gold and nickel mine, beautiful Esperance and the even more beautiful Cape Le Grand, Albany, the Karri Tree forest near Pemberton, and Margaret River. We climbed hills and trees, went in caves, swam in two different oceans, saw parrots, kangaroos, snakes, lizards, emus, rabbits, pelicans, and echidnas. We stayed in a rented campervan and everyday was an adventure. Needless to say, we had an amazing time. I'm not smart enough to post more than one photo at once, so check out our flickr links on the left for some photos. We took several hundred shots each day, so the few we put on flickr are only a taste of what we saw and did.
When we got back to Perth on Friday, we found ourselves homeless. We thought we might stay in our old appartment, but as luck would have it it was already rented out. After about an hour of hanging out on the lawn, we decided to give Gary's boss a call. He and his wife took us out to dinner last week and offered to let us stay with them, although I hadn't really planned on taking them up on the offer. They are some of the nicest people I've ever met and staying with them has been lovely. I think we've slept better the last few nights than we have in the past 5 months.
Saturday we bought our train tickets for the Indian Pacific, which goes clear from Perth to Sydney. We are only riding as far as Adelaide (a two day journey) and changing trains there and heading up to Ayer's Rock. It's going to be scorching hot up there, but I'm excited to go. After, we plan to head back down to Adelaide, change trains and head for Melbourne. I am already mostly set up to work in Melbourne, I just have to get registered in the state of Victoria. Shortly after getting to Melbourne, we plan to head to Tasmania with Stephane for a few weeks for some more adventures. Stephane and Cedrique are also riding the train to Adelaide on wednesday, so it should be fun.
Today was one of the hottest days we've had in Perth. It was 30 degrees in the shade. They have started putting up Christmas decorations in the city which I find quite amusing, given the toasty warm weather. It doesn't feel like Christmas without the snow, although I don't miss it one bit. It's sure going to be odd spending Christmas at the beach though.
Well, I have so much more to write, but Gary and I have to get back to our host family's house for supper.
Hope everyone back home is doing well. I'll email when I can. I fell like I hardly have enough time in a day to do all the things I want to. Tomorrow is my last full day in Perth and I hope to make the most of it.
-Tracie...so little time
Last week, like Gary mentioned, we took a trip to the South of Western Australia avec nos amis francais, Stephane, Cedric et Alex. In one week we covered Kalgoorlie and the "Super Pit" gold and nickel mine, beautiful Esperance and the even more beautiful Cape Le Grand, Albany, the Karri Tree forest near Pemberton, and Margaret River. We climbed hills and trees, went in caves, swam in two different oceans, saw parrots, kangaroos, snakes, lizards, emus, rabbits, pelicans, and echidnas. We stayed in a rented campervan and everyday was an adventure. Needless to say, we had an amazing time. I'm not smart enough to post more than one photo at once, so check out our flickr links on the left for some photos. We took several hundred shots each day, so the few we put on flickr are only a taste of what we saw and did.
When we got back to Perth on Friday, we found ourselves homeless. We thought we might stay in our old appartment, but as luck would have it it was already rented out. After about an hour of hanging out on the lawn, we decided to give Gary's boss a call. He and his wife took us out to dinner last week and offered to let us stay with them, although I hadn't really planned on taking them up on the offer. They are some of the nicest people I've ever met and staying with them has been lovely. I think we've slept better the last few nights than we have in the past 5 months.
Saturday we bought our train tickets for the Indian Pacific, which goes clear from Perth to Sydney. We are only riding as far as Adelaide (a two day journey) and changing trains there and heading up to Ayer's Rock. It's going to be scorching hot up there, but I'm excited to go. After, we plan to head back down to Adelaide, change trains and head for Melbourne. I am already mostly set up to work in Melbourne, I just have to get registered in the state of Victoria. Shortly after getting to Melbourne, we plan to head to Tasmania with Stephane for a few weeks for some more adventures. Stephane and Cedrique are also riding the train to Adelaide on wednesday, so it should be fun.
Today was one of the hottest days we've had in Perth. It was 30 degrees in the shade. They have started putting up Christmas decorations in the city which I find quite amusing, given the toasty warm weather. It doesn't feel like Christmas without the snow, although I don't miss it one bit. It's sure going to be odd spending Christmas at the beach though.
