Who am I ... ?

[Mutawintji]

WHO AM I ?

My early career is shrouded in mystery .... this is what is known.

I was born into the German Aristocracy in the 1830s-1840s.
I was born of German and Portuguese ancestors.
I was trained in Chemistry.

I was an Officer in the Royal Saxon Army.
We laid siege to Paris in the deadly winter of 1870
We died in hecatombs of tuberculosis and disease.

When my best friend was killed, December, 1870, I deserted.
I fled to the docks in Holland.
I took passage overseas.

Anxious that I would be found and tried I adopted an alias, in morbid honour of my best friend.
I was poverty stricken and found employment as a shepherd.
One day while gathering sheep, I made a 'strike'.

I made the biggest strike the world has ever known, bigger than the 'Californian Gold Rush' and all others combined.
Others had walked past it and ignored it.
I had the brains to form a syndicate and take out all possible leases.
There were 15 shares in the final division.
One shareholder lost his in a poker game.
Another traded his for some cattle.

I became fabulously wealthy.

I was still fearful of being arrested and tried for desertion.
I stepped back from all publicity and let another take the honour.
I married, traveled the world and lived a fine life for the rest of time


The company I founded, and named, is today the biggest global mining giant in the world. Same name still.
A city, of the same name, stands where I, a shepherd, gathered sheep in loneliness.
My mine, my lease, is still being operated today.

My mine helped found a Nation, significantly so.

Who am I ... ??? (Either name will do)


(Any attempt at googling will receive a sentence of 100 lashes )



cool bananas ... Greg

[Big Shed]

Charles Rasp?

[Mutawintji]

Hell !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


No google ?????


Greg

[Big Shed]

Nope, have had a long standing interest in mining in Oz and have spent a fair bit of time in Broken Hill as part of one of my jobs.

The amount of info you gave identified Broken Hill fairly easily, Charles Rasp was easy after that.

Must admit that some of the facts you gave I wasn't aware of.

[Mutawintji]

Well done ........... !!!!!! There are three cities in the world I particularly like and admire, Calcutta, Quetta and Broken Hill ...

I often go to 'the Hill' for a weeks holiday ...much better than the coast.

Hopefully all my 'facts' will stand the test of other readers ... HaaHaa ... but corrections have the benefit of ... 'letting knowledge grow from more to more, and thus be human life enriched' ... Jimmy Carter, President. USA.

cool bananas ... Greg

[Big Shed]

I often go to 'the Hill' for a weeks holiday ...much better than the coast.


cool bananas ... Greg

Must agree, that applies to the outback in general, not much of a beach/coast person either.

Have spent a lot of time in the outback all over the place whilst working in the mining industry.

Been all over the place in every state of Oz.

[Mutawintji]

Yeah ... me too ...... 95% of 'tru-blu Ozzies' .... never see inland more than 50klm of the coastal belt..... haa

I usually set up base in Broken Hill .... then venture out to all points of the compass. The Hill makes a great centre hub ... and so good to get back and showers, and restaurants.

Lake Mungo National Park, Mutawintji National Park, Danggali National Park, Perry Sand Dunes, Milparinka, Packsaddle .... all within a days march of the Hill. Its a great place !!!!!

Cities in deserts always show independence, they tend to thumb their nose at govt and go their own way. A spirit of true independence seems to be in the denizens of these cities.

Greg

[Big Shed]

One of the best ways of getting in to the "spirit" of this vast country is to do some of the long drives through the outback.

Some of the memorable drives we have done are the Strezlecki Track, Birdsville Track, Gibb River Road, Tanami Track to name but a few.

We have done most of these in the 80s, long before the hordes of "Grey Nomads" have turned most of these in to a glorified theme park where you now have to book months in advance to be sure of a camping spot and when you find one you can listen to numerous generators running all night, oh bliss!

We visited Lawn Hill Gorge before it was declared a NP and camped along the waters' edge and took our inflatable up to the natural waterfall/spa at the end.

We did Borroloola to Roper Bar along the Gulf of Carpentaria coast.

