Lightning Ridge

We have visited Lightning Ridge a few years back and at that time took the town bus tour and had a good explore around Grawin and Sheepyards, as well as having a scratch around to try and find some opal.  Therefore, we only gave ourselves one full day in the town before continuing on our way.

Lightning Ridge seems to be the destination of choice for Bloggers/Zoomers/Scrub Stitchers, with me being the sixth to visit the town in the last month.

We had two places we particularly wanted to visit this time.  The first was the Chambers of the Black Hand.  We had heard nothing but rave reviews about it. The name had me intrigued.  Apparently, an Englishman by the name of Ron Canlin, with a background in the Naval Special Forces, ended up at Lightning Ridge, just for a short time, and ended up buying the Black Hands Mine in 1982.  

The mine was a dud, so he decided to open it to the public.  He hand dug a set of stairs down into the mine.  It is a very long set of stairs and you end up 18 metres below the surface.  There are still mine tours, but we weren’t interested in that.

He signed off on the date he completed the stairs and small gallery at their base.

He created a room at the bottom of the stairs and discovered that the sandstone walls were soft enough to carve.  He had done some whittling of wood previously, but has not formal art training.  First he created a Welcome banner, then he carved his Navy regimental insignia.  He used the bread and butter knife out of his lunch box.  All the carvings are done with that one knife and some forks.  He went through quite a few forks, creating textured backgrounds.

The original knife, with the opals attached to the handle, is held in the gift shop.  It is surprising how much of the blade is still intact.

He continued to add to the carvings, improving his skills as he went along.  There are now many different chambers featuring all sorts of things.  Some are just the natural stone, while others are painted.  Come along for an explore.

There are several Buddha in one chamber and they have been blessed by a representative of the Dalai Lama. 

The collection of Prime Ministers is surprisingly up to date.  Apparently, the most recent carving in the Chambers was done in 2022.

The miner represents Ron, while Herman was the fellow that started and ran The Opal Cave, where they sell opals, funnily enough.

To amuse the kids, there are several “Where’s Wally” pictures dotted around the chambers.  We found a few, but I’m guessing we missed many more.  They were in rather hidden little spots.

Ron is now in his 80s and lives down the south coast.  Apparently, he still visits Lightning Ridge, but is not doing any more carvings.

We were not disappointed and the Chambers lived up to their reviews.  We are so very glad that we visited.

Our next port of call was the Cactus Garden.  This was created in the 1980s, with some of the plants being up to 60 years old.

This one is a Saguaro, which is the Arizona State Flower.  This specimen is over 100 years old.  Most of the cactus were from the Americas.

And that concluded our pre planned touristy bits.

Having read the information brochure on the area and checking out the website, it appeared that there was Social Bowls at the Bowling Club on Sunday afternoons, and it was Sunday.  However, when Mick phoned, it turned out that they had played in the morning instead, as it was Mother’s Day.  They said he could still go down for a roll up in the afternoon and a few others would probably turn up.  I went along to keep him company and do some crochet.

The Bowling Club is rather fancy for the area and is currently undergoing even further improvements.  They have one grass green and a very flash artificial surface green under cover with fans and misters.  The fans and misters weren’t on, but we appreciated the shade.  It was a pleasant temperature, but would have been a bit warm otherwise.

There were even a couple of John Murray murals.

No one else turned up, so I had a roll up with him.  No crochet was done. We had a lovely afternoon rolling back and forwards and I am delighted that I actually beat him on a couple of ends.  It was a really pleasant way to spend some time without being touristy.  Afterwards we had a nice yarn with a couple of local bowlers and learnt that they have a very rich bowls tournament, The Black Opal Classic, which was depicted in one of the murals.

Our final destination for the day was to soak away the aches and pains in the bore baths, on dusk.

All I can say is that they are HOT!!! 

There is the large pool, pictured here and a smaller, cooler one.  I could only manage to dangle my feet in the cooler one… not even get in.  Mick, on the other hand hopped in the big pool.  Even the locals were saying it was very hot on the day.  Oh well, it was still a nice place to sit and we had a nice chat with others that were there.

And so ended our time in Lightning Ridge.  We would be back on the road the next day.

A Day at Cowra with Lou and Tony

Be prepared for a long post.

We spent a beautiful autumn day at Cowra with Lou and Tony.  Cowra is about 100kms west of us, situated on the Lachlan River.  Mick and I really like the town, but usually just pass through.  We have been wanting to play the tourist for a while, so this was the perfect opportunity.

I’ll start with a bit of history.  Being on the river, Cowra has been a productive area for food production.  There is quite a lot of granite outcrops and apparently the name Cowra is aboriginal for “place of rocks”.

The main part of the town’s history we were focussed on is during World War Two.  An army training camp was established just out of town in 1940.  This was converted to an internment camp in 1941 for Italian, Japanese and Indonesian civilians.  This was soon changed to a Prisoners of War camp, as the war progressed.  They were mainly Italian and Japanese.  

On the morning of 5 August 1944, the Japanese prisoners mounted an escape from the camp, with many of them dying and five Australian servicemen also lost their lives.

Since that time, there has been a strong link between Cowra and Japan.  There is a Japanese War Cemetery, Japanese Gardens and a Peace Bell.  The town is a perfect example of reconciliation.

We started our day at the lookout overlooking the town and surrounding district.  

You can see why it is the place of rocks.  You can also see that it is still a fertile agricultural area.

Our next stop was the Japanese Gardens.  They were established in the 1970s and designed by a Japanese landscape designer. They are magnificent. Two of the main features are the lake and the rocky outcrop.

Let’s just enjoy some random photos.

A very pleasant way to spend the morning.

There is a cultural centre as part of the visitors centre, which had some interesting items.

Of course I am drawn to the textile objects.  I have a Temari ball that my Japanese friend made for me when we were in our teens.  Mine has rice husks in the centre.  I hang it on the Christmas tree every year.

After a delicious lunch we ventured out to the site of the former POW camp.  All buildings were sold off and removed in 1947, after the final detainees were repatriated and the land sold.  So, you have to use your imagination and the information boards to work out what was where.  Coincidentally, one of those army huts was our back yard shed when I was a kid. 

This reconstruction of a guard tower was built as a memorial to guards of 22 Garrison Battalion, who served at Number 12 Prisoner of War Camp, Cowra.

This diagram and old photo gives an indication of the camp layout.

Sections A and C were the Italians.  Other than a small minority of Fascists, they were generally well liked and well behaved.  Many worked on local farms.  They also had a love of music, and had many skilled tradesmen who helped the locals and passed on their skills.  

They even created a grotto with a small replica of the Colosseum and two fountains.  There are still some remnants of the fountains remaining.

The Japanese were mainly held in Section B, while their officers, some Indonesians, Koreans, and Fascists were held in Section D.

The Japanese prisoners had a different demeanour to the Italians, in that it was very dishonourable to be captured and held prisoner. 

The day before the breakout, the Senior Japanese POW was informed that the Japanese prisoners were to be split up and some transferred to another camp and be separated from the rest of the men.  It is believed that this was the main trigger for the breakout, as there had already been a growing restlessness among them.

The camp did not have very high security around its perimeter and not many guards, so those that were there were fairly easily overrun. 330 men escaped, with 231 losing their lives as well as five Australian servicemen.  Once outside the camp, they discovered they had nowhere to go and there was no orderly leadership.  Some were killed in the escape, while others chose suicide rather than be recaptured.  This honoured their military code of Death Before Capture.

Many of the survivors never told even their families upon their ultimate return to Japan that they had been prisoners. While incarcerated, they believed that on their return to Japan the army would take them to some deserted place and they would be shot.  Over time, some of the survivors did form the Cowra Kai (Cowra Society) and several have returned to visit Cowra.

It is a sombre part of our history.

On a lighter note, next to the POW Camp site, there are some painted water tanks.

We next visited the Japanese and War Cemeteries, adjacent to the Cowra General Cemetery.

Firstly, the Australian War Cemetery, which holds 27 graves from the Second World War, including those who lost their lives in the Cowra Breakout.

Beside this cemetery is the Japanese War Cemetery.  This is where the 231 who lost their lives in the break out have been laid to rest, along with any other Japanese who died while at the POW camp.  After the war ended the local RSL cared for the cemetery. 

(English Translation)

In 1963 the Japanese government submitted a proposal to the Australian government for a Japanese War Cemetery, which was agreed.  All other Japanese who died in Australia during the war, military and civilian alike, had their remains moved to here.

It is a very peaceful place.

Our final stop was to see the Peace Bell in the centre of town.  You can read about it here. 

It was a really lovely day of learning more about our local area and sharing it with our friends.