Sculpture Symposium, Broken Hill, NSW Australia

Sculpture Symposium, Broken Hill

The magnificent Broken Hill Sculpture Park is one of the main tourist attractions and icons of the Australian outback. Twelve impressive stone sculptures are situated on a hill located in The Living Desert Reserve in about 10km north of Broken Hill. The sculptures were carved in 1993 by artists from around the world, under the direction of organiser and artist Lawrence Beck.

Broken Hill is an isolated mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. The world's largest mining company, BHP Billiton, has roots in the town. Broken Hill is located near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (national route 32) and the Silver City Highway (national route 79), in the Barrier Range. It is 220 m (722 ft) above sea level, has an average rainfall of 235 mm (9 in) and summer temperatures that reach well over 40 °C (104 °F). The closest major city is Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, which is more than 500 km (311 mi) to the southwest. Unlike the rest of New South Wales, Broken Hill (and the surrounding region) observes Australian Central Standard Time, UTC+9:30, a time zone it shares with South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Broken Hill has been called The Silver City, the Oasis of the West, and the Capital of the Outback. Although over 1,100 km (684 mi) west of Sydney, and surrounded by semi-desert, the town still manages colourful park and garden displays, and offers a number of attractions.

Uluru

Uluru

Uluru is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; 450 km (280 mi) by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Aṉangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. It has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage. Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural icons. The world-renowned sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high (863 m/2,831 ft above sea level) with most of its bulk below the ground, and measures 9.4 km (5.8 mi) in circumference. Both Uluru and Kata Tjuta have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu traditional landowners, who led walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.

Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour as the different light strikes it at different times of the day and year, with sunset a particularly remarkable sight when it briefly glows red. Although rainfall is uncommon in this semiarid area, during wet periods the rock acquires a silvery-grey colour, with streaks of black algae forming on the areas that serve as channels for water flow.

Kata Tjuta, also called Mount Olga or The Olgas, is another rock formation about 25 km (16 mi) west of Uluru. Special viewing areas with road access and parking have been constructed to give tourists the best views of both sites at dawn and dusk. It is one of the 28 finalists New 7 Word Wonders by Nature.

Uluru, Australia