25th August Three Ways RH nr Tennant Creek 60 kms today 8,638 kms todate

We both woke up just before dawn when the temperature dropped and we felt chilly.  We have found this quite common on this trip – the predawn chills.  We rode into Tennant Creek for brekky and found a nice cafe for our traditional bacon and eggs.

First stop after breakfast was the Battery Hill Mine Museum.  They had lost their licence for the underground tours due to safety issues.  We had the social display and the mineral collections to choose from.

The social display was the personal story of Kevin Weabers who’s father set up the Rising Sun gold mine in the 1930’s as one of the first mining families in the Tennant Creek area.  His father was blind but that didn’t stop him being a key player in the local community.  Kevin painted a very happy life with his family.  Then tragedy struck and his  sister Kate was killed in an air crash where Owen was the pilot and then Owen died flying in WWII.



The mineral display was very good with clear descriptions of the different types of minerals and beautiful examples from Australia and the world.  This is a Crocoite crystal of Lead/Chromium oxide.

The Weabers built an ore battery to crush the rock and allow the extraction the gold.  They bought it from Harris Scarfe in Adelaide!



After WWII Peko Wallsend started mining on a large scale and developed the Nobs Hill mine into one of the most productive in Australia.  From 1949 to 1969 Peko extracted 50 million oz of gold and was a financial bonanza for the shareholders.

I couldn’t resist the photo opportunity!

We next went to the Nyinkka Nyunyu cultural centre.  It was an audio visual display of the life and cultural history of the local Warumungu people.  We were given an audio self guided tour player and looked at 2 different aspects in the centre.



The beginning was a series of diorama's of the life of aboriginals after Europeans arrived in  the area.  The local elders started a native title claim in the early 1970’s and were eventually granted their lands back despite the obstruction of the NT government.  The High Court was the one supporter they had and it proved decisive.  Nyinkka Nyunyu is the aboriginal word for the spiky tailed lizard and it is a key totem for the Warumungu people.  The rock formation above is actually the sacred site where the lizard was created in the dreamtime.

Alan decided to clean his air filters to see if that would solve his top gear engine problems.  He washed and re-oiled his primary sock and secondary filter.  A quick test ride showed some improvement.   Tomorrow we are planning to leave at sunrise as we have a long 600 km ride to Mount Isa fighting the wind.