My travels

Port Pirie

Port Pirie is a quiet, little town off the main highway with fantastic views of the Southern Flinders Ranges. It's a surprisingly nice town - all I knew was that it's an industrial town so I wasn't expecting much.

The town does not exist where it was originally planned - the original town was surveyed as a private town, but due to lack of progress the government town was established close by - it's growth resulting from being the closest port to Broken Hill.

Port Pirie was South Australia's first provincial city and the fourth declared port in Australia. It played a leading role in the state's agricultural and industrial development. Establishment of the railway and its location as the closest port to Broken Hill were essential to the development of the port. At one stage, Port Pirie was the only place in the world with 3 gauges of track in operation.

The caravan park is very nice - there's a magnificent view from the van across the river to the mountains - or look across the other way over the river towards the lead smelter!

On my first morning there I was woken up by someone singing. I thought someone had turned their radio up too loud. When I opened the van door I realised that it was not coming from a van. It was coming, I thought, from over the river - but no it was coming from the middle of the river! Someone was swimming out in the middle of the river singing at the top of his voice. He must have very strong lungs to be able to do both at the same time. He did the same every morning I was there. The only songs I could recognise were 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning' and (of course!) 'Old Man River'.

There are concerns about the amount of lead in the air and its effects on people.

I can recommend a few tourist activities while in the town:

• Visitor centre
• Art gallery - very worthwhile.
• Museum - lots of interesting stuff.
• Tour of the Lead Smelter. Interesting, but only on a bus, they don't allow walking visitors. They don't allow photography either, which is a shame as there are plenty of opportunities for good abstract shots.

• Australian Capital Territory (93)

• New South Wales (97)

• Northern Territory (650)

• Queensland (2)

• South Australia (781)

  • Central and Northern Flinders Ranges (322)
  • Eyre Peninsula (184)
  • Kangaroo Island (2)
  • Limestone Coast/South East (1)
  • Murraylands (3)
  • Outback SA (142)
  • Riverland (5)
  • Southern Flinders Ranges (122)
    • Carrieton (7)
    • Melrose (6)
    • Mount Remarkable National Park (55)
    • Nelshaby (6)
    • Port Flinders (Weeroona Island) (8)
    • Port Germein (4)
    • Port Pirie (21)
      • Smelter (2)
    • Telowie Gorge Conservation Park (4)
    • Wilmington (4)

• Tasmania (352)

• Victoria (464)

• Western Australia (2)