35 Broken Hill Facts: Find Out More About This Mining City

Located in the far west outback in New South Wales of Australia, is the inland mining city of Broken Hill.

Broken Hill is situated near the border with South Australia and is 1033 ft (315 m) above sea level. Broken Hill has a hot desert climate with an average annual rainfall of around 9 in (229 mm).

Lying on the eastern flank of the Main Barrier Range, around 30 mi (48 km) east of the border of the state with South Australia, the mining town is also known by the name of Silver City. The closest main city near Broken Hill is the capital of South Australia, Adelaide.

Broken Hill lies northeast of Adelaide around a distance of 710 mi (1142 km).

The city is linked to Broken Hill by route A32 and is around 311 mi (500 km) away. Australia's mining history has gained a lot of prominence with the emergence of this mining town.

The economic history, as well as the industrial relations of Australia, grew leaps and bounds when silver ore was discovered there.

Various mines were opened and this established Broken Hill as an evolving mining town in the '90s. Broken Hill is Australia's longest-running mining city and even after a slow economic situation in the second half of the '90s and '00s, the city was put on the National Heritage List in 2015.

Broken Hill has always been considered one of the boomtowns of Australia. The massive ore body which had the richest source of silver, zinc, and lead in the world helped name the town of Broken Hill, the Silver City.

The area in New South Wales was actually built on the land of this ore heaven by Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited. It is one of the largest mining companies in the world. The town has also been referred to as 'Capital of the Outback' and 'Oasis of the West'.

Although it is very far from major cities like Sydney, Broken Hill has many attractions, parks, and gardens. Living Desert Sculptures is one of the famous ones in the area known by most people in the world.

The city also gets loads of sunlight, making it perfect to accumulate solar energy. In fact, the town has one of the largest solar plants in the Southern Hemisphere called The Broken Hill Solar Plant, established in 2015.

Facts About Broken Hill

Here are some interesting facts about Broken Hill.

• A remote mining city located in the far west of outback New South Wales in Australia is Broken Hill, now known all over the world for its mining history.
• Broken Hill is located on the crossing of A32, the Barrier Highway, and B79, the Silver City Highway in the Barrier Range.
• The town is near the border with South Australia. The town is located 11033 ft (315 m) above sea level and is a desert city.
• This means that excessive sunlight time is observed in the city.
• Indifferent to the rest of New South Wales, Broken Hill follows Australian Central Standard Time, which is UTC+9:30.
• Broken Hill and the surrounding parts of the country follow this same time zone.
• This is the same time zone used in the Northern Territory and South Australia.
• The reason for the time zone is that Australia adopted standard time at a period when Broken Hill only had a direct rail link with Adelaide and not Sydney.
• Broken Hill is considered to be part of South Australia when it comes to telephone charges and postal parcel rates.
• BHP stopped its mining operations in 1939. Currently Perilya Limited operates the northern and southern operations of the Line of Lode.
• They plan to open more mines along the Line of Lode.
• The population of Broken Hill stands at 18,856 according to data collected in 2015.
• After mining activities became less due to the depletion of the raw materials, sheep farming became crucial and one of the major industries of Broken Hill.
• There are more sheep than people in the area. You will see around 2 million Merino sheep in Broken Hill.
• Broken Hill is full of history, a talented artistic community, and beautiful people.
• This is your time to discover vibrant galleries, sculptures, mining landmarks, and many more.
• Visit the Broken Hill Town Hall to learn more about the city and the history attached to this mining town.

History Of Broken Hill

Here are some historical facts about Broken Hill.

• The earliest settlers in the area are thought to have been Wiljakali Aboriginals.
• It was thought that there was a lack of water in the area. But these tribes and indigenous people lived with the water from underground wells and water holes.
• These water holes were not known by the European settlers and many of the locations of the water holes are still not known.
• Like other parts of Australia, these indigenous people were pushed away from their own lands by the colonists and the spread of various diseases.
• In 1841, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales became the first white settler to visit the area. His name was Major Thomas Mitchell.
• Being Australia's longest-lived mining city, British officer Charles Sturt first saw and deemed it the Barrier Range.
• He himself mentioned a broken hill in his diary in 1844. Charles was actually searching for an inland sea and the broken hill blocked his journey north.
• Burke and Wills then passed through the area on their expedition of 1860-61. They set up a base camp at Menindee, which was nearby.
• In 1883, silver ore was later discovered on the same broken hill that Charles Sturt found. The silver ore was found by a boundary rider named Charles Rasp.
• The name Broken Hill came into being as the area has a number of hills that look like they have a break in them. The broken hill that gave the name to this town no longer exists as the area was mined away.
• The area was actually known as Willyama, before the names Broken Hill or Silver City were given.
• Before Charles Sturt named the area, the area and the surrounding parts were called 'Leaping Crest' by the local Aboriginal population.
• Around the 1850s, pastoralists first started settling the area and the major trade route towards the area was along the Darling River.
• Charles Rasp, who founded Broken Hill in 1883, patrolled the Mount Gipps fences.
• He thought he discovered tin, but it was actually silver and lead. He found the orebody and it turned out to be the biggest and richest one in the world.
• Charles Rasp and six other members founded the Broken Hill Proprietary Company in 1885 as the Syndicate of Seven.
• By 1915, the company found out that the ore reserves were limited and diversified into steel production.
• Mining at the BHP mines was stopped on February 28, 1939. The company is now known as BHP Billiton.
• BHP was not the only mining organization at the site. Even after BHP ceased its operations, other mining companies continued their work at the southern and northern ends.
• Broken Hill was known for its presence in the formation of Australia's labor movement. It also has a rich trade union history.
• Broken Hill has seen some of the worse industrial disputes in 1892, 1909, and 1919. The dispute of 1919 led to the formation of the Barrier Industrial Council in 1923.
• The Barrier Industrial Council is a group of 18 trade unions. The formation of this became crucial as this council was one of the most important organizations in the politics of Broken Hill.
• Similar to other outback towns of the world, Broken Hill was also built upon precious metals. The deposits have been depleted now, but Broken Hill still produces about 2.2 million t (2 million mt) in a year.
• Broken Hill City Council got dismissed by the New South Wales Minister for Local Government on January 10, 2007. This was done after a public inquiry.

Broken Hill Mining

Mining has always been the main economical backbone of Broken Hill. Here are some facts about it.

• The massive ore body of Broken Hill formed around 1800 million years ago. This region is known to be one of the world's largest silver, lead, and zinc deposits.
• The orebody actually looks like a boomerang flinging into the earth at the ends and in the center, outcropping.
• On either side, the poking tip of the orebody seems like a spiked rocky ridge amongst the plain country. This is the reason it was called a broken hill by the locals.
• Miners actually called the orebody the Line of Lode. There was mining by BHP on the northern and southern parts along the Line of Lode.
• The big company now began with Broken Hill and has reached new heights today.
• History says that Rasp thought he found tin in the area, which later turn out to be silver and lead.
• Recently a unique material was discovered from Broken Hill. The material is named Nyholmite after Ron Nyholm, one of the city's famous sons.

Broken Hill's Tourism Facts

There are many natural and man-made attractions in Broken Hill. There has even been a movie shot in Broken Hill which starred Broken Hill native Chips Rafferty. This 1971 movie was an adaptation of a novel.

• Some of the mining operations in the area are open to the public. It is easy to go on mine tours around the city. There is the city center, a visitor's center, and you can see the original Line of Lode mine from the top.
• There are many historic buildings, history walking tours, trails, art galleries, coach and wagon rides, the Sculpture Symposium, many lakes, and quarries. What is better than to end the tour by looking at the sunset through the town.
• Kevin 'Pro' Hart, the noted Australian artist, has his paintings and sculptures at the Pro Hart Gallery and Sculpture Park.
• There are also many artistic works from other artists in this gallery that Hart had collected throughout his lifetime.
• Silverton Camel Farm, Stephen's Creek, and Mundi-Mundi plains are other areas to explore in the area.
• Broken Hill also has a burgeoning nightlife even though the population is quite less. There are places that cater to both locals and tourists like the Barrier Social Democratic Club and the Musician's Club.
• There are even many places to have food and drinks in the city. Visitors to this town are often fascinated by the iron walls of the houses.
• Broken Hill is also known to be a base for the School of the Air and the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia.
• The Wentworth to Broken Hill Pipeline is a significant piece of public infrastructure providing millions of gallons of raw water per day via a 168 mi (270 km) pipeline from the River Murray near Wentworth to Broken Hill.