Broken Hill

Broken Hill is an administrative region in the far west of New South Wales, Australia, stretching across urban and rural areas. The territory includes abandoned mine shafts, residential streets with corrugated roofs, and red desert plains that extend to the horizon.

The region gained administrative status during the silver boom of the 1880s after miners from across Australia poured into the outback. Over the following decades workers built schools, hospitals, and rail lines while the mines pushed deeper into the earth.

The official name comes from the jagged hill Charles Rasp discovered in 1883 while searching for metal. Today the mine shapes daily life across town, where headframes stand beside houses and miners in work clothes walk through the streets.

The city council manages the municipality from offices in the town center, where residents submit forms and obtain permits. Water restrictions apply year round, and roads are wide enough for trucks hauling minerals from the mines.

The area sits closer to Adelaide than to Sydney despite belonging to New South Wales, and follows South Australian time. Telegraph lines still run along old mine roads where workers transmitted news of silver strikes over a century ago.

Location: New South Wales

Location: City of Broken Hill

Location: Picton

Inception: 1883

Elevation above the sea: 315 m

Part of: Far West

Shares border with: Scotia, Fowlers Gap, Broughams Gate, Menindee, Silverton, Little Topar, Cockburn, Sturt Vale, Mooleulooloo, Mutooroo

Website: http://visitbrokenhill.com.au

GPS coordinates: -31.96500,141.45111

Latest update: December 14, 2025 21:27