Today, Tuesday, we did a lot of looking around Broken Hill.

First up we visited the Tourist Information Centre which is very modern and well setup. The only problem was that the heating was a little too hot mainly due to the outside air temperature being quite warm and windy while the heating was automatically set to cold winter.

We looked up a lot of information on various locations. While doing this our friend, Kelvin, spoke to this lady from Gunnedah. We did not know her but knew her late husband. All of us had a lovely chat with her before she left on a tour from the Centre. While in the Centre some of us had coffees before Vennetia went to the accountants and Prue to the chiropractor. Kelvin and I sat and chatted about all sorts of things for a while. Then a call came from Prue to say that she was finished.

Then we visited a Camping Shop and had a look around while waiting for Vennetia. There is very extensive display of items in the Camping Shop.

Then we travelled out of Broken Hill into South Broken Hill then onto the Royal Flying Doctor Service Base, which is all quite new and fresh. We watched an audio/visual display about the workings of the RFDS. Then we had a guided tour through the facility stopping to look at the Operations Centre. Then we proceeded to an observation deck in the hangar where we saw a standby Beech King Air 350 which has been extensively modified to operate in its role. The second King Air was undergoing routine service. Then we moved through the museum part of the RFDS.

Our first Art Gallery for the day was the Red Sands. There are wonderful works by Peter Browne and Rob Wellington. These artists work in the style of Brushmen of the Bush and with their own styles, too. There are numerous witty comments by the artists on a lot of their works. Prue had the Art of Broken Hill book signed by Rob Wellington.

Our next destination was the exhibition at the Silver City Mint. The “Big Picture” was one of the highlights here. It depicts the countryside surrounding Broken Hill. It is about 100 metres long and used an incredible 9 tonnes of paint to do it. The painting is in the back ground and is about 12metres high. The foreground includes examples of all forms of vegetation and life in the desert. It took over 2 years to complete the massive canvas painting. In the Mint there is available a lot of jewellery, paintings and novelty items. It is a fantastic display to view.

Then we visited the Pro Hart Gallery. There we learned more about the famous artist as well as saw the Rolls Royce car that he painted. At this gallery were the three Rolls Royce sedans and a Bentley that Pro Hart had owned. Numerous paintings and prints that he had done in his life were displayed on 3 levels and in several rooms.

After a relatively short drive, we arrived at the remains of Silverton. It is an amazing place. Not only are there numerous displays of art in the community but also it has been the location for some 140 movies and commercial productions. You most likely have seen VB beer commercials made here and possibly saw Mad Max II, Pricilla Queen of the Desert in the movie theatre.

One gallery we visited had its resident artist there, John Dynon. His work is very good. We also visited a nearby Gallery, the Horizon Gallery. Again, some great works done by regional artists.

The day was getting late, so a visit to the Silverton Hotel was a must for a drink to wash the airborne dust away. The dust had been building up during the day due to the quite strong winds. It was a dust haze that reduced visibility to a few kilometres.

While in the Silverton Hotel, we looked at the displays on the wall of the various productions and activities that have occurred in the area. It has been a very busy place for a little down that was meant to fade away. There are renovations happening in a few buildings which will help preserve the area.

By this time the afternoon was getting away so a quick visit to Umberumberka Reservoir which was built in 1915 to supply water to Broken Hill and it is still used today to supplement the water that is piped in from Menindee Lakes. The sun was starting to set, so a few late afternoon photos taken before we moved off.

Our next stop was Mundi Mundi Lookout. It is on the edge of the plains of the same name and seem to stretch out for ever to the west. A wonderful location to watch the sun set. Today there was a heavy dust haze so it showed in the photos, too, in layers.

Then it was back to our wonderful friends and guides home before we went out to the Mulga Hill Tavern for a very pleasant meal and of course, some red wine, Shiraz.

So the end of another interesting day having seen some wonderful artist displays and other enthralling sights.