Kalgoorlie

[Sören Schridde]

Dear all,

nice to see at least few mails pouring in again on the list.

Just wanted to share a real life experience triggered by good ol' Uncle 
Scrooge.

As a kid I had read a story where the Ducks (in particular Scrooge) and 
Flintheart Glomgold race to an old miner's shed in Kalgoorlie, Western 
Australia, to get an old shovel (I think it was crucial to get som land 
or digging rights?). Scrooge finally made it by riding in a Kangaroo's 
pouch.

I still remember this as it was in one of the issues I read over and 
over during a childhood holiday.

After some decades, I was now able to visit Kalgoorlie in real life, 
during a long trip to Australia.

Kalgoorlie (actually a twin city with Boulder) is basically a mining 
city in the middle of nowhere, some 600k East (inland) of Perth. In the 
city centre, many buildings are from that era and spill quire some 
atmosphere over the city (as opposed to outer roads with some 
industrial/services companies).

Interestingly, still today Gold is mined in one of the largest open 
pits. Additionally, some tourist attractions are there, in particular a 
mining museum.

It provides info on how miners (and possibly Scrooge) would have lived 
and survived in the late 19th century (water being more expensive than 
petroleum!). But it spans until today, with a huge Caterpillar Minig 
truck with app. 400 tonne gross weight on display.

Just wanted to share how a comic story in the 80ies influenced travel 
experiences... :-)

Regards,

Soeren