A friend had to go visit a client in a little place called Battle Creek, about an hour and a bit south of Atherton. She invited me along for the ride, and I leapt at the opportunity. (It was M, the best darn (unofficial) tour guide in this area.) Some of you may remember her from the forgettable trip I shared with her, to Cooktown. If you really have nothing to do, and have a masochistic streak, do read the account here: http://www.fodors.com/community/australia-the-pacific/trip-report-private-guide-to-cooktown-queensland.cfm
Battle Creek is a tiny community, it was once part of the tin mining network in that area of the Tablelands. It is now home to a “salt lick” facility and an auto-wrecking place. Don’t worry, I had to check to make sure that the salt licks were what I was thinking of, those blocks of salt left out for cattle and other critters to lick, to ensure their electrolyte balance! (Your physiology lesson has been chucked in for free today.)
The houses once used by the miners and their families were all bought (probably for the proverbial song) by someone who now rents them for a tidy sum, to some of the marginalized members of our community
Herewith, some photos from our stop in Battle Creek.
Down one of the roads in Battle Creek, I found about six horses in the bushes. They looked very healthy and surely weren’t shy of strangers. At first I thought someone had styled their forelocks into dreadlocks, but it turned out they had somehow managed to get some clinging weed seeds tangled into their manes. That’s M in the top right photo, by the way.
At some stage there was a master wood-turner in the town
In its prime, this small home boasted an interesting example of wooden trim
Here is part of the wrecking yard, then some barbed wire you wouldn’t like to tangle with. The bottom left photo is of one of the ubiquitous termite mounds; they’re about a meter and one-half high. The last one is a forlorn truck, awaiting loving restoration, and a really tiny scooter.
There were a number of cats drifting around, this one was the only one at all interested in becoming a blog-star.
