Broken Hill

Broken Hill is an isolated mining city and Local Government Area in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia, with a population of 21,000. It is located near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (#32) and the Silver City Highway, in the Barrier Range. It is 220 metres above sea level and has an average rainfall of 235 mm and summer temperatures that hit well over 40° C. The closest major city is Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, which is more than 500 km to the southwest. Unlike the rest of New South Wales, Broken Hill (and the surrounding region) observes Australian Central Standard Time, UTC+9:30, a time zone it shares with South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Broken Hill has been called the 'Oasis of the West, 'Silver City' and the 'Capital of the Outback.' Although over 1100 km west of Sydney and surrounded by semi-desert the town still manages colourful parks and garden displays to surprise the unsuspecting visitor.

Named after the broken hill on which silver ore was first discovered in 1883 by a boundary rider named Charles Rasp, Broken Hill is Australia's longest-lived mining city. The "broken hill" that gives its name to Broken Hill actually comprised a number of hills that appeared to have a break in them. The "Broken Hill" no longer exists, having been mined away. Broken Hill's massive orebody, formed about 1800 million years ago, has proved to be the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposit. The orebody is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre. The protruding tip of the orebody stood out as a jagged rocky ridge amongst undulating plain country on either side. This was known as the broken hill by early pastoralists. There has been a significant decline in the mining industry over recent years.

Geography

The desolate landscape surrounding Broken Hill is like driving towards a painting of soft mauve and sage hues. As the mineral resources in the Broken Hill area have dwindled, tourism has become increasingly important to the city's economy. The town is known as a centre for artists, and a number of galleries line the streets.

It is here that the Red Kangaroos travel two hundred kilometres in a night chasing a thunderstorm, and the unique Sturt's desert peas bloom in dark red soils.

Beyond the Darling River on the edge of the sundown is where they used to say you would find Broken Hill, as if there was nowhere further to travel in Australia. Perhaps it was the feeling of suddenly being confronted by such vast space, like an inland sea rolling into the sunset.

It is also known for its input into the formation of the labour movement in Australia, and has a rich trade union history. Broken Hill is a major base for both the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia and School of the Air and the town and its surrounding are frequently used by film-makers for shooting movies, television programs, video-clips and commercials. The clear blue skies and the magic light feature in movies including Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior) and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

South east of the town is the Kinchega National Park which encloses the Menindee and Cawndilla Lakes near the town of Menindee. Wilcannia is a small town situated on the Darling River, to the east of Broken Hill. It has many attractions of historical interest. The area is a fascinating place to visit with many contrasts.

As a result of Broken Hill's location on the New South Wales/South Australia border, far from any major New South Wales town and closer to Adelaide than Sydney, it has a strong psychological connection to South Australia. It uses Australian Central Standard Time, the same as South Australia; is in the (08) Western/central area code; its local television station, Central GTS/BKN, covers both Broken Hill and parts of South Australia; and its main football code is Australian rules football (unlike most of New South Wales, where the main football code is rugby league).

History

Broken Hill was founded in 1883 by a boundary rider called Charles Rasp who patrolled the Mt Gipps fences. In 1883 he discovered what he thought was tin but when the samples came back they were silver and lead instead of tin and the ore body they came from became the largest and richest of its kind in the world. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) was founded by the Syndicate of Seven to mine the ore body of Broken Hill in 1885. However by 1915 BHP realised its ore reserves were limited and began to diversify into steel production and on 28 February 1939 mining at the BHP mines at Broken Hill had ceased.

However BHP was by no means the only miner at Broken Hill and mining continued at the southern and northern ends of the Line of Lode. Currently the southern and northern operations are run by Perilya Broken Hill who plan to open further mines along the Line of Lode.

In 2001 BHP merged with the Billiton company to form BHP Billiton.

The Battle of Broken Hill took place on New Year's Day 1915 when two Turk fired upon a trainload of picnickers in a self-described attack on the British Empire. They killed four and wounded six, before they were killed by a group of policemen and soldiers.

Some of the most bitter industrial disputes have been fought in Broken Hill in 1892, 1909 and 1919. This led to the formation in 1923 by 18 trade unions of the Barrier Industrial Council which became one of the most influential organisations in the politics of the city.

On 10 January 2007, the Broken Hill City Council was dismissed by the New South Wales Minister for Local Government following a public inquiry.

Notable People

Pro Hart - artist

Kelly Nestor - news presenter

Jack Absalom - artist

Eric Minchin - artist

Hugh Schulz - artist

June Bronhill - soprano opera singer

Chips Rafferty - actor

Steve Abbott - comedian

Albert Morris - assayist & naturalist

Dean Solomon - footballer

Brent Staker - AFL footballer

Created on 09/10/2008 11:56 PM by Rod
Updated on 10/10/2008 12:22 AM by Rod

Geography

History

Notable People

Links