Broken Hill

Broken Hill is a mining town which is also very popular amongst Australian artists. The town is known as 'Silver City' and still mines for Silver, lead and zinc today. However there is only one mine that is still open today. When you get here be prepared to change your watches. Although Broken Hill is part of NSW, it is only 509km from Adelaide, whilst 1170km from Sydney. It shares the central time with South Australia, and also shares the same telephone code of 08.

If you've ever seen the programme 'Flying Doctors', then you may be interested to find out more about how it works at the Royal Flying Doctor Service Base. You get to have a full look around the base as well as the aircraft. You can also join a tour of the area, with some heading out to the Mootwingee National Park, the White Cliffs as well as around the town itself.

There is a variety of things to do in Broken Hill. Being a mining community there are several mines and mining museums that you can visit, where you really get to experience what life is like working down a mine. The city is also popular amongst artists, and so there are a number of art galleries which you can visit. The main one is the Broken Hill City Art Gallery, although there are also a number of smaller ones which are worth while. There are also several other museums around the city telling the history of the area, which are very interesting.

Of an evening, Broken Hill stays open and begins to party. The various pubs and plentiful clubs around the city offer food as well as atmosphere, staying open most of the night at weekends. The Musicians Club is popular amongst Two-Up players, so for a bit of gambling head here.

The city is easy to get around, as it is set out as a grid. The main street where you will find shops, restaurants and accommodation is Argent Street. The train station is a shirt walk east from here, and the bus stop is outside the tourist information centre on the next street up from here. There are buses to both Adelaide and Sydney, run by Greyhound. You can also get to these places by train. If you are looking at heading over to Perth, you can also hop on the Indian Pacific which passes through.

There is a range of accommodation in Broken Hill ranging from campsites and hostels to hotels. Prices also range as well, although it isn't too expensive.

Broken Hill Accommodation