Outback and Beyond Pre-Conference Tour of Burra and its Cornish Mines
Dates: Tuesday 20 April to midday Thursday 22 April 2010
We would like to welcome ICOMOS colleagues and friends to join the pre-conference ‘Outback and Beyond’ Tour of Burra and its Cornish Mines.
Join us on this pre-conference tour that will take in several heritage sites en route to Broken Hill in style. There is something in it for everyone… wine tasting, ghost towns, the Burra copper mine, steam trains and a roundhouse, a murder and great company.
We leave Adelaide Airport early on Tuesday 20 April by bus and head to the Clare Valley for morning tea and wine tasting, visit the historic town of Mintaro and finish in the historic town of Burra with a tour of the Monster Mine copper mine, relics, miners cottages and other sites. The Mine is a part of the proposed Cornish Mine Sites Trans-national World Heritage nomination.
After a big night out in Burra we will travel to Peterborough – a ‘mecca’ for train spotters. We will visit ‘Steam town’, the point where three rail gauges converge and inspect the intact roundhouse and large variety of locos on display. We also hope to visit the nearby early-1900s Gold Stamp Battery, a unique part of our industrial heritage. Our evening in Peterborough will be a highlight – a 1920s murder mystery candlelit dinner in an 1890s Seminary – where we will stay the night – that is unless you have been murdered!
Friday morning we depart for Broken Hill, travelling along the Barrier Highway, and across the Mundi Mundi Plain (that unforgettable wide landscape image of the giant ‘shoe’ atop the bus in the film “Pricilla – Queen of the Desert”), arriving in time for lunch and to attend pre-conference meetings or see historic Broken Hill. The bus destination will be the Broken Hill Conference Centre.
The pre-tour will be action packed and a great chance to see some of the best parts of South Australia and meet new friends before the conference. As we say in South Australia, it will be ‘heaps good’!
The Tour leader will be Adelaide-based architect and Australian ICOMOS Executive Committee member, Michael Queale.
Download the Outback and Beyond Burra Tour_revised itinerary for further information.
The tour cost will include:
• bus transport from Adelaide to Broken Hill (drop off at conference centre)
• entry fees and guides
• all morning and afternoon teas, lunches and a supply of water bottles en-route
• Peterborough breakfast and dinner
• Burra passport, mine museum entry and guided tour upon arrival
• ‘Steamtown’ entry and guided tour in Peterborough
• night Two mystery candlelit dinner, 1920s themed including costumes, in an 1880s Seminary Mansion
• specialist sites guides
• accommodation in motel on a twin share basis (2 nights in Burra and Peterborough) – options are limited in remote areas
Excluded:
• night One Burra dinner and breakfast (staying in self catering Burra miners cottages but Hotel is located opposite)
• alcohol
• toiletries (suggest a quick dry camping towel in a container)
• any special needs and personal requirements
• own refillable water bottle
• camera etc
Participants on the tour will need:
i) Wide brimmed hat
ii) Loose fitting clothing preferably with high collars, sleeves and long trousers.
The Outback can be cold at night and when it does rain, it can rain very heavily. It is advisable to bring a jumper and a light weight windcheater/rain-jacket
iii) Sensible enclosed footware – no heels, sandals or thongs
iv) Everyone to have a refillable water bottle and to monitor their own hydration
v) Sun screen, insect repellent
vi) Other food, such as in-between snacks, fruit, energy bars, dry fruit and the like
Post-tour food will include BBQs and tends to be meat based; if diet is a concern advise the conference organiser.
Finalised package details (TBC)
Please note that this is the Outback and the climate can be both changeable and harsh. The ground is uneven with numerous trip hazards. A hiking pole might be useful to help maintain balance.