This morning we spent three hours on a tour of the Hard Times Mine. This is a replica mine constructed as a tourist venture with the guides being retired miners. It is set up and operated just like the real thing although our guide did emphasise a number of times that it wasn’t representative of how mining is carried out today. He spoke sarcastically about all underground machinery now being air conditioned and fitted with a CD player!
The tour started off with us being rigged out in miners gear – overalls, miners’ belt, hard hat and boots. Before going down the mine we were given a battery to attach to the belt and a helmet torch. We looked authentic if nothing else! Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take cameras down the mine but we had our photos taken at the entrance to the cage before descending into the mine. Yep, you guessed it – if we wanted a souvenir photo then we had to part with $10.
Once descending into the mine we were loaded on to a personnel car and taken to the crib room. For the next hour or more we were taken around the mine and shown the various equipment used in days gone by. We each had the opportunity to do some “work” and use the machine used to drill holes in the rock-face. The only lighting was that provided by our helmet lamps. The guide also started up and demonstrated a variety of other mining machinery. The tour was fabulous and quite a few of us commented on just how hard and dangerous the miners’ work must have been. I never had any ambition to be a coal miner, now I know why.
This afternoon we went through the Isa Experience Gallery/Museum, another one! This was quite good and wasn’t just a building stuffed full of old junk. Actually it was the sort of museum I don’t mind, complete with informative wall panels and displays where the items were identified. Graeme, they even had an art gallery and for $1000 I could have bought something very nice to hang on your lounge room wall. It was basically aboriginal art with a modern touch as opposed to traditional aboriginal art.
We found a Gloria Jeans here too and shouted ourselves afternoon tea. It made us wonder whether Jack has been getting any babycinos since we left!
1 comment:
hi mum and dad,
we took jack for his baby chino last Saturday and surprised us both by sitting on a big chair like real little gentleman for the entire time we were there!
the mine tour must have been great,when dad worked in the mine he had to use special camera's when working down there so as not to have an explosion, so i say that's way you could not take them down.
sounds Great
cheers Renee xoo
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