The Hindu Business Line : New life to Woolongong's hidden wealth

Woolongong, with its idyllic surroundings and picturesque shoreline, looks more like a place that would boast of a holiday resort. But its claim to fame is the coal that lies underground there.

Located 90-odd km from Sydney, Woolongong is where our very own Gujarat NRE Coke bought a disused coal mine a couple of years ago and is now in the process of restoring it to its old glory.

The Indian company, which produces about 3,000 tonnes per day of low ash metallic coke from the Russel Vale mine (peak capacity of 5,000 tonnes per day), is something of a celebrity in the local town for having given a fresh lease of life to the mine and restoring the jobs there.

Emboldened by his happy experience with the mine, Arun Kumar Jagatramka, Chairman, Gujarat NRE Australia Pty Ltd, who ships the coal to his plant in India, has now acquired another mine in nearby Avondale, which has been closed for the last 25 years.

The mine is located between two big ones of BHP Billiton and Jagatramka's reasoning is that the coal seam has to be as rich as in the BHP mines.

But isn't re-opening a mine that has been shut for so long a mammoth task?

"Its easier than restarting Russel Vale because we have to start from scratch and all equipment and processes will be new," he says to bewildered looks from us journos.

Anyway, we wished him good luck and took leave after partaking a hearty meal of channa bathura and gulab jamoons!

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You have heard and read so much about Bondi Beach in Sydney that you are disappointed when it does not match up to your expectations.

Yes, the beach is beautiful and is impeccably maintained but call it attachment to your hometown or whatever, it still does not measure up to Chennai's Marina beach.

This time of the year, Bondi is filled with sunbathers not just from Sydney but also from far-off shores.

Our chauffeur-cum-tour-guide, the amiable Brian Moran tells us that most of those lounging in the sun are either Englishmen or New Zealanders.

"They get off the flight at Sydney airport and head straight for Bondi with their backpacks, take off their clothes and lie the whole day in the sun, and promptly land up in hospital by night with sun burn," he says to guffaws from all of us.

Given the Aussie penchant to not miss a pot-shot against the English and their cross-Tasman neighbours, we are left wondering how much to believe Brian.

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Mention Australia and the two things that come to mind are kangaroos and cricket. Kangaroos or roos as the Aussies like to call them fondly, are about as common as the cow here but you are mistaken if you think they can be spotted all over the place. Kangaroos are essentially nocturnal animals that don't like the daytime heat and set out from their resting places at dusk.

We drove to the outskirts of Canberra on a hot afternoon with a wish to spot kangaroos in the wild and would have returned disappointed if not for the resourcefulness of Reg McKay our chauffeur who would not let go till we spotted a herd.

At the end we didn't know who was more startled to see the other — the roos or us!

Our hosts tell us that kangaroos are not as harmless as they look and can be pests in large farms where farmers sometimes have to shoot them down. They also cause accidents when they stray on to the road where they are as helpless as you and I would be walking on ice!

(To be continued)