From Café owner to walking tour volunteer, Ray Quinn has been greeting visitors to Broken Hill for years.
Mr Quinn, along with his wife Lee Quinn, owned and managed Café Lanas in Argent Street from about 2004 until they retired in May 2018.
“When I was in the Café, I saw [fellow heritage walk tour guide] Ross Howse go by. One day he asked me whether I would become a guide when I finished in the shop,” Mr Quinn recounted.
He went on to say that he thought about Mr Howse’s proposal and was happy to volunteer his time in retirement.
“I mixed with people all the time in the shop, and so I thought that by volunteering as a guide, I could still mix with people that way,” Mr Quinn added.
As one of seven current heritage walk tour volunteers, Mr Quinn started volunteering his time for the service about three years ago.
In his weekly tour, he developed a deeper appreciation for the history of Broken Hill, and the sacrifices that so many of the early residents made to make Broken Hill the city it is today.
“When you get into the history of Broken Hill, you find out how hard it was for the early miners because there are 800 names listed on the Miners Memorial, most of them being aged between 18 and 30 years old.”
In his spare time, Mr Quinn paints and reads. Discussing his painting hobby with the Truth, he said that he paints contemporary works, along with “anything that takes my fancy, and anything different.”
Reflecting on his role as a volunteer tour guide, Mr Quinn said that potential guides “have to have an interest in Broken Hill, and you got to be a good listener and talker.”
Nevertheless, he added that “once you go through the process of becoming a guide, the rest of the walkers ease you through it, the new walkers will come and join us for a few walks, and then they can go from there.”
For those who are interested in learning more about volunteering with Visitor Services, please call Patrick Kreitner, the coordinator, on 8080 3571.
