Category: NSW

NSW, Well Bugger Me!13 Comments

The Cornish Miners

Itching for Hitching

It is said that the old Cornish miners of Broken Hill used to sleep sitting up, because their lungs were too damaged by lead and dust to allow them to sleep horizontally. They had traipsed up from South Australia, with their worldly goods in their wheelbarrows, after the copper ran out at Burra in the early 1880’s. Can you imagine how it must have felt pushing a wheelbarrow 350kms across semi arid land? Continue reading The Cornish Miners

NSW, Point of Interest4 Comments

World War One Skirmish at Home

Itching for Hitching

White Rocks Reserve in Broken Hill, NSW is the site of the only bloodshed on Australian soil in World War One. This happened when two ‘Turks’ (actually Pakistanis, but Turkish sympathisers), one an ice cream vendor the other a butcher, attacked the Silverton train as it passed, the train was full of miners heading to Silverton for a picnic. Four locals and the ‘Turks’ were killed in the resulting skirmish. A replica ice cream cart is on display at White Rocks Reserve. Continue reading World War One Skirmish at Home

NSW, Wildlife3 Comments

Jet the Truffle Dog

Itching for Hitching

Spring 2014 Our friends are growing truffles in the NSW Southern Highlands and are yet to harvest their first crop. They have been told by the experts that truffles can only be found by strictly trained truffle dogs. These are hard living working dogs, not pampered house pets and must be treated as such. Yet a neighbour in the next valley has produced Australia’s second largest truffle and it was unearthed by their fat overfed blue heeler Jet. Jet the truffle dog. Good dog Jet.   Continue reading Jet the Truffle Dog