Australia: It's a big country out there

AAP

Despite having lived in Australia for the last three years, time and time again I have fallen into the trap of underestimating its sheer size as I set off blindly on another adventure.

A train trip to Broken Hill from Sydney was another reminder of the enormity of this country.

I mean 13-and-a-half hours on a train without even leaving NSW - it can take 10 minutes less to fly to LA!

The initial shock of seeing the journey time ranks up there with having to hand over $A20 ($NZ22.69) to a gleeful Peruvian-born Sydney bus driver in my local pub who successfully proved that Brazil really was bigger than Australia, after I had smugly dismissed his claim as nothing more than South American myopia.

But after taking my seat on the once-weekly Monday morning Country Link Outback service from Sydney to Broken Hill, the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposit, and Australia's longest-lived mining city, the fun was to begin.

Situated 1100km from Sydney, Broken Hill is closer to Adelaide than the NSW capital, operates on Central Standard Time and is a hugely popular destination for seniors who take advantage of concessionary fares to make the epic cross-state pilgrimage.

Anxious to glean some first-hand info about the delights of the Silver City I struck up a conversation in the buffet car with Brian, a retiree from Kogarah, s southern Sydney suburb, who unashamedly revealed he loved going to Broken Hill because it was the furthest he could travel for free.

A further probing about his plans once he arrived proved to be fairly brief when he revealed he was only going for the night and returning the next day because he loved long-haul train journeys.

Each to their own I guess, and although he may well have the men in white coats scratching their heads, it was easy to see some method in Brian's evident madness as we travelled through some of Australia's most stunning and barren terrain with only the masses of kangaroos keeping the emus and the snakes company.

The harshness of the land was exemplified perfectly midway through the journey as the train meandered its way through the desert in what staff called the worst red dust storm they had seen in 10 years, making visibility outside almost impossible.

It also left one passenger, resplendent in a white jacket John Travolta would have been proud of 30 years ago, wishing he hadn't stepped off for that cigarette at Euabalong West, when he returned to the carriage five minutes later looking like a sunburnt Pom.

After finally reaching Broken Hill on a chilly evening, we were met by Chris, our driver and excellent tour guide, from Silver City Tours and a Broken Hill man to core who, like many in the town, was a former miner who spent no fewer than 31 years working underground.

Known locally as Brolga, for his apparent resemblance to the tall grey bird with the famous intricate mating dance, what Chris didn't know about the area wasn't worth knowing.

Although Broken Hill's skyline is dominated by mining headstands, many of which are now disused, art is a major part of its economy.

The late Pro Hart was one of Broken Hill's greatest sons and his gallery is one of its main tourist attractions.

His famous painted Rolls Royces are parked outside. And lining up alongside several of his, and many other artists' paintings is the famous canon he used to fire oils onto canvas.

A number of his sculptures feature prominently outside the city's airport and the Royal Flying Doctor's hangar.

However, mining is what made Broken Hill what it is and the local community has a deep sense of pride about what their city has contributed to Australia's history and economy.

BHP, the world's biggest mine company, began life here and the only hostilities on Australian soil during World War One took place in Broken Hill on New Year's Day 1915, when two Turkish sympathisers opened fire on a picnic train heading for nearby Silverton.

Nowadays, due largely to decreasing metal prices and the closure of many of the mines, the city has been forced to diversify with more and more artists moving here and more focus being directed at attracting tourists to the area.

There are now more art galleries in Broken Hill than pubs, including the Big Picture Gallery, home to the world's largest acrylic landscape painting, a breathtaking example of some of the magnificent talent on display in this outback town.

It was also refreshing to note the absence of a David Jones, Myer or Bunnings in the well appointed CBD, although punters will be in their element at the city's dog track, racecourse and trots arena.

And if that isn't enough for those who like a bet, Broken Hill is the only city in NSW where Two Up is legal.

It is this combination of culture and blue-collar values that make this place unique and this was encapsulated in some of Pro Hart's finest work.

The surrounding areas of Broken Hill also have plenty to offer with nearby Silverton, one of the most famous outback towns in Australia a real haven for tourists and filmmakers alike.

The famous Silverton Hotel can count Mad Max and Dirty Deeds among its credits, and the car used by Mel Gibson in the film that gave him his big break still sits outside.

There is no shortage of characters among Silverton's 50-strong population, including Australia's only legal coin carver who gleefully infuriates suits from Canberra who keep trying to close him down, by producing a letter from former treasurer, a certain Mr P Keating, which gives him authorisation to continue his business.

A sculpture symposium which saw sculptors from places as far flung as Georgia, Mexico and the UK invited to create 13 hand-crafted sandstone sculptures sitting high up in the middle of the desert, is another focal point for the area.

The final leg of our visit took in a bushwalk at the Mutawintji National Park 130km north-east of Broken Hill.

On the way to Mutawintji the rich red land was peppered with uncharacteristic green thanks to some recent heavy rain as we travelled along a road that contained no fewer that 49 dips.

Underneath a brilliant blue sky, hordes of giant red kangaroos hopped away in the distance, emus ran to nowhere in particular or into themselves, leading Chris to making the sage observation that the only thing more stupid than an emu was two emus.

Upon reaching Mutawintji we met Gerald Quayle, our Aboriginal guide. Gerald was one of the key men in ensuring Mutawintji became the first national park in NSW to be co-managed by an indigenous community.

The site has restricted access and is only open to the public when an accredited guide is present.

Aboriginal elders conduct historic tours during the Easter to November period where rock carvings dating back 30,000 years can be viewed and talks given on ancient hunting techniques and how the land was worked.

The terrain is magnificent with gorges lined with river gums and the occasional rock pool to discover.

It is also a haven for birdwatchers who can enjoy the corellas, budgerigars, apostle birds and magpies. They may glimpse a wedgetail eagle or the peregrine falcon which has been known to appear here.

The journey back to Sydney was, believe it or not, 17 hours, but this time it was on board the sumptuous Indian Pacific, which calls in at Broken Hill on its way to Sydney from Perth and Adelaide.

Although the tracks in NSW have more lumps than a bad bowl of porridge the Indian Pacific is a great way to travel.

The rooms are not the most spacious it has to be said with cat swinging out of the question, but they are cosy and the food on offer in the sumptuous restaurant car is excellent and a far cry from the half-cooked meat pies available on usual train trips.

Maybe train-loving Brian from Kogarah had a point after all!

IF YOU GO

CountryLink services to Broken Hill can be booked at countrylink.info/

Indian Pacific services can be booked at gsr.com.au/

Tours of Broken Hill tours can be booked through silvercitytours.com.au who offer a wide range of packages.

Spacious and superbly maintained four star cottages in Broken Hill can be booked through emaroocottages.com.au/.

* The writer was a guest of Silver City tours, Indian Pacific and CountryLink.