Lightning Ridge, 23 July 2017

    Another freezing night in downtown Dubbo. No problem, today we head north to Lightning Ridge. We are pleased to report that Warrawillah still exists and we said hello in spirit to the Mortimer clan as we flew past on our way to ‘Gil’. Through the town and out along the road, past Gulargambone with its stylised corrugated Galahs and real-life emus. We have never seen so many, one near the road had a heap of chicks as well. We stopped for a break at Coonamble, and enjoyed ourselves by getting the chairs out and sitting in the sun in the local park with our cuppa and a piece of cake. Apart from the herd of cattle eating their way up the long-paddock and the distraction of sliding through Walgett, possibly the most distressed town in NSW, the rest of the drive to The Ridge is uneventful and we arrived at our park in time for a late lunch.

    One of the reasons for coming here was to see those great Australian bush poets. Mel & Suzie, who abandoned Wilton in Qld for a new home here in Lightning Ridge. The show is on at 4:30. They tried the usual evening slot but found that nobody came back once they had gone to their vans for dinner. Anyhow the show was good, not as good as the Winton ones perhaps, but pretty entertaining none the less.

    While Judy whipped up a potato pie for dinner, I went for a swim in the heated pool, much to the surprise of those all rugged up in their puffer jackets and beanies in the adjacent camp kitchen.

Corrugated Iron Church, Lightning Ridge NSW 2017

• Built in 2000: The production crew constructed it for the film The Goddess of 1967. It was intentionally built out of salvaged, rusted corrugated iron to blend seamlessly into the unique "recycled" architecture of the Lightning Ridge opal fields.
• The 20-Year Icon: Following the movie, it quickly became an unofficial landmark along the "Open Cut" car door drive route. It was widely celebrated as one of the most photographed quirky structures in the outback.
• The Late 2020 Storm: In late 2020, a severe freak windstorm swept through the area and completely flattened the fragile, twenty-year-old prop.
• The Clean-Up: Because it sat right on active opal diggings and along a public tourist track, the structural remains, sharp iron, and splintered wood were completely cleared away for safety reasons.