Cornish miners burrowed into Burra, chasing copper in the 1850s. But the principal snag was water, and not a decent pump to be found. So the mining company imported an ‘engine house’ from Cornwall, essentially a pump about the size of Liechtenstein. Of course, this created the next problem. No vehicle in the colony could [...]
‘What Byron Bay was’ is the best way to describe Brunswick Heads, a beg-no-pardon rivermouth town with tackle shops, a hamburger joint, a drowsy PO, a bowling club (with mufti Sundays) and caravan park. Resident journo, Mungo McCallum is among the vigilantes seeking to prevent the least ‘Byronification’ of the place. The town’s epitome is [...]
Scotch bonnets will be there. So will pequins and malaguetas. You may even meet a yellow Fatalie Habanero. And unless you hold a degree in chilliology, you won’t have the foggiest what I’m talking about. The chance to meet these devious peppers, and all their flammable cousins, occurs in Sawtell, six kays south of Coffs. [...]
Tom Ugly’s Bridge spans the Georges River in Sydney, linking Blakehurst and Sylvania. Though if the Roads and Traffic Authourity had their way, the bridge would be known as something more genteel. Bugger that, say locals. Tom may be Ugly but he’s our Tom. Political correctness? Stick it up your clacker! Curiously the Ugly name [...]
Stanthorpe is one of the few Queensland towns where you can cop a blanket of snow. Lying at an altitude of 915 metres above sea level, this fruit and veg centre celebrates its chills with the Brass Monkey Festival each winter. Part of the fun is a running bet called How Low Will You Go, [...]
The Bigs of Australia are well-documented, from merinos (Goulburn) to mosquitoes (Hexham). In fact, if bigs are you’re bag, then check out our Big Link, or look for David Clark’s big book, labelled Big Things, out through Penguin. But the Oyster of Taree, according to our research, is the only Big to be converted into [...]
In case you’ve been living under a rock five times harder than concrete, you may not know that Todd Russell and Brant Webb have just escaped their goldmine cavity after 14 days out of circulation. An earth tremor began their troubles back on Anzac Day – April 25. One mate, Larry Knight, was crushed in [...]
Nowadays the purple donkey is a rare beast. So rare, you need to head to a cemetery near Young, in central NSW, to have your best chance of spying this specimen, nuzzling among the pioneer graves of Messrs Fowler, Freudenstein and Beehive. Did I mention the purple donkey is a native orchid? A plant ecologist [...]
Castle Creek in the heart of Queensland has long been renamed Theodore – but the ‘castle’ remains. Surprise, surprise”¦it’s a pub. And no ordinary pub. As a co-op, Hotel Theodore is a booze barn owned by the population it serves, where a meager 25 cents will see your name inscribed on the furniture – and [...]
Steve Elkington, Steve Mortimer, Slats, Sterlo, Wayne Carey, Paul Kelly, Geoff Lawson”¦.Wagga Wagga has whelped a welter of sporting champs. Maybe the most that any other Oz town can boast, per sport, per capita. Well, cmmmon, can you name a more fertile candidate? [Your Suggestion Here: ] Narromine springs to mind, with Glenn McGrath and [...]