Dust storms are not new in NSW, just fairly rare in this century and in Sydney. One of the Museums exhibitions Greening the Silver City seeds of bush regeneration deals with the problems of dusts storms and some solutions from over seventy years ago.
Fierce dust storms became regular events in Broken Hill from the 1890s. Here you can see a dust storm in 1907.
‘The sky turned red; fine particles of dust whipped against my face and body.’ Joyce Mews 1988, remembering the early dust storms. Schools closed and locals put wet rags under doors to stop the red soils from penetrating their houses. Those on the city outskirts faced harsh living conditions and regular battering from the westerly winds.
The dust storms combined with sand drift inspired one of the earliest green actions in Australia. In 1936 the Barrier Field Naturalists members enlisted the help of a mining company and through the process of native re vegetation, defeated the drifts of sand that were swallowing the outskirts of the famous mining town. Albert Morris, the Quaker who led this devoted band, was far ahead of his time.
This traveling exhibition is currently on display at Dubbo Library
Photo: courtesy Broken Hill City Library
Post by Malcolm McKernan, Designer and Anni Turnbull, Curator Design & Society
