Silverton

This outback ghost town is the scene of more than 140 films and commercials and was once a vibrant and busy mining town. You've already seen Silverton - on the silver screen. From Bryan Brown's Dirty Deeds, Mad Max II, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and XXXX beer ads, to the Royal Flying Doctor series. Cinematographers are attracted by the clear light, the colonial buildings full of character, haphazardly placed, the wide streets, the famous pub and the magnificently evocative scenery.

Silverton is the ideal image of an outback town. Prospectors began working in the area in 1867. They'd heard a tale of a gold find by a local station hand - unfortunately, his claim turned out to be a pretext for stealing a horse. Some years later, though, two men drilling a well on Thankaringa station to the south hit a lode of silver. Silverton's population was 250 by September 1883, double that by December and 1700 a year later, all living in slap-dash huts of iron and canvas.

Many of the diggers came from South Australia's copper mines, depleted by that time, but Silverton also had a reputation for harbouring various undesirables - horse stealers, cattle duffers and mining sharks. Silverton's high grade ore was quickly taken. With the boom in Broken Hill, many owners carted their homes to the Silver City and, by 1901, Silverton was home to only 286 people.

Now Silverton is a picturesque cluster of buildings, with a restored gaol, some art galleries and artist's studios and the celebrated Silverton Hotel, with it's desert backdrop, a replica of Mad Max's car in front and film memorabilia inside. Silverton is situated 25 kilometres north-west of Broken Hill. Access is via a sealed road. Once a thriving community of more than 3000, it is now a ghost town.

Silverton's attractions include: the Silverton Gaol (1889); the John Dynon Gallery, Horizon Gallery and Peter Browne's Gallery; Mundi Mundi Lookout and the Umberumberka Reservoir Heritage Walk.

Temperatures for Silverton

Silverton has hot summer temperatures. The summer high temperature for Silverton is approximately 31 °c. The summer low temperature is approximately 19 °c.

Silverton has mild winter temperatures. The winter high temperature for Silverton is approximately 15 °c. The winter low temperature is approximately 7 °c.

MONTH	LOW °c	HIGH °c
January	19	32
February	20	31
March	17	28
April	13	23
May	10	19
June	7	15
July	6	14
August	8	17
September	10	21
October	13	25
November	16	28
December	18	31

Silverton Accommodation