Well, I have so much more to write, but Gary and I have to get back to our host family's house for supper.
Hope everyone back home is doing well. I'll email when I can. I fell like I hardly have enough time in a day to do all the things I want to. Tomorrow is my last full day in Perth and I hope to make the most of it.
-Tracie...so little time
Esperance
During a gale in 1792, two French frigates on a mapping voyage of the Australian coast, took shelter off Observatory Point. The first ship to enter the bay was L'Esperance and so the bay was named. The archipelago was named after the second ship, Recherche.
Another early visitor to the area was Matthew Flinders, who anchored at Lucky Bay in 1802 during his voyage to chart the souther coast.
He named several landmarks including Thistle Cove.
In1841, Edward John Eyre men Captain Rossiter on his epic journey from Adelaide, abourd the French Whaler 'Mississippi' in a bay which later became known as Rossiter Bay. Middle Island, visited by Flinders in 1802, was later established as a base for sealers operating in the area.
1863 saw the arrival of the first settlers, the Dempster brothers, who traveled overland from Northam with their families and stock.
Other settlers followed with the discovery of gold at Coolgardie and the town became the principal port of the gold fields.
The town suffered a severe setback with the opening of the Perth to Coolgardie railway and was reduced to a holiday resort and fishing town.
However, the town attracted enormous publicity in the early 1960's when American investors established large landholdings in the area. The success of their farming methods caused an influx of new farmers from all parts of Australia. This helped make Esperance the prosperous town it is today.
The aboriginal name for the area was Gabba-kyle, 'the place where the water lies down like a boomerang'.
Today Esperance is romantically dubbed the 'Bay of Isles' and the visitor will find that both these descriptions fit, for nature has bestowed upon Esperance countless attractions.
The climate is temperate, the bay a brilliant blue, the rolling plains seem endless, the headlands are magnificent and the wildflowers are truly splendid. The town of Esperance lies on a beautiful bay, dotted with the islands of the Recherche Archipelago.
It is the only port in the south-east of Western Australia and is serviced by a standard guage rail system from Kalgoorlie. The port of Esperance exported over 3,000,000 tonnes of product last year, including wheat, barley, oats, lupins, peas and minerals. Agriculture is by far the leading industry with tourism and fishing also playing important roles.
The region has been dramatically transformed in the past few years. The once struggling farms have been replaced by rich, fertile crops and pastures. In 1954 there were only 36 farmers in the area, utilizing about 8,093ha. Today there are about 600 on more than 404,686ha. This transformation came about through a combination of Australian agronomists' know how and American investors' money. This American inspired land development revitalized the area. Potentially, the Esperance region could be one of Australia's greatest producers of beef, fat lambs, wool, wheat, oats, barley and other crops such as linseed, safflower and grain sorghum.
There are quite a few things to do in and around Esperance. We went on the Great Ocean Drive which is one of Australia's most spectacular scenic drives.
It is a loop drive 38kms long and includes some of the area's best know attractions, including spectacular beach and coastal scenery, Rotary Lookout on Wireless Hill, Twilight Cove, Observatory Point, Wind Farms and the unique Pink Lake.
The coastal portion of the drive is the best part, but the Pink Lake could also be interesting. The Lakes colour is attributed to salt tolerant algae called dunalella salina. Table salt is harvested from solar ponds on the eastern end of Pink Lake. Hugh Stockpiles can be seen from the lookout. There was less salt than normal in the lake while we were there, and so the algae that makes the water pink wasn't in bloom and the water wasn't pink.
One of the other major attractions in Esperance is the Tanker Jetty. The jetty is located on the town foreshore. New Zealand fur seals and Australian sea lions often visit the jetty in the hope of finding fish scraps thrown into the water by anglers who use the jetty. There was only one seal there during our visit.
The WA Government Railways built the Esperance Deepwater Wharf, commonly known as the Tanker Jetty, between January 1934 and February 1935. It was the first major project for young engineer, John Gillespie and was officially opened by State Mines Minister, Selby Walter Munsie on 13 April 1935.
