Hughes Engine House Moonta Mines
(c) William Godward
This is the first shot taken in my series called ‘Twilight Heritage’. As a young boy growing up in the local area of Moonta the mine buildings have always amazed me and held me in awe. The greatest appreciation and respect of the local mining heritage stems from my heritage as my great grandfathers’ worked underground in the Moonta Mines. This would have been a hard life style, but a necessity to survive and provide for a family during that time. I have always wanted to capture the local mining heritage, but wanted to try and do something different. Being a member of the local Astronomical Society has given me the knowledge for our southern night sky. It was about 11:00pm at night and the moon was just about to set; I thought this would be a great chance to have a photo shoot. Seeing the Hughes Engine House at night is something so different. At night the building really looks spectacular, but also gives a beautiful awesome feeling. The Hughes Engine House is faced towards the western sky that is great for the moon glow. On this night the moon was about to set, which was casting a rich orange glow across the face of the building. The moon was also at first quarter, so it gave enough light, but didn’t spoil the night sky. Also visible in this photo is the constellation Orion (the saucepan) and our brightest star in the night sky Sirius, which has really added to the atmosphere of the picture.
