Walga Rock, Big Bell and Gt Fingall Mine

Walga Rock is a large monolith located 48 k's from Cue. The main attraction is the aboriginal etchings on the western side of the rock. One being the etching of a white sailing ship which has caused many theories about its origin, as the rock is 325 k's from the coast.
We also drove out to the Dalgaranga Meteorite Crater which proved to be nothing more than a depression in the ground and pretty unremarkable.
Then on to the ghost town of Big Bell. This gold mining town was established in 1936 and supported a population of well over 1,000 people. There was 160 houses, a picture theatre, and a dozen shops as well as three churches and two schools. There isn't much left standing except the ruins of two churches and the magnificent hotel. We wandered through the old hotel and were amazed at how palatial and grand it was. We camped the night before heading back to Cue and then out to the relic of the Great Fingal Mine Office. The attraction here is a once beautiful mine office built by Italian stonemasons using dressed stone and it now sits on the precipice of an open cut mine. The large open cut mine there today is the result of a cave-in during 1921.
Photos 1 and 2: Aboriginal etchings, Walga Rock
Photos 3 and 4: The once beautiful hotel in Big Bell and us about to leave the ghost town
Photos 5 and 6: The Great Fingal Mine office Building and the Open cut mine it sits above.Read more