With 37 feet 6 inches (11.2 meters) of depth available to bulk ships where it extended 1140 feet (842 meters) into the Esperance Bay, the jetty provided an excellent facility to unload bulk fuel and load grain for export. The last tanker to unload bulk fuel from the Jetty was the “BP Enterprise” in 1977. Since then fuel has been shipped through the land-backed wharf which had been built during the 1960's for the export of grain and minerals.
With the end of commercial use, the Tanker Jetty rapidly fell into disrepair to the extent that, in 1985, 67 outer piles had worn completely through and another 38 were 50-75% worn. A portion of the jetty beyond repair 124 was so unsafe that 7 piers were removed – separating the head of the jetty.
In 1988 the Apex Club of Esperance took over an initiative of Jaycees from the year before when the Save the Tanker Jetty Association was formed. Under the leadership of Barrie Stearne, with assistance from gold fields and Esperance local governments, community groups, service clubs, and the dedicated citizens of Esperance, an amount of $163,589 was raised. The State Government contributed $150,000 towards the preservation of the jetty, which is a focal pint of enjoyment for visitors, locals and seals alike.
We found a nice caravan park to stay at and as we were leaving, Tracie back into their gas pump and did a real number on it. I'm sure she knocked it off the stand. It was mounted on a small concrete pad and you could see that the pad had been lifted a little bit off the ground at least enough to crack the dirt around it.
The park manager said that it had been hit before and that it cost $1200 to get it fixed, but since he hadn't used the pump in 12months that he would just let it slide. He said that the tank was empty and he didn't have any plans to use the pump or tank anymore anyway.
We got the Frenchmen and went back there to camp. We had supper with them and it was very nice. We had a good visit and I got them hooked on Autostitch.
Just 56kms East of Esperance is Cape Le Grande National Park. There are several granite peaks, one of which we climbed. There are two campsites with full facilities and caravans are welcome, although there are no power hookups. The lights in the Bathroom are solar powered, and stay on automatically for three hours after dusk and can be switch on for five minutes per press of a button. The showers also rely on solar heating and while they ask you to limit your shower to around five minutes or less, the water is pleasantly warm.
While we were there I spotted a large monitor lizard, know locally as a 'Galloping Go Anna' it was close to a meter long, Easily the biggest wild lizard I have seen. There were also several species of smaller lizards and various types of crabs.
The beach was spectacular, the sand was very fine and hard packed. The beach sloped ever so gently out to sea and so the wave broke pretty far out and we could get a nice long ride in on our body boards. It was the funnest ride we've had up until that point the waves were pretty small with the very biggest one being less than a meter.
With a four wheel drive, you could drive along the coast on the beach which looked pretty fun, although you do have to be careful to watch for rogue waves and not turn too quickly in order to avoid rolling. I'm told that driving on the beach is illegal in most places.
When we got done body boarding on the beach, we went on a little hike. We got to a spot where it was obvious that water running down the mountain had washed away any dirt that had a chance to build up and so there was an area free of trees and I convinced the others that we should climb to the top rather than take the path around the mountains to a beach. I am really glad we did. We got lots of photos of the scenery and of ourselves and we had a really good time. It was one of the highlights of my time here in Australia so far.
At about 15 minutes to sunset, I got worried that we would have to walk back down in the dark and to complicate things I could see that the weather was taking a turn for the worse. I could see a line of wind blowing closer and closer towards us hard. I could see the white caps on the water.
We got back just when the wall of wind hit. In the shelter of the camper van, we had our supper and then headed back to Esperance. We decided that we would avoid finding a pay camp site and went searching for a place to stay free. It ended up that we parked outside the fire department. Since it was a volunteer fire department I knew that we would be undisturbed unless there were a fire that night. Soon after laying down for the night, it started raining pretty hard.
There are also many things in Esperance that we didn't have the chance to do. It relies heavily on tourism to supplement income from agriculture and fishing.
Another early visitor to the area was Matthew Flinders, who anchored at Lucky Bay in 1802 during his voyage to chart the souther coast.
He named several landmarks including Thistle Cove.
In1841, Edward John Eyre men Captain Rossiter on his epic journey from Adelaide, abourd the French Whaler 'Mississippi' in a bay which later became known as Rossiter Bay. Middle Island, visited by Flinders in 1802, was later established as a base for sealers operating in the area.
