astronomers monument

At first we drove in our own car and without a guide just thought it was a pile of concrete and not very interesting. The gate was locked and a sign said we could not enter. We returned as part of a tour but the tour guides can no longer gain access because the monument was sold to someone who does not want to open the monument to the public. We waked around the outside and had a look. The guide told us the very interesting story behind the monument which is far more interesting than the monument itself.

Did this as part of the red car door tours around the area. Amigos castle is far, far more interesting and worthwhile! It's "shanty city" out there and such an interesting contrast to "town". So definitely worth a drive around. The coloured car door tours are must do in the area, especially this one and the one that enables you to see the sunset (forget the colour of that one)

Had just been sold and no longer available to visit. It was part of the tour we paid to see but could not go in and just viewed from the bus.

This attraction is going to disintergrate through lack of attention no one lives there now. Drive by but no admission, shame really as itcould be a good earner.

The Astronomers Monument is a concrete structure which is supposed to resemble a walled castle but honestly I had no idea what I was looking at. It is located away from the town surrounded by bush & shrubs just sitting there out in the open. I thought it was some sort of extreme kids playground or sculpture by a contemporary artist, the type of art normal people have no understanding of. Poking around this deserted structure we noticed the walls were covered in graffiti or inscriptions & became slightly worried there was a homeless crack-smoking squatter waiting to jump out to rape us. We came here expecting a science monument after all?it is certainly an unusual sight, I had read about the story behind its creator Alex Szperiak. He was accused of the murder of his wife which he always denied. He believed the cops failed him by refusing to look into the circumstances properly simply blaming him because it was convenient to get a quick conviction. The man was locked up for 8 years in prison for murder, forgotten in a cage & unable find the real killers. He would eventually be pardoned & released but his feeling of betrayal never went away. Apparently this monument was dedicated to famous astronomers who were also pushed around by authorities simply for pointing out the obvious. Copernicus, Galileo & Newton were famous for pointing out that the Earth wasn’t the centre of the universe as the Church was telling everyone but just a planet circling the Sun, just one in an infinite number floating thru Space. This idea was dangerous. It threatened the Church’s power by suggesting God wasn’t as great as they made him out to be. The Church actually executed people for saying stuff like this or tortured them in horrible ways. Alex Szperiak, a Polish opal miner living in the Australian desert who won the lottery & changed his name to Robin Crusoe may have lost his mind but he felt hard done by. He was killed when his camp exploded due to a gas leak from his stove before he could finish this thing. Certainly an unusual life.Black Opal Tours apparently have full access to the site & give all proceeds to charity as a tribute to its creator Alex Szperiak. The Astronomer’s Monument is also part of the free self-drive Red Car Door Tour, one of four free do-it-yourself tours marked by coloured car doors hanging from trees & on the side of the road, maps for these tours can be found at the Visitor Information. The monument lies off Prince Black Drive but is on one of the old mine claims so doesn’t have an official address. We were following the tour map & stopped in for a snoop. We didn’t walk up to the top or anything or felt an urge to join the Black Opal Tour to see this. I don’t know if it’s supposed to have any astronomical measuring instruments as I couldn’t identify anything sundials or charts but who knows, we may have missed it? Judging by the type of language used on the walls it seems he was still pretty upset but Szperiak’s perceived injustice lives on thru his structure, one man’s voice still being heard. He’s got a good point, who likes cops.