Day 80 Onslow, WA

I was up at the crack of dawn (well.... 6.30am) to get the perfect sunrise photo from beneath the large arch situated in the town park that has been placed strategically for just that reason.  No need to get dressed as I will probably be the only person there, I thought, so I pulled on my Ugg boots, donned a cap and threw a jacket over my pj's and walked the very short distance to the arch.  As I rounded the corner, there in front of me were about 20 people, all eyes looking in my direction, and all there for the same reason.  Too late to turn around, I just put me head down and walked over to where everybody was waiting for the sun to rise.  I buried my head in my phone and just hoped no-one would start a conversation with me.  Lesson learnt. Always get dressed......

"Hidden Treasures Onslow Tour" was on the agenda this morning and we were asked to meet outside the Information Centre at 9.00am.  Our tour guide greeted us all and showed us to the little mini bus that would take us for a tour around Onslow.  The first stop was at the harbour where a great deal of construction was underway to build a new, state of the art, boat ramp and jetty as Stage 1 and Stage 11 will  include a small marina.  It is being funded by both Local and State Governments as well as a large amount of funding from the  Wheatstone Gas Project.  One thing we do know, after having BHP in our shire when we were living in Julia Creek, is that if you have any major industry, mining or otherwise, in your Local Shire they will always support the community ventures.

Next stop was Neil and Judy Baker's Shell Collection.  Sadly Neil Baker passed away earlier this year but he has left a legacy of his magnificent seashell collection for the general public to enjoy. He collected shells for more than 60 years and his collection includes thousands of specimens.  The most valuable shell is a pure white shell that is worth many tens of thousands of dollars. They are very rare.  

Back on the bus and our tour guide drove us out to the lookout where we had a birds eye view of the Onslow Salt production facility. After seeing salt mines at Port Hedland, Karratha and now Onslow we have a handle on how the salt is produced but it is a bit too detailed to try and explain.  You may recall me saying yesterday that we passed what looked like a large lake at the entrance to Onslow.  Now we know that it does indeed form part of the Onslow Salt Plant.  The salt field at Onslow encompasses an area of 220 sq kilometres of which 87 sq kilometres are occupied by operational ponds. The majority of the salt from here is shipped to South East Asia where it is predominantly used in the chemical industry. We could see the giant Wheatstone Gas Project in the distance but our tour today did not take us to this area.  You cannot get too close to Wheatstone but tomorrow we will see how close we can get.  

Our driver turned the bus back towards Onslow and we pulled up outside the quaint Little Church of Saint Nicholas. The church was built in 1928 at a cost of six hundred and five pounds.  It started its life as an Anglican Church but has now become multi denominational.  Sadly the building fell into disrepair and with every step forward there was a step backward.  Enter Cape-Australia who were working at Wheatstones Chevron plant, who came onboard and renewed all the verandahs and installed a ramp.  It was an amazing feat carried out by these workers and it was considered by the townsfolk as somewhat of a miracle!

The last stop on our tour was at the Cartoon Tank. During 1942/43 four concrete tanks were constructed by an army Corps knows as the Allied Works Council. Their purpose was to hold oil for the bunkering of light warships during the war.  After the war the tanks were sold to Shell Australia who used the tanks for Aviation Spirit. By the late 1970's the tanks were abandoned and Hayden Stein and his partner Robyn along with their three small children lived in one of the tanks.  Yes.....I know.....whyyyy????  The echo inside this tank is so loud and even a whisper sounds like a shout. The family would have to have almost lived in silence!

Anyway, whilst living in the tank Robyn covered the walls with cartoon characters for the children.  The special crayon was from Germany with Robyn had imported through one of the local shops.  The family have now left the area by Robyns remarkable drawings live on.  

The tour was excellent value  for money ($20/person) and we once again learnt a lot of things about Onslow that we would not have known if we hadn't taken the tour.  Tomorrow we are going driving.  I really want to get some photographs of those incredible termite mounds and I also want to see the mile long salt jetty that is under floodlight at night.  Stay tuned.