1863 saw the arrival of the first settlers, the Dempster brothers, who traveled overland from Northam with their families and stock.
Other settlers followed with the discovery of gold at Coolgardie and the town became the principal port of the gold fields.
The town suffered a severe setback with the opening of the Perth to Coolgardie railway and was reduced to a holiday resort and fishing town.
However, the town attracted enormous publicity in the early 1960's when American investors established large landholdings in the area. The success of their farming methods caused an influx of new farmers from all parts of Australia. This helped make Esperance the prosperous town it is today.
The aboriginal name for the area was Gabba-kyle, 'the place where the water lies down like a boomerang'.
Today Esperance is romantically dubbed the 'Bay of Isles' and the visitor will find that both these descriptions fit, for nature has bestowed upon Esperance countless attractions.
The climate is temperate, the bay a brilliant blue, the rolling plains seem endless, the headlands are magnificent and the wildflowers are truly splendid. The town of Esperance lies on a beautiful bay, dotted with the islands of the Recherche Archipelago.
It is the only port in the south-east of Western Australia and is serviced by a standard guage rail system from Kalgoorlie. The port of Esperance exported over 3,000,000 tonnes of product last year, including wheat, barley, oats, lupins, peas and minerals. Agriculture is by far the leading industry with tourism and fishing also playing important roles.
The region has been dramatically transformed in the past few years. The once struggling farms have been replaced by rich, fertile crops and pastures. In 1954 there were only 36 farmers in the area, utilizing about 8,093ha. Today there are about 600 on more than 404,686ha. This transformation came about through a combination of Australian agronomists' know how and American investors' money. This American inspired land development revitalized the area. Potentially, the Esperance region could be one of Australia's greatest producers of beef, fat lambs, wool, wheat, oats, barley and other crops such as linseed, safflower and grain sorghum.
It is a loop drive 38kms long and includes some of the area's best know attractions, including spectacular beach and coastal scenery, Rotary Lookout on Wireless Hill, Twilight Cove, Observatory Point, Wind Farms and the unique Pink Lake.
One of the other major attractions in Esperance is the Tanker Jetty. The jetty is located on the town foreshore. New Zealand fur seals and Australian sea lions often visit the jetty in the hope of finding fish scraps thrown into the water by anglers who use the jetty. There was only one seal there during our visit.
The WA Government Railways built the Esperance Deepwater Wharf, commonly known as the Tanker Jetty, between January 1934 and February 1935. It was the first major project for young engineer, John Gillespie and was officially opened by State Mines Minister, Selby Walter Munsie on 13 April 1935.
With 37 feet 6 inches (11.2 meters) of depth available to bulk ships where it extended 1140 feet (842 meters) into the Esperance Bay, the jetty provided an excellent facility to unload bulk fuel and load grain for export. The last tanker to unload bulk fuel from the Jetty was the “BP Enterprise” in 1977. Since then fuel has been shipped through the land-backed wharf which had been built during the 1960's for the export of grain and minerals.
With the end of commercial use, the Tanker Jetty rapidly fell into disrepair to the extent that, in 1985, 67 outer piles had worn completely through and another 38 were 50-75% worn. A portion of the jetty beyond repair 124 was so unsafe that 7 piers were removed – separating the head of the jetty.
In 1988 the Apex Club of Esperance took over an initiative of Jaycees from the year before when the Save the Tanker Jetty Association was formed. Under the leadership of Barrie Stearne, with assistance from gold fields and Esperance local governments, community groups, service clubs, and the dedicated citizens of Esperance, an amount of $163,589 was raised. The State Government contributed $150,000 towards the preservation of the jetty, which is a focal pint of enjoyment for visitors, locals and seals alike.
We found a nice caravan park to stay at and as we were leaving, Tracie back into their gas pump and did a real number on it. I'm sure she knocked it off the stand. It was mounted on a small concrete pad and you could see that the pad had been lifted a little bit off the ground at least enough to crack the dirt around it.
The park manager said that it had been hit before and that it cost $1200 to get it fixed, but since he hadn't used the pump in 12months that he would just let it slide. He said that the tank was empty and he didn't have any plans to use the pump or tank anymore anyway.
We got the Frenchmen and went back there to camp. We had supper with them and it was very nice. We had a good visit and I got them hooked on Autostitch.
