White Cliffs

the line of lode: then and now

NOW

THEN

NEW BROKEN HILL CONSOLIDATED LTD ZINC CORPORATION MINERALS, MINING & METALLURGY LTD NORTH BROKEN HILL LTD

SOUTH CENTRAL BHP BLOCK 14 BRITISH JUNCTION

ORIGINAL OPEN CUT

SITE OF THE ORIGINAL BROKEN HILL

7,500M 1,600M

ALBERT KERSTEN MINING AND MINERALS MUSEUM

The most famous showpiece in the Albert kersten Mining and Minerals Museum is the Silver Tree. Made from 8.5kg of silver, the tree was created for the Melbourne Colonial Exhibition of 1880. The Silver Tree was once owned by Charles Rasp, the boundary rider who pegged out the first Broken Hill mining lease with his partners. The museum is a fabulous representation of the spectacular array of minerals found in Broken Hill – Australia’s premier mineral locality. The museum is internationally recognised, and has been featured in numerous national and international publications. Selected specimens from its collection have also been displayed at some of the most prestigious mineral shows, including the world’s two largest shows in Tucson and Munich. As well as housing a significant collection of local minerals, the museum tells the story of how the world’s largest deposit of silver, lead and zinc was formed in Broken Hill. The Albert kersten Mining and Minerals Museum is located in the restored former Bond Store, which dates from 1892.

DAY DREAM MINE

Experience an authentic historic mine you can tour in absolute safety. Between Broken Hill and Silverton is the Day Dream Mine. It descends deep into the earth and gives visitors a real sense of what it must have once been like wielding a pick and shovel in such challenging conditions. Located 33km from Broken Hill near Silverton, the Day Dream Mine enables you to go underground in safety and relative comfort at the same time as getting a sense of the harsh life miners once led. Mining was the reason that Silverton sprang up in the first place, and it’s still possible to experience what life was like for men working in its heyday.

White’s Mineral Art & Living Mining Museum

Established in 1882, the mine attracted a settlement of about 500 people and the district’s first smelters. But the settlement was short-lived and gave ground to Silverton and then Broken Hill although the mine continued to operate until 1983.

WHITE’S MINERAL ART AND LIvING MINING MUSEUM

A world of mineral magnificence is on display in White’s Mineral Art and Living Mining Museum. Found on Allendale Street, this gem of an attraction takes you on an illustrated journey through the architectural and mining history of Broken Hill. Bushy White’s mineral paintings are complemented by many rare mining artefacts, underground memorabilia and models of mine sites, making this attraction a great way to interpret mining life without heading underground. Much of Broken Hill’s modern mining industry is built on the back of what was established by the Broken Hill Proprietary Company – best known as BHP. A famous name in Australia, BHP Billiton is now one of the world’s largest mining companies. Broken Hill is where it began for BHP in 1885, when the company began mining the massive ore body containing the world’s richest source of silver, lead and zinc.

did You know?

Syndicate Of Seven busts Trades Hall

SYNDICATE OF SEvEN

Seven men from Mount Gipps Station put Broken Hill on the map in 1883. The group, known later as the Syndicate of Seven, discovered ore on an isolated ‘broken hill’. These men were George McCulloch, Charles Rasp, James Poole, David James, Philip Charley, George urquhart and George Lind. Together, they formed the first mining company in Broken Hill called the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP).

Rasp and his fellow station hands, David James and James Poole, pegged out the original lease in September 1883. Rasp is the most famous of the seven today but the equally well educated and considerably tougher George McCulloch actually masterminded the syndicate and helped form BHP in 1885. McCulloch was an active patron of the arts and helped establish what is now the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery. McCulloch also funded Broken Hill’s first hospital.

The young jackaroo, Philip Charley, also benefited from the find. Charley first recognised silver chlorides near Rasp Shaft (pegged by McCulloch) and his ongoing involvement enabled him to import a 1907 Silver Ghost – the first Rolls Royce in Australia. But others didn’t do so well. George urquhart and George Lind sold their shares at a loss. James Poole sold half his share to the cattle king, Sidney kidman, for a herd of bullocks worth only 40 pounds. As perspective on their mistakes, in its first year alone BHP mined ore worth more than 42,000 pounds (equivalent in value to about $6.5 million today). you can see busts of the original ‘Syndicate of Seven’ outside the Broken Hill City Council Chambers.