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| The plains beyond
Silverton which have become a popular haunt for film
makers |
Silverton
Popular destination for movie makers. This near-ghost is
town full of interesting arts and craft shops
Silverton is a fascinating town located near the South
Australian border, 1183 km west of Sydney via the Great
Western, Mitchell and Barrier Highways and 24 km west of
Broken Hill along an atrocious piece of sealed road.
Once a thriving mining centre of 3000 Silverton is now a
virtual ghost town of about 50 inhabitants with a number of
historic buildings, several art galleries and museums and a
pub and that is about it. It is a town surrounded by 4000
hectares of land known as The Silverton Common, in a
semi-arid zone.
The earliest known human inhabitants of the area are said
to be the Willyama Aborigines, although, there being no
permanent water supply in the immediate area their presence
was only intermitant. At any rate they were decimated by
European disease and forcibly driven from the lands which
underscored their self-sufficiency and their entire culture.
More recently the Paarkinji people have moved up from the
lower Darling.
The first Europeans to see the Barrier Range were Charles
Sturt and party during their trek from Adelaide in 1844
intended to prove or disprove the existence of an inland sea
in the centre of Australia. Sturt named the Barrier Range as
a result of the difficulties it presented to his progress.
He described the land as some of the most barren and
desolate he had seen.
Pastoralists, who had followed in the wake of Sturt in
the 1850s, moved further west in the 1860s as river frontage
disappeared along the Darling. Much local land was taken up
in 1864 after a severe drought the previous year though low
rainfall continued to hamper prosperity. Goods were shipped
up the Darling via river steamer and then hauled overland by
bullock teams.
Prospectors began working in the area in 1867 after a
fallacious report of a gold find by a local station hand who
appears to have made the claim as a pretext for stealing a
horse. However, in 1875, two men hit a lode of silver while
drilling a well on Thackaringa station, south of present-day
Silverton. A storekeeper at Menindee named Patrick Green
staked out a