Tom Price

“Who’s Tom Price?” I can hear you say..its the same response as everyone who comes across the place, unless you’re in the mining industry.

Thomas Moore Price, whom the town is named after was the vice-president of Kaiser Steel, the first company to actively seek out commercial mining rights in the area after being convinced of the viability of extracting iron ore. Tom Price, the man, I believe died before the first ore was extracted hence the sentimentality behind naming the town after him.

Tom Price, the town, has been built specifically to cater for the mining industry with schools, sports facilities, residential areas and all the functions of a modern town. It also has the claim to fame as being the highest town above sea level (747m) and the more affluent non-metropolitan area with the income average way above the Australian average.

There’s not much around the town but is sat underneath the dominating Mount Nameless. The naming of Nameless has caused controversy wiith the local Aboriginal community who have had it named for thousands of years and just weren’t consulted. The mountain’s Aboriginal name is Jurndamurneh which means “wallabies live near here”.

Stan saw the sign at the base declaring “4WD only” and couldn’t resist having a go much to the displeasure of a custom-built Jeep driver, but to the delight of the Melbourne 4WD Club who invited Stan to join them should we have the time.

   

It was a steep steep climb and was very proud of Stan when we got to the top. The sights of Tom Price and surrounding area was spectacular albeit very windy.

The Tom Price Caravan Park was an excellent stopover to refuel, resupply and clean and the town itself was a pleasant place to wander and get a coffee.