Just 56kms East of Esperance is Cape Le Grande National Park. There are several granite peaks, one of which we climbed. There are two campsites with full facilities and caravans are welcome, although there are no power hookups. The lights in the Bathroom are solar powered, and stay on automatically for three hours after dusk and can be switch on for five minutes per press of a button. The showers also rely on solar heating and while they ask you to limit your shower to around five minutes or less, the water is pleasantly warm.
The beach was spectacular, the sand was very fine and hard packed. The beach sloped ever so gently out to sea and so the wave broke pretty far out and we could get a nice long ride in on our body boards. It was the funnest ride we've had up until that point the waves were pretty small with the very biggest one being less than a meter.
When we got done body boarding on the beach, we went on a little hike. We got to a spot where it was obvious that water running down the mountain had washed away any dirt that had a chance to build up and so there was an area free of trees and I convinced the others that we should climb to the top rather than take the path around the mountains to a beach. I am really glad we did. We got lots of photos of the scenery and of ourselves and we had a really good time. It was one of the highlights of my time here in Australia so far.
We got back just when the wall of wind hit. In the shelter of the camper van, we had our supper and then headed back to Esperance. We decided that we would avoid finding a pay camp site and went searching for a place to stay free. It ended up that we parked outside the fire department. Since it was a volunteer fire department I knew that we would be undisturbed unless there were a fire that night. Soon after laying down for the night, it started raining pretty hard.
There are also many things in Esperance that we didn't have the chance to do. It relies heavily on tourism to supplement income from agriculture and fishing.
Kalgoorlie Super Pit
Kalgoorlie is a 600km drive from Perth. There are several small towns between Perth and Kalgoorlie. By small towns, I mean gas stations with several hundred people living nearby (if you could call existing in a place that small living). They are nice little towns though if you like living in the country and having a quiet life.
Kalgoorlie offers a unique outback environment, heritage and a wide variety of attractions that reflect the past and present. The city has modern services, facilities and a rich and fascinating history, yet still retains the feel of a frontier town.
The appeal of this city is a charming mix of unique gold rush heritage with the exciting wonders of modern mining. Kalgoorlie was established in 1893 with one of the world's last great gold rushes.
The pioneering spirits is still very evident today with sensational turn of the century buildings that comprise some of the finest mining-town architecture in the world.
A huge open cut mine, one of the biggest in the world, sits on the edge of town on the largest square mile of gold-bearing earth ever discovered. Before is was the Super Pit, it comprised lots of smaller mining companies that tunneled rather than using a pit mining system.
“The most amazing thing that happened in my lifetime is Alan Bond buying up all the leases that became the Super Pit. Bond saw open cut was needed, started it and it grew and grew. It was the inevitable finish of the single operations. I remember when it was scattered all over with small companies running their own mines and they were all battling.” -Charles (digger) Daws, former president Boulder Shire Council, interviewed, aged 87, in the Kalgoorlie Miner, December 1994
“He (Bond) had almost pieced together the jigsaw of leases which were in separate hands for nearly a century. It was now possible to operate a gigantic and ever-descending super pit, in which massive equipment could tear out the old underground workings and the unmined gold in between.” -From the rush that never ended by Geoffery Blainey)
Where small operations had once controlled the famous Golden Mile, WA businessman Alan Bond started buying up the individual leases during the 1980's, seeking to create one big company and one big pit, from which gold could be extracted at a much reduced cost. Ore recovery rates had fallen so low, and underground mining had become so expensive that 'open cut' mining appeared the only way forward. Bond's company failed to complete the takeover, but, in 1989, the entire area was combined and Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd (KCGM) was formed to manage the assets and operations of the joint venture partners.
For the first time, all the leases and infrastructure of the Golden Mile had been brought together. It was now possible to mine fare more economically and to continue the harvest of the Golden Mile, which has produced nearly 50 million ounces of gold since the days of Paddy Hannan and his fortuitous Golden Quest. Others who had embarked on quests of their own, including Bayley and Ford, Leslie Robert Menzies and young John Aspinall would doubtless be amazed at what their adventures have led to.
Today this region is one of the most important gold and nickel producing ares in Australia.
Kalgoorlie is famous for its mineral wealth, outback environment, rich history and hospitality.
