Australia here we come!

10/9/12

Today we drove to Boulder and explored the historic main street called Burt Street. Our first stop was at a sweets shop where Mary-Anne and I bought a double icecream each. We walked down Burt Street and we could still see evidence of the magnitude 5 earthquake at 8.17am that struck the town in April 2010. The stone buildings don't like being shaken about and there was still scaffolding on some. Unfortunately for Boulder, it was the start of a decline in the economy of the town with businesses closing down. We saw the Miners Monument which is a tribute to all miners who have worked the famous Golden Mile.

Our next stop was at the Super Pit which is an enormous open cut gold mine. It was first started by Alan Bond in the 1980's and then taken over by a consortium which still owns it today.

We drove back into Kalgoorlie and had lunch in Hammond Park. It is a lovely park with green grass, picnic tables, bird cages, a small lake with a waterfall and bridge and an enclosure with kangaroos and emus.

After lunch we raced back to the Superpit to hopefully see a scheduled blast. We got there in time but the spot we thought was going to be blasted was not it. We were looking in the wrong direction when the explosion went off and it was smaller than what we expected. But all was not lost. It's not every day that you get to see something blown up.

We then drove back to Kalgoorlie and walked through the old Town Hall building which was constructed in 1908. There are intricate stamped metal ceilings, chandeliers, a sweeping staircase and a magnificent theatre or concert hall with cast iron and red velvet chairs. Slim Dusty and Dame Nellie Melba among others have performed there over the years. Also in the building was a war museum and sporting hall of fame from the district. Outside the town hall on the footpath is a replica bronze statue of Paddy Hannan with his water bag. It is a water fountain also. The girls did a little shopping on the way home.