Australia Up Close Australia'S Outback Yields Mother Lode of Historical Lore By DARREN McLEAN	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
魅力あふれる豪内陸部 キーボード奏者でもある筆者は先月、内陸の都市マウンドアイザのクラブから演奏を頼まれました。内陸部を訪れるのは初めての経験。地下1キロまでもぐる鉱山の観光ツアーに参加したり、厳しい自然環境を経験したりと、貴重な時間を過ごすことができました。

I received my first opportunity to see Australia's rugged outback last month, when I was invited to perform at the Carpentaria Buffallo Club in Mount Isa. I packed my swag and my keyboard and flew into Australia's red center with my singing partner, Susannah, for a two-week working holiday.

Mt. Isa is located in western Queensland in a dry, rocky region known as the Barkly Tablelands. The township of Mt. Isa began to flourish early this century after John Campbell Miles, a mining engineer, stumbled across rich mineral deposits in the area.

Since Miles' discovery, in 1923, mining has fueled the growth of this thriving outback town, which grew in population to 24,000 people and became the world's biggest single producer of silver and lead and one of the top 10 producers of copper and zinc.

I was surprised to find that Mt. Isa is in fact the world's "largest" city, with a main road stretching 188 kilometers to the west, and there isn't even a high-rise in sight!

Between our nightly performances at the Buffalo Club, Susannah and I managed to escape from town to see some amazing sights, and there is only one way to see Australia's outback — in a four-wheel drive.

We headed east towards Cloncurry, the nearest township. Halfway along our journey we turned off the bitumen onto a dusty dirt track to find the abandoned township of Mary Kathleen, or Mary K, as it is known to the locals.

In 1954 a large body of uranium was found at Mary K by a group of eight pioneers. The town immediately erupted into a thriving mining community, but 30 years later, in 1984, the large mine suddenly ceased all operations, and the town was closed and auctioned off.

The few remnants remaining in the barren ghost town include a stone pond and fountain, and the vinyl floor of the once very busy Mary K pub. The large abandoned open-cut mine just outside the township is one of the most impres sive sights in the Mt. Isa region.

The Riversleigh Fossil Center is the major tourist attraction in Mt. Isa. It houses a museum of fossils and artifacts that were discovered in the Riversleigh region, north of Mt. Isa, after being preserved for millions of years. The fossils provide scientific proof that around 40 million years ago, before the Aboriginals roamed the arid outback, the Mt. Isa region was a lush tropical rain forest teeming with amazing creatures such as flesh-eating kangaroos and massive, flightless birds.

The center also runs daily underground tours into the Mt. Isa mine. I jumped at the opportunity to attend.

After descending one km below the surface in a massive elevator that holds 184 people, we reached the bottom of the mine and drove through an endless array of underground tunnels to the heart of the mining operations. The underground tunnels total 950 km in length and spiral down to a depth of 1.8 kilometers, where there are rich copper deposits.

We were then taken by Dave Colvin, a miner with 30 years' underground experience, to the lead, silver and zinc mines. Here we saw massive remote-controlled loaders scoop 10 tons of ore into buckets and drop them down shafts to a collection point, from where the ore was later lifted to the surface and refined. It was truly breathtaking to see the extent of the underground operations and the reason behind Mt. Isa's growth.

For thousands of years before white settlement in Australia, the Kalkadoon Aboriginal tribe lived from the land and lakes surrounding the Mt. Isa region. The Kalkadoon people were not interested in mining the land's wealth. Instead, they lived primitive lives, hunting native animals such as the kangaroo, and gathering nuts and berries.

The fiercely independent Aboriginals clashed with white pastoralists when they started exploring the area in the late 19th century. Several battles took place on the desolate plains around Mt. Isa, from which the Kalkadoon tribe never recovered. Several Aboriginal rock paintings scattered around the area are the only remnants of the original tribe.

After two weeks in the desolate outback I was pleased to return to my coastal home, but I brought back with me some amazing memories of Australia's vast inland. I highly recommend a visit to Mt. Isa if you would like to see some fascinating sights, meet the friendly locals and experience the true heart of outback Australia.

Shukan ST: Sept. 10, 1999

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