The Black Hand

The Black Hand is a sign on the Three Mile Road. In the 1960s, this sign, a large hand to the wrist with the index finger pointing to the west, was a landmark.  There was an opal ring on the fourth finger and wide bracelet. The sign stands on Knud Nexø’s corner on the Three Mile Road.

There is some contention about who placed the Black Hand sign. Some say it was created by Sally Smith Felton. The Cram brothers believe it was designed and painted by ‘Skipper’ Putland, an artist in a wheelchair, who can be seen with his family on the 1962 Roger Climpson film.  Both families lived in the vicinity.

(Photographs above courtesy of Graeme Anderson.)

The Black Hand sign went missing for several years, and returned modified and back in its original position.  It still points to the Castlereagh Highway, as written on the index finger.

The other fingers point to the Four Mile, Belahs, Hawks Nest, Four Mile Flat, and Snowy Brown’s opal fields.  The Black Hand corner has gained significance with the Chambers of the Black Hand, an underground tourist experience featuring an authentic mine tour and a gallery of unique underground sculptures by artist Ron Canlin.

Article: Edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: LRHS oral history, Lightning Flash Newspaper, 1 October 1981.