Destination Profile - Broken Hill, New South Wales
The City of Broken Hill is the largest regional centre in the western half of New South Wales. It lies in the centre of the sparsely settled New South Wales outback, close to the South Australian border and midway between the Queensland and Victorian borders.
Broken Hill abounds with lovingly restored historic buildings and monuments.
Broken Hill is Australia's longest-lived mining city. Its massive orebody, formed about 1800 million years, 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.
A boundary rider named Charles Rasp, who patrolled the Mt Gipps fences discovered what he thought were deposits of tin, Rasp's samples were silver and lead, and the ore body became the largest and richest of its kind in the world. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) was launched by a 'Syndicate of Seven' in 1885.
The desolate landscape surrounding Broken Hill is like driving towards a painting of soft mauve and sage hues. The city has become known as a mecca for artists. It is here that the magnificent clear blue skies and the magic light are also much loved by film makers from Mad Max 2 to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
The late Pro Hart, the creator of a special Australian image, was the first to establish in the city. Pro Hart was born in Broken Hill, NSW, Australia in 1928, and grew up on the family sheep station "Larloona" situated near Broken Hill. Broken Hill is also home to Australian outback artists known world wide Roxanne Minchin and Jack Absalom.
This destination is part of the Discover the Hart of the Flinders Australian Adventure.
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