Golf meets steam punk at Lightning Ridge

A bright-orange former mechanic’s workshop in Lightning Ridge has been repurposed as a ‘mini golf meets steam punk sculpture’ business that opened at Easter.

This unexpected new Lighting Ridge landmark is the work of Pete Cooke, local artist, longtime opal miner, and former star of the TV series Outback Opal Hunters.

The proud creator of Outback Opal Putters, Mr Cooke has converted the industrial shed and surrounding yard into a mini golf course like no other.

“It was an old mechanics workshop,” he explains. “I painted it bright orange, built a course inside and out, and filled it with all these wild sculptures I make.”

The course, which opened just before Easter, currently features nine greens, each with two holes, giving players a full 18-hole experience. But it’s the backdrop of Mr Cooke’s unique industrial sculptures, and his quirky sense of humour that truly sets the experience apart.

Mr Cooke admits creating the sculptures is his first love and the mini golf course doubles as an evolving sculpture park filled with eccentric creations made from recycled mining machinery. […]

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Former star Outback Opal Hunters and Pete Cooke at his mini-golf course and steampunk sculpture park. Photo contributed