An Alchemical Ornament

Silver goblet etched with a placid illustration of a refinery

One step removed from the sweltering heat of the forge, smoke billows from a chimney between towering trees. Small figures are at work around the refinery – surveying, shoving, and squatting. Steep slopes of earth disappear into the distance of a spotless sky. This sterling silver goblet was made by William Edwards (1819-1899) and retailed […]

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She’ll Be Right, Mate

A clean, orderly, and peaceful facility with smokeless chimneys – it is so picturesque that even a family of ducks float happily nearby. The Pasminco Smelter, also known as Cockle Creek Smelter or ‘The Sulphide,’ was a zinc and lead smelter covering approximately 190 hectares at the northern end of Lake Macquarie in Boolaroo. Founded […]

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Broken Hill’s Kind-hearted Grocer

Born in Northern Italy in 1883, Emanuel Pedergnana was just 18 when he migrated to Australia in 1901. Although almost illiterate, the plucky young man went on to lead a successful strike action, work on the mines and own two retail businesses after settling in Broken Hill. Emanuel first found work at St Herberts, a […]

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