It is a 6am arrival in Broken Hill and we are off on a variety of morning tours. We eschew the desert sculptures and the Pro Hart Art Gallery for a tour of the city’s industrial past which also allows me to peel off and get some nice pictures in and around town. Broken Hill is a city of a couple of thousand which geographically is actually closer to Adelaide than its capitol, Sydney. It’s claim to fame was the discovery of silver in the 1880s and subsequently lead and tin mining have brought prosperity for over a century.
It’s nickname is “Silver City”. It is, of course, where “the big Australian” BHP originated but I discover today that it no longer has any holdings in Broken Hill. Opera singer June Bronhill and actor Chips Rafferty hail from here and, of course, Pro Hart has a presence here. The iconic films Mad Max 2 and Priscilla Queen of the desert were shot here. As the minerals are forecast to run out in 12 years the city is recasting itself as a tourist attraction and it certainly has enough here to warrant a visit.
Leaving Broken Hill down to Adelaide the drought ravaged countryside is depressingly sere. Straw coloured stubbles of dead grass dot the once fertile fields. Clusters of livestock looking pathetically thin congregate around concrete troughs of feed and water. Many choosing to lie on the ground in an area where they should be grazing freely. Heat, drought and fire, our country is really distressed at the moment. For once living in the south eastern corner of the country where we have not yet been touched by all of this is a blessing.