When we lived in Adelaide we (free)camped in the Flinders several times a year, certainly every Easter. We re-visited some of those places in October 2011 with our son and his daughters. We were astounded by how regimented things are there now with seemingly millions of permapine posts and signs, numbered campsites even (!), in what used to be pristine bush.

The bureaucrats are turning most of these places in to the Oz version of Disneyland.

We are planning a trip to FNQ later this year and are thinking of going up through Deniliquin, Bourke, Cobar etc. Be interesting to see how those places have changed.

[Mutawintji]

We are planning a trip to FNQ later this year and are thinking of going up through Deniliquin, Bourke, Cobar etc. Be interesting to see how those places have changed.

In my experience Bourke never changes. The bowls club is all the action ... great restaurant above, chinese. I once left my thermos flask in a motel there ... two years later I drove in the drive and booked a room ... I mentioned that I had left the flask last time. The lady said, 'I was just going to throw that out this week', and she reached on the shelf behind her and there was my thermos with my name tagged on it ... HaaHaa.

One of the best ways of getting in to the "spirit" of this vast country is to do some of the long drives through the outback.

Yeah ... I know this feeling .... usually hit the road about 08:00 (roos are to active before this time) and start to look for a camp (free camp) usually a dry creek about 15:00 ... gives you time to get the fire going, food prepared and a cold 'jerry-can' shower. Can do this day after day no problems.

Some of the memorable drives we have done are the Strezlecki Track, Birdsville Track, Gibb River Road, Tanami Track to name but a few.

We have done most of these in the 80s, long before the hordes of "Grey Nomads" have turned most of these in to a glorified theme park where you now have to book months in advance to be sure of a camping spot and when you find one you can listen to numerous generators running all night, oh bliss!

We visited Lawn Hill Gorge before it was declared a NP and camped along the waters' edge and took our inflatable up to the natural waterfall/spa at the end.

We did Borroloola to Roper Bar along the Gulf of Carpentaria coast.

When we lived in Adelaide we (free)camped in the Flinders several times a year, certainly every Easter. We re-visited some of those places in October 2011 with our son and his daughters. We were astounded by how regimented things are there now with seemingly millions of permapine posts and signs, numbered campsites even (!), in what used to be pristine bush.

The bureaucrats are turning most of these places in to the Oz version of Disneyland.

Thats so true ...... Signs up everywhere. I tend to dodge and avoid and usually drive further on and find a creek bed to myself.

There are still plenty of wild places left that the bureaucrats haven't got to yet ....

Greg

[artme]

Bugger! Didn't get onto this until just now! But I knew it was Charles Rasp, honest injun!!

I spent a full year teaching in "The Hill". Did a reasonable amount of exploration.Loved my time there.

Got up to Tibooburra,Silverton, Menindee and other places. Didn't get to Inaminka, but of course
Packsaddle and Milparinka are on the way to Tibooburra. Had a cup of tepid tea and a stale biscuit
at Packsaddle after suffering two flat tyres on the way!!. One flat was caused by a square, copper
boatbuilders nail - of all things!!! I wondered whether it had come from one of captain Sturt's
whaleboats. He towed a couple up that way looking for the inland sea and abandoned them outside
Tibooburrra where the remnants could be seen for many years.

I often wondered about your sign in name Greg!! I was actually going to ask but you have satisfied my curiosity.

I could write a book about that trip to Tibooburra in the wet!

[rwbuild]

There are still plenty of wild places left that the bureaucrats haven't got to yet ....

Greg

............and don't even think about telling them either !!!!!!!!!!

[Big Shed]

Didn't get to Inaminka

We did, this was our first time.

[Mutawintji]

Sorry Arthur ... Must have overlooked your post here.

yes ... The Silver City Highway ... South of the Hill to wentworth/mildura bitumen all the way. But north to the Qld border its a fantastic dirt road (celt when its wet)

outside the Hill is the 'nine mile' and next stop Packsaddle then milparinka and tibby. There used to be a stop every 40k for cobb and co changes. Nine-mile and packsaddle are the only two that survived the motor vehicle.

cool bananas ... Greg