Gold was discovered in Southern Cross in 1887. Five years later, news of a rush at Mt. Youle resulted in three Irish prospectors, Paddy Hannan, Thomas Flanagan and Daniel Shea, setting off from Coolgardie in June 1893 to explore the area to the east.
At a point some 25 miles to the east, one of the horses lost a shoe and the group was forced to camp for the night at the foot of what is today called Mt. Charlotte. It was here they were surprised to find a few god nuggets and, on June 17, Paddy Hannan rode into Coolgardie with about 100 ounces of gold to register his Reward Claim.
Discovery of gold deposits located some 5kms to the south led to the discovery of the world famous 'Golden Mile', the riches square mile of gold bearing ore in the world. This triggered one of the biggest gold rushes in Australia's history.
Men came in their thousands, many unprepared for the harsh conditions they encountered with inadequate food and scarcity of water. There was no sanitation and few medical supplies. Thousands died from thirst or disease contracted from drinking contaminated water. Nevertheless stories of fame and fortune spread rapidly and within a few short years 93 hotels and 8 breweries had been established for a population which had swollen to over 30,000.
Water shortages were finally relieved in 1903 through the genius of the State's Chief Engineer C. Y. O'Connor. The establishment of a water pipeline, from Mundaring Weir in Perth, over some 563kms to the Gold fields, ensured that the city prospered.
Since then the fascinating history of the Gold fields continues.
The Super Pit was the main thing that we saw in Kalgoorlie as we wanted to get a jump on the drive to Esperance so that we could me our Frenchmen friends there the next morning. We left Kalgoorlie at right around 6:30 just as it was getting dark, and so we had to drive pretty slowly because there were so many dead kangaroos by the side of the road and we didn't want to find a live one the hard way. We drove until about 10:00, and stayed in a caravan park in a small town called Norseman.
If we thought that Perth shut down early, there weren't even any lights on in people's houses. It really surprised me. The campground was basically a dirt parking lot with grass along one side to camp on with electric outlets and taps to fill your reservoir with water.
We left early after showering. There was one other RV in the park, but there was no sign of them waking up.
-Gary Milner
Kalgoorlie offers a unique outback environment, heritage and a wide variety of attractions that reflect the past and present. The city has modern services, facilities and a rich and fascinating history, yet still retains the feel of a frontier town.
The appeal of this city is a charming mix of unique gold rush heritage with the exciting wonders of modern mining. Kalgoorlie was established in 1893 with one of the world's last great gold rushes.
The pioneering spirits is still very evident today with sensational turn of the century buildings that comprise some of the finest mining-town architecture in the world.
A huge open cut mine, one of the biggest in the world, sits on the edge of town on the largest square mile of gold-bearing earth ever discovered. Before is was the Super Pit, it comprised lots of smaller mining companies that tunneled rather than using a pit mining system.
“He (Bond) had almost pieced together the jigsaw of leases which were in separate hands for nearly a century. It was now possible to operate a gigantic and ever-descending super pit, in which massive equipment could tear out the old underground workings and the unmined gold in between.” -From the rush that never ended by Geoffery Blainey)
Where small operations had once controlled the famous Golden Mile, WA businessman Alan Bond started buying up the individual leases during the 1980's, seeking to create one big company and one big pit, from which gold could be extracted at a much reduced cost. Ore recovery rates had fallen so low, and underground mining had become so expensive that 'open cut' mining appeared the only way forward. Bond's company failed to complete the takeover, but, in 1989, the entire area was combined and Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd (KCGM) was formed to manage the assets and operations of the joint venture partners.
Today this region is one of the most important gold and nickel producing ares in Australia.
Kalgoorlie is famous for its mineral wealth, outback environment, rich history and hospitality.
Gold was discovered in Southern Cross in 1887. Five years later, news of a rush at Mt. Youle resulted in three Irish prospectors, Paddy Hannan, Thomas Flanagan and Daniel Shea, setting off from Coolgardie in June 1893 to explore the area to the east.
At a point some 25 miles to the east, one of the horses lost a shoe and the group was forced to camp for the night at the foot of what is today called Mt. Charlotte. It was here they were surprised to find a few god nuggets and, on June 17, Paddy Hannan rode into Coolgardie with about 100 ounces of gold to register his Reward Claim.
Discovery of gold deposits located some 5kms to the south led to the discovery of the world famous 'Golden Mile', the riches square mile of gold bearing ore in the world. This triggered one of the biggest gold rushes in Australia's history.
Men came in their thousands, many unprepared for the harsh conditions they encountered with inadequate food and scarcity of water. There was no sanitation and few medical supplies. Thousands died from thirst or disease contracted from drinking contaminated water. Nevertheless stories of fame and fortune spread rapidly and within a few short years 93 hotels and 8 breweries had been established for a population which had swollen to over 30,000.
Water shortages were finally relieved in 1903 through the genius of the State's Chief Engineer C. Y. O'Connor. The establishment of a water pipeline, from Mundaring Weir in Perth, over some 563kms to the Gold fields, ensured that the city prospered.
Since then the fascinating history of the Gold fields continues.
The Super Pit was the main thing that we saw in Kalgoorlie as we wanted to get a jump on the drive to Esperance so that we could me our Frenchmen friends there the next morning. We left Kalgoorlie at right around 6:30 just as it was getting dark, and so we had to drive pretty slowly because there were so many dead kangaroos by the side of the road and we didn't want to find a live one the hard way. We drove until about 10:00, and stayed in a caravan park in a small town called Norseman.
If we thought that Perth shut down early, there weren't even any lights on in people's houses. It really surprised me. The campground was basically a dirt parking lot with grass along one side to camp on with electric outlets and taps to fill your reservoir with water.
We left early after showering. There was one other RV in the park, but there was no sign of them waking up.
-Gary Milner
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Southern WA
Tracie and I went on a little road trip through most of Southern WA this week. We spent the last seven days seeing the small towns around Perth.
We went to Kalgoorlie to see the superpit, one of the worlds largest open pit mines. We went to Esperance, a small port town directly south of Kalgoorlie. We went to Cape Le Grande, a national park near Esperance. It had a great beach, lots of kangaroos, heaps of lizards of various shapes and sizes up to about 3 feet long and thousands upon thousands of flies. Pemberton and the tree top walk were good. There is a walkway suspended 40 meters in the air where you walk above the canopy of the euclyptus trees. Albany was very beautiful, there is a natural arc near the coast and a huge gap in the coast which is about 30 meters deep and the waves splash way over top of it. Margeret River was rushed and therefore a bit of a disappointment, especially considering that their main thing is all the vinyards. Tracie told the girl at the Tourist Center that we only had a day to visit, and that we wanted to see the very best things but that we don't drink and want to see things other than vinyards. The girl became visibly nervous at the thought of it.
In anycase we have almost 3 gigs of photos and will be uploading them asap. Tracie is taking her turn first, so take a look at what she has to offer.
-Gary Milner
We went to Kalgoorlie to see the superpit, one of the worlds largest open pit mines. We went to Esperance, a small port town directly south of Kalgoorlie. We went to Cape Le Grande, a national park near Esperance. It had a great beach, lots of kangaroos, heaps of lizards of various shapes and sizes up to about 3 feet long and thousands upon thousands of flies. Pemberton and the tree top walk were good. There is a walkway suspended 40 meters in the air where you walk above the canopy of the euclyptus trees. Albany was very beautiful, there is a natural arc near the coast and a huge gap in the coast which is about 30 meters deep and the waves splash way over top of it. Margeret River was rushed and therefore a bit of a disappointment, especially considering that their main thing is all the vinyards. Tracie told the girl at the Tourist Center that we only had a day to visit, and that we wanted to see the very best things but that we don't drink and want to see things other than vinyards. The girl became visibly nervous at the thought of it.
In anycase we have almost 3 gigs of photos and will be uploading them asap. Tracie is taking her turn first, so take a look at what she has to offer.
-Gary Milner
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
REMEMBRANCE DAY
Remembrance day is on Friday. I'm posting a picture of Grandpa Ellsworth Scoville's war medals from the second world war. He was in the Navy and was primarily posted to convoy escorts and submarine hunting. He helped in sending many nazi submarines to Davy Jones locker. He had many narrow escapes from death himself. The ships he was on were powered by steam and he was a steam engineer.
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