MEDIA INFORMATION ATE 2012

Accessible NSW Outback

Australians have a strong and proud identification with iconic outback landscapes. Its people, and experiences, including the ancient and continuous culture of ’s indigenous people, is inextricably linked to the land.

Outback NSW, is an easy-to-reach and friendly place, a land of graceful white gum trees and shady billabongs alongside Aboriginal rock art galleries dating back many millennia. Outback pubs are full of great stories and local history ranges from Aboriginal dreaming to gold rushes and heroic pioneers. Welcoming locals and shimmering landscapes make the Outback a fantastic place to explore, unwind and take it easy. In the NSW Outback you can fossick for opals, boil a billy and sample bush hospitality with the locals.

Broken Hill – arts, retro and Outback

Broken Hill, the Silver City, is the gateway to the NSW Outback. With a population of about 21,000, this historic city offers perhaps the greatest concentration of art galleries, per capita, in Australia. More than 30 galleries exhibit work by artists inspired by the town and surrounding landscapes, the best known being Pro Hart. At the Living Desert Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, sculptures sit on top of hills in the desert reserve. See some of what the far western region of NSW has to offer with Silver City Tours. Broken Hill is reinventing itself, catering for the arts and gourmet market, with plenty of authentic outback experiences enlivened by quirky retro touches. The city feels part pre-World War I, part gold rush. Nostalgia and charm enhance accommodation that meets the modern visitor‟s expectations of comfort and style. Broken Hill‟s wonders include Bells Milk Bar, an intact slice of 1950s heaven (thanks to Les and Mavis Bell‟s 1956 renovation). Founded in 1892, Bells still serves its delicious concoctions in metal containers and fluted glasses. Younger visitors are amazed to discover flavours they‟ve never tried. Current owner is Jason King, self-professed “milk-bar crusader” who also runs a Milk Bar Museum in a back room.

Accommodation in Broken Hill includes the comfortable Silver Haven Motel and the Astra, a heritage building from the 1890s, now meticulously refurbished as a 4.5-star hotel. Grand old hotels, now refurbished, include

the Palace Hotel, one of the earliest three-storey buildings in Australia, with retro interiors, walls and ceilings covered in Renaissance and fantasy Australian landscape murals. The hotel has starred in many films including „Priscilla Queen of the Desert‟. Others include The Royal Exchange Hotel, The Imperial Hotel and The Miners Arms. Visitors can also stay in a magnificent 1911 Romanesque church, converted into luxury accommodation. Other elements in the Broken Hill scene include agricultural field days, a retro cinema and a Muslim mosque dating from the 1880s. You may not expect olive oil to be made in the outback, but the multi award winning Broken Hill Extra Virgin Olive Oil is well worth trying. An especially memorable way to visit Broken Hill is on the Indian Pacific train, one of the world‟s great rail journeys, running from to Perth via Adelaide. The Sydney/Broken Hill sector heads through the spectacular World Heritage listed Blue Mountains region west of Sydney. Arriving at Broken Hill railway station is special from the outset, providing a great introduction to the Silver City. The station, built from sandstone blocks in 1905, is now a steam train and mineral museum. The Outback around Broken Hill and beyond is a region of surprises, rich in plants and wildlife. Distinct ecosystems in the Living Desert Flora and Fauna Sanctuary vary from open woodlands to rocky gorges. Broken Hill is the access point to the Menindee Lakes system, holding more water than Sydney Harbour. This paradise for birdwatchers boasts a diversity of bird species exceeding Kakadu. The lakes are now full following strong summer flows.

Aboriginal insights add extra dimension

Outside Broken Hill, the NSW Outback offers hundreds of special and authentic Aussie experiences, many enhanced with Aboriginal insights, art and stories. Another amazing place to visit is , with its ancient Aboriginal rock art and engravings, its cool rockpools and gorges lined with majestic river red gums. Flowers and plants in this area are superbly adapted to an environment that varies enormously in temperature and rainfall. Discover Mutawintji National Park and the fiery red Bynguano Ranges with a guided tour with Tri State Safaris, view Aboriginal rock art, complete with stories of the Dreamtime legends relating to the creation of the landscapes. Stay overnight in the old Belah shearer‟s quarters in , south of Bourke, and hike the Mulareenya Creek Art Site Track to the Mulgowan Aboriginal Heritage Site to see original Aboriginal rock art from the Ngemba people first hand. Contemplate remote Mount Grenfell, near Cobar, with its extraordinary collection of Aboriginal rock art. Dancing figures, kangaroos, emus and lizards, coloured in vibrant reds, yellows and ochres, embellish the rock overhangs at Mount Grenfell. Expert Aboriginal-owned-and-operated tour firm Harry Nanya Outback Tours has intimate knowledge of Mungo National Park in the centre of the Willandra Lakes World Heritage area. Harry Nanya was one of the last Aborigines in NSW to live by traditional hunting techniques. These days, Harry Nanya Outback Tours is run by Graham Clarke, a traditional Paakantyi Aborigine.

Other Outback activities

Bush camp by the ruins of the old Coach and Horse pub where the Cobb & Co used to stop in the Paroo- Darling National Park. A Peery Lake Tag-Along Discovery Ranger Tour through the National Park heads to Peery Lake, an internationally recognized wetland currently full after bountiful rainfall, to see a spectacular array of bird life. Sleep at the White Cliffs Underground Motel – 30 spacious underground rooms – for the darkest, quietest sleep of your life. Many locals live underground too; the subterranean temperature is pleasant all year round. Take a four-wheel-drive Historic Outback Trails tour, staying in outback pubs with stories to tell, some funny, some sad and some gruesome. Hear snippets of a bygone era and enjoy the atmosphere, complete with dinner, bed and breakfast every day and plenty of time to chat to the locals. Trips from Broken Hill stay in the White Cliffs Underground Motel on the final night.

For more information go to visitnsw.com.au or sydney.com

To access the image library and download images go to images.destinationnsw.com.au

Contact

Diane Glasson Manager Destination Publicity and Promotions Destination NSW Email [email protected] Tel 61 2 9931 1475 Mob 61 2 (0) 428 487 585

Who’s at ATE 2012 ?

Destination NSW. Booth 35. Eastern and Western. www.dnsw.com.au Broken Hill City Council. Booth 3. Western. brokenhill.nsw.gov.au CountryLink/Rail Corp. Booth 233/234. Eastern and Western. railcorp.nsw.gov.au Mungo Lodge. Booth 4B. Western. www.mungolodge.com.au Rail Australia. Booth 233. Western. www.railaustralia.com.au