27 Facts About Broken Hill

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

Unlike the rest of New South Wales, Broken Hill observes Australian Central Standard Time, the same time zone used in nearby South Australia.

Similarly, Broken Hill is regarded as part of South Australia for the purposes of postal parcels rates and telephone charges.

Broken Hill used to be a break of gauge station where the state railway systems of South Australia and New South Wales met.

The broken hill that gave its name to Broken Hill actually consisted of a number of hills that appeared to have a break in them.

Related searches

Lead with the isotope signature of the Broken Hill deposits has been found across the entire continent of Antarctica in ice cores dating back to the late nineteenth century.

Broken Hill was founded in 1883 by boundary rider Charles Rasp, who patrolled the Mount Gipps fences.

In 1892 Broken Hill Gaol was built, designed by the Colonial Architect, James Barnet, who designed the Sydney Museum, among others.

Battle of Broken Hill took place on New Year's Day 1915 when two Afghan men, pushing an ice-cream cart, hoisted a Turkish Flag and fired upon a trainload of people who were headed to a New Years Day picnic.

Broken Hill is known for its input into the formation of the labour movement in Australia, and has a rich trade union history.

In 2015, Broken Hill became the first city in Australia to be included on the National Heritage List.

Broken Hill has never had a permanent local water supply that meets the town's needs.

Water storage facilities that are part of the Menindee Lakes Scheme on the Darling River secured the water supply to Broken Hill, making it a relative oasis amid the harsh climate of the Australian outback.

Broken Hill essentially ran out of water, with a muddy sludge coming out of some taps around Christmas time in 2004.

In 1970 the gauge railway from Port Pirie to Broken Hill was superseded by a new gauge line, mostly laid alongside the narrow gauge line.

Local public transport is provided by CDC Broken Hill, operating four city bus routes from Monday to Saturday.

Broken Hill has a hot desert climate under the Koppen climate classification.

Winters in Broken Hill are relatively mild and dry, although the night and early morning can be cold with moderate frost, while summers are highly variable – mostly hot and dry with some variation.

Dust storms are a common problem in the desert, but in the late 1930s the people of Broken Hill, led by Mr Keast of the Zinc Corporation mine, created green reserves to surround the town thus protecting it from the worst of the storms.

In 1933, Broken Hill was the third largest urban incorporated area in New South Wales, having a population of 26,925.

Broken Hill's population peaked at around 30,000 in the early 1960s and has shrunk by one third since the heyday of the 1970s zinc boom, with the decrease attributed to migration from the closure and consolidation of mining operations.

The camel drivers formed the first sizeable Muslim communities in Australia, and in Broken Hill they left their mark in the form of the first mosque in New South Wales.

Broken Hill has been and still is a town dominated by the mining industry, which led to considerable town prosperity in the 19th and 20th century.

Broken Hill is a major base for both the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia and School of the Air.

The novel was adapted into a 1971 film of the same name, shot on location in Broken Hill and starring Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence and Broken Hill native Chips Rafferty in his final film role.

Related searches

One of the most well known films to heavily feature Broken Hill is The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert where various scenes in town and surrounding outback were filmed.

Broken Hill was featured during the second leg of The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business.