Silverton and Broken Hill........

We had booked into the racetrack for two days so early the next morning we headed out to see the historic town of Silverton.  Once a bustling township of 3000 people it is now a seemingly random array of buildings strewn across the town.  A church here, a hotel there, a cafe/art gallery and the odd cottage dotted throughout the streets make this an ideal spot for a wander around.

It seems that Silverton had an affinity with the old VW Beetle as there are many of these around the town now turned into quirky artworks.  

Mining began here in 1880, some years before Broken Hill, but the sources of Silver had dried up by the 1900's.  Today people visit Silverton for the art galleries, the Mad Max Museum, and to visit the lookout over the Mundi Mundi Plains.  

From this lookout it is said that the plains are so flat that you can see the curve of the earth.  Also it was here that Mad Max was filmed and some of the scenes from Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

While here we went in search of Silverton Railway Station which was the last stop on our Heritage Rail Trail from Peterborough.  We found the remains of the platform, ticket box, water tank and rail lines and discovered that the NSW Government of the day would not allow the narrow gauge rail line to cross the border from SA to Silverton.  A private syndicate came up with the idea of the 3'6" narrow gauge line running the 58 km to the border town, Cockburn, to join the narrow gauge rail lines of SA.  The  Silverton Tramway  was opened in 1888 connecting the town to South Australia allowing the ore to be transported to the smelter at Port Pirie.  And there ended our very interesting Rail Trail adventure.

Our last stop was at the Silverton Municipal Chambers where the inaugural meeting of the members was held in January 1887.  The building still stands proudly today.

We returned home for lunch and then set off to check out the sights in Broken Hill.  We learnt that Broken Hill is Australia's longest lived mining city.  Silver ore was discovered in Broken Hill in 1883 by a boundary rider named Charles Rasp.  Together with his fellow station hands, David James and James Pool, they pegged the original lease in September 1883.  They joined forces with four others who worked on the Mount Gipps Sheep station and after each pegging a 40 acre mining lease became The Syndicate of Seven.  This ore body became the largest and richest of its kind in the world and The Broken Hill Proprietary Co (BHP) was founded by the syndicate.  

The "broken hill" that gave 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.   The seven men are immortalised with busts in a city park.

A walk along the Main Street showed us some grand old buildings and as always the old Hotels were some of the most ornate.  

We didn't go down any mines here but did make our way to 'The Line of Lode' Miners' Memorial set on top of the Mullock Heap.  This memorial is visible from just about everywhere in Broken Hill and is said to resemble a set of giant rust red teeth.  

Inside are the names of more than 800 workers who have died in the mines.  Walking through here to the lookout beyond had a rather sobering effect on all who passed knowing so many workers had lost their lives this way.

Looking down from here you get a great view of the city.  Back on the ground we returned home to the racetrack where we prepared ourselves for an early departure the next morning.  We were going to have a look at Menindee and the Kinchega National Park.

so until then.........