Australia So Much to See

New South Wales - Lightning Ridge - Chambers of the Black Hand

The Lion monument, or Lion of Lucerne, Switzerland, was designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820-21 by Lukas Ahorn.  It commemorated the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France.  Mark Twain praised the sculpture of a mortally wounded lion as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world."  (Above left.)

Animals from around the world emerge as you walk through the passageways and caverns. 

High on the walls, snakes are twined on carved tree branches (above left), and this dog (above right) features in a section on domestic dogs.  

Those who served in the Australia Navy, Army and Airforce are remembered near the seating at the entrance to the caverns.