Wednesday, December 15, 2010

THE BURRA CONECTION

On our recent coach trip to Lake Eyre we had a short stop in Burra. I rang Val to let her know we were passing through and she waved to us from her lovely old home and then drove to meet us at the Town Hall rest stop. Following is an excerpt from my blog.

Val and Diane in Burra-old room mates from the 60's

Then we drove on further south and stopped at a historic mining town, Burra, which is still thriving today on tourism. It so happens that I have an old friend living in this far away place. We used to room together when we were at teachers' college. Her home is the oldest hotel building in Australia that has not had the original floor plan altered. It was fun to catch up with her even if it was for only half an hour.

Burra is a fascinating historical copper mining town with many wonderful buildings to see. Unfortunately, we were not there long enough.

submitted by Diane Bohlen.
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1 comment:

  1. Colin (HB)December 15, 2010 at 2:30 PM

    Well done, Bill and Diane.
    What's with the on the side writing? Are you testing former colleagues eye sights???? You sure tested mine. ha ha.

    Burra is a place to put on your "bucket lists" to visit. It is an amazing historical town - sometimes you wonder what century you are in - Red Pillbox Post boxes and the old decayed settlements - now heaps of stone, are a must to see. Also the "holes" in the riverbank where the poorer miners lived - just like I suppose - "otters or water rats"?
    Even way back, the miners had their own areas, the different people from the UK - Cornish etc. lived together - the Irish apart and the Germans also apart. The history is a jigsaw puzzle. Completely fascinating and sad.

    For collectors of antiques, it is "heaven on earth" - incredible.

    It has good caravan/camping accommodation and a couple of pubs and motels - the "pub" just down the road from Val's serves the best "country pub style" meals I have ever tasted.

    The fish is fresh from the "gulf" region and the meat - lamb, chicken, beef and pork are ALL local and beautiful. Furthermore they don't charge 5 star prices, and for the "icing on the cake", the staff are all locals and make you feel really welcome.

    Such a pity that Bill and Diane, had such a short stop on their wonderful adventure.

    I just hope that others from the class of 62/63 appreciate the efforts of Bill and Diane - I certainly do.

    Cheers
    Colin (HB)

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