What Broken Hill is known for
Broken Hill is a mining city of about 17,500 people on the edge of the Barrier Ranges, where the film crews came first, the sculptors followed, and the mines have never actually stopped. In 2015 it became Australia’s first entire city on the National Heritage List.
More than ore
The Line of Lode built Broken Hill, among the richest silver, lead and zinc deposits ever found, under the Barrier Ranges of far western New South Wales, on Wilyakali country. The boom faded, but the mining never stopped, and fewer than 18,000 people now live in a city that earns from a good deal more than ore.
Adelaide, the nearest big city, is 515 kilometres away, nearly six hours by road. What Broken Hill had to work with was already on the ground: Kinchega and Mutawintji within reach, the Line of Lode standing over the streets, the oldest regional gallery in New South Wales, and a desert film crews already knew.
Films, sculptures, heritage
Film crews came first: Wake in Fright in 1971, Mad Max 2 in 1981, more than 35 movies. In 1993 Lawrence Beck held a sculpture symposium in the Living Desert reserve, and sculptors from several nations carved 53 tonnes of trucked-in sandstone into twelve monuments. In 2015 the city became Australia’s first entire city on the National Heritage List.
What the second living earns
Broken Hill anchors a visitor economy worth over AUD 200 million a year in modelled tourism sales, keeps half a dozen museums and galleries, and sends travellers up Sundown Hill at dusk to watch light fail behind the sculptures. The ore still goes out; now the visitors come in as well.
Why it worked
Broken Hill refused the idea that a mining town is worth only its ore, and it started early. The regional gallery opened in 1904, from a bequest by BHP founder George McCulloch, and the Brushmen of the Bush were exhibiting in London, Rome and New York in the 1970s, while the mines were still at scale.
The films made the desert legible to outsiders, the sculptures gave them somewhere to stand, and in 2015 the Commonwealth listed the city for its mining past. None of it replaced the ore; it was built beside it.
Questions people ask about Broken Hill
Why is Broken Hill, New South Wales famous?
Broken Hill is known for mining, films and sculpture. The Line of Lode built the city, film crews have shot more than 35 movies there, and in 2015 it became Australia's first entire city on the National Heritage List.
Which films were shot in Broken Hill?
Film crews came first to Broken Hill: Wake in Fright in 1971 and Mad Max 2 in 1981, among more than 35 movies. The films made the desert legible to outsiders.
What is the Living Desert sculpture symposium in Broken Hill?
In 1993 Lawrence Beck held a sculpture symposium in the Living Desert reserve. Sculptors from several nations carved 53 tonnes of trucked-in sandstone into twelve monuments, and travellers now go up Sundown Hill at dusk to watch light fail behind them.
How much is tourism worth in Broken Hill?
Broken Hill anchors a visitor economy worth over AUD 200 million a year in modelled tourism sales. It keeps half a dozen museums and galleries, and the mines have never actually stopped.