An adventure in four parts: Part 1 - Broken Hill

After a 7-hour drive, travelling more than 600 kilometres, we arrived in Broken Hill in far north-western NSW, famous for its silver, lead and zinc. The town gets its name from the narrow coat-hanger shaped body of ore that runs for 8 kilometres through the town's centre, which apparently looked like a 'broken hill' to the man who discovered silver there in 1883.

 

The architecture reflects the boom years, with many lovely Victorian buildings.

I was amazed at the lush greenery in gardens and streetscapes, despite the arid conditions.

Pride in their mining history is shown in the various displays around the town.  The city is still a major mining centre generating (so our brochure tells us) more than $400 million a year.

And to reinforce its mining heritage, we discovered that many of the city streets are named for elements, oxides, minerals, chemicals and precious stones. Hence we drove along Argent, Chloride, Bromide, Cobalt, Beryl, Wolfram, Chrystal, Graphite and Oxide streets.

We visited the Regional Art Gallery. I am a fan of Margaret Preston and was delighted to find her 1909 painting entitled 'Pink and Blue'. We also visited the Pro Hart Gallery - an artist synonymous with Broken Hill. I had no idea he was so prolific in so many different genres, from his famous naive red dirt-and-trees landscapes to dark and brooding pictures of life in the mines reminiscent of Albert Tucker and Arthur Boyd, vibrant modern art, acrylics, sculpture and etchings.












A fun stop was to Bells Milk Bar which still contains its original 1950s decor, including a juke box. Check out the flying saucer and alien on the roof.

The owners still use the original recipe for the syrups and cordials. Couldn't resist my favourite lime spider; Steve chose a chocolate sundae!

Our next stop was to the Living Desert Reserve 9 kms from Broken Hill, a 2,400 hectare conservation area which includes Aboriginal rock etchings, a flora and fauna sanctuary, and a sculpture park set on top of a hill in the Barrier Ranges.  Magnificent scenery. Absolute silence.

I could have sat here for hours.

The sculptures on top of the hill (completed in 1993) were the work of half a dozen artisans from around the world who were invited to sculpt a piece that reflected the spirit of the environment, using the local sandstone.

The end to a perfect day

The next blog will focus on our trip to the Mutawintji National Park.