Nothing pleases me more than to go on a trip where there are insulators in plentiful supply. Last month I set off on a school vacation with two of my teachers and about twenty girls, included among them were six German exchange students who were visiting our school at the time. The trip, which was done by bus, was to go for ten days. The total distance was to cover 2351 kilometers over the northern end of New South Wales. I had been told by some friends that the areas that we would be going through were very old and that the chances of recovering any old insulators would be very positive indeed, so at about nine o'clock we set off in search of adventure and the insulator! 

First stop was Dubbo, which is located out west from Sydney, and was very cold. I did manage to find some CD 430' s that were in a range of colors from clear to straw. Not a great find by any means but good enough for now. The next day we stopped at Coonabarabran for the night and faced very cold temperatures. I had promised several people that I would do my best to find them some glass insulators, while letting them know that any I found that were rare or in mint condition I would be keeping them and any that were left that I didn't want they could have. Over the next few days we covered over 200 kilometers in a westerly direction. Our camping spot for the night would be in the northwest corner of the state. The small opal mining town of Lightning Ridge was to be our next port of call. Another cold night with heavy dew on the tent was endured and I was beginning to wish that I hadn't come on the trip. 

The next day we visited many opal tourist attractions and after trying my hand at fossicking for the famous opal, I returned empty handed. I have decided to stick to collecting insulators, it's more fun. Now we had to go to Collarenebri for lunch and then to Moree to stay there for one night.

Oh, yes, I did have some luck with insulators in Lightning Ridge. I spotted a Telecom truck and approached the man and asked him for insulators. He immediately told me that he could get me some and speeded off down the road. Ten minutes later he came back with a variety of glass and porcelain insulators, mostly mint. I thanked him and returned to the waiting bus filled with excited people. I was really glad to see that many of the girls in the group were actively taking an interest in my collecting. I did pick up some more insulators when we had gotten about half way to Moree. These included CD 423's in the common green, olive and clear colors that one would expect to find. These were rationed out to the awaiting hands of hopeful beginner collectors. These were later discovered to be damaged because of them being covered in dirt.

The next town that we were to stay in was to be a town that I would never forget. It was called Inverell. On the day's trip into Inverell, I had seen more dilapidated communications lines posted in the one part of the countryside than I have ever seen before. When we checked into our caravan park which was next to a small river, I nearly hit my head on the inside of the roof of the bus with excitement. There, sitting right next to the caravan park, was the major telecom line depot. As soon as we unpacked the trailer I was over there like greased lightning. I ran over to a group of workers and asked for some glass insulators. They shrugged their shoulders and then showed me over to a small wooden bucket containing broken insulators. My heart sank. It was then that I noticed the three "large" metal dumpsters that were full to the brim with glass insulators!! I ran back to the caravan park which was only next door and grabbed my camera. After taking numerous photographs, the foreman of the depot came over to see what all the racket was about. I asked his permission to get some insulators and he kindly agreed to let me take as many as I wanted. I then began the fun task of taking as many as I could. The other men were smiling at this odd scene, but took an interest in my hobby. Then one of them came over to me and handed me a large wooden box that was strong enough for me to load about 30 CD 423's in as well as some CD 422's in a clear with C.C.G. on the front. I thanked them and proudly carried my box of glass insulators back to the bus where it sat under my seat for the rest of the trip. 

Many of the others collected 20 or more insulators from the depot, thanks to me, and are beginning to take an interest in the hobby. Though most of the insulators found in Inverell were CD 423' s, it provided me with a lot of fun digging through the dumpsters looking for rare insulators. I did, however, find some emerald green insulators (CD 422's) and in mint condition, and some light steel blue CD 422' s AGEE. Also, all the insulators that I had found were mint and that . makes it even better. 

We spent the next few days making our way back to Sydney via Nambucca Heads and Myall Lakes. I did find out that Bernard Warren of Alaska stopped up in Inverell about five years ago and that was where he had gotten most of his CD 121 's. I also found a U-1491 in a mahogany brown porcelain, quite a rare insulator! And found four CD 121's in green and purple and even one in smoke. Apparently there were quite a number of insulator collectors in Inverell who don't know about the N.I.A., so I'll have to shed some light on the areas with a letter to a new friend who collects them and who also knows some people who are members of a small collectors club. Well, I hope to be up that way again soon so that I can get some more Aussie glass! What a treasure trove!

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(Editor's Note: When Richard sent his story several months ago, he sent a letter to introduce himself, for he though it would be rude to send a story and not some information about himself. I know that there are many young collectors out there who might enjoy the opportunity of corresponding and trading with Richard. 

Richard Edmonds is 18 years old and is in year 11 at high school. The school that he attends is called the Australian International Independent School. It is a private school and "you don't have to wear a uniform." There are lots of kids from many different countries such as Japan, China, USA, Canada, Korea and Europe. With just under 250 students, it is a good school. He has been collecting insulator for over 11 years and has accumulated about 600 during that time.)