Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Argent Street in Broken Hill, New South Wales
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Author: Mattinbgn
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Broken Hill is a mining town in the outback of New South Wales. Located on the western part of the state, near the border with South Australia, it is home to BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company. The town has a population of around 20,000 people (2012 estimate).

The name Broken Hill goes back to 1844, and is the oldest continuously inhabited mining town in Australia. It was was founded by explorer Charles Sturt. It was named after a hill that appears to have a break in it. The hill is no longer around, having been mined away.

Broken Hill has one of the largest deposits of silver, lead and zinc in the world. The orebody containing these minerals is in a crescent shape with both ends rooted in the earth and the center arch cropping out.

As it was and has been, Broken Hill is today still a predominantly mining town. The high price of minerals in the 21st century has resulted in a new round of mining boom. Visitors to Broken Hill today can visit some of the mines that are open to the public. There are also hictoric buildings and heritage trails in town.

The Town Hall of Broken Hill
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BrokenHillTownHall.JPG
Author: Mattinbgn
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Visiting Broken Hill

Broken Hill is about 500 km from Adelaide by road, and 1000 km from Sydney. You can take the Outback Explorer train by Countrylink (https://www.countrylink.info/). It leaves Sydney every Monday at 6:20 am, arriving in Broken Hill at 7:10 pm. The return trip is on Tuesdays at 7:45 am, arriving in Sydney at 9:48 pm.

Places of Interest in Broken Hill

Albert Kersten Mining & Minerals Museum
Educational earth science museum displaying a collection of minerals extracted at Broken Hill. Address: 2 Bromide Street, Broken Hill. Museum is open Mondays to Fridays from 10:00 am to 4:45 pm and on weekends from 1:00 pm to 4:45 pm.
Culgoa National Park
National park protecting the largest intact coolabah floodplains in New South Wales. Phone: 02 6872 2744, www.nationalparks.com.au
Gundabooka National Park
National park protecting the plains and the Gunderbooka Range, encompassing sites of Aboriginal heritage. Phone: 02 6872 2744, www.nationalparks.com.au
Kinchega National Park
National park protecting land of the Paakantji people, to the west of the Darling River.
Mungo National Park
Isolated national park whose central feature is Lake Mungo, the second largest ancient dry lake in Australia. Phone: +60 3 5021 8900
Mutawintji National Park and Historic Site
National park about 130 km northeast of Broken Hill. The terrain is dissected by colorful gorges. The park also protects one of the finest collection of ancient Australian Aboriginal rock art. Phone: 08 8080 3200
Paroo-Darling National Park
Two distinct regions in the outback of New South Wales protecting Aboriginal heritage sites. www.nationalparks.com.au
Silverton Gaol Museum
The former prison, today converted into a museum displaying articles related to the history of Silverton and Broken Hill.
Sturt National Park
National park named after explorer Charles Sturt featuring the flat, reddish-brown outback landscape. Phone: 08 8091 3308
Trades Hall
Historic building in the heart of Broken Hill. Completed in 1921, it is still being used today for major events.
White's Mineral Art Gallery & Living Mining Museum
Private museum established by miner Kevin "Bushy" White in 1987. The museum showcases the architecture and mining history of Broken Hill. Address: 1 Allendale Street, Broken Hill. Open daily 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

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Thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye. My hobby is to research information about places, and share the information with people on this website. I started this website on 5 January 2003, and since then, have written about over 20,000 places, mostly in Malaysia and Singapore.

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