Broken Hill

Broken Hill grew from the 1883 discovery of one of the world's largest silver, lead and zinc orebodies, a lode that funded a mining company which became a global corporation and produced a union movement strong enough to shape Australian labour law. In 2015 the whole city was added to the National Heritage List, the first place in Australia to be listed in its entirety. The line of lode above the town carries a miners memorial and lookout over the streets. Broken Hill has also drawn artists for decades, with numerous galleries including Pro Hart's, and the Living Desert Sculptures, twelve sandstone works carved on a hilltop in 1993, are best seen at sunset.

History

The town lies on the lands of the Wilyakali people, and the first British to come were Charles Sturt's expedition of 1844, guided along Stephens Creek by a teenager from Menindee named Topar, when Sturt named the Barrier Range for blocking his way north. Pastoralists settled from the 1850s, and in 1883 the boundary rider Charles Rasp found what he took for tin and proved to be silver and lead, the start of an orebody that turned out to be the largest and richest of its kind in the world; with six associates he formed the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, BHP, in 1885. The town became a centre of mining innovation, developing a workable froth flotation process early in the 20th century, and BHP's own mines here closed on 28 February 1939 (Wikipedia, Broken Hill).

What you'll find

• The Living Desert Sculptures - twelve carved sandstone works on a ridge at sunset.
• The line of lode - the mullock ridge, miners memorial and lookout above town.
• The galleries - a long-established art scene including Pro Hart's gallery.
• The heritage streetscape - pubs, public buildings and miners cottages listed in full.

When to go

April to October; summer temperatures pass forty degrees regularly and the light is harsh. Sunset at the Living Desert is the classic experience and worth timing for. The city runs on South Australian time, half an hour behind the rest of New South Wales.

Things to know

It is a very long way from anywhere, around twelve hours from Sydney by road. The landscape is arid and mine-scarred. Underground mine tours involve confined spaces. Some attractions keep short or seasonal hours.

Nearby

Silverton lies twenty-five kilometres northwest; Menindee Lakes are southeast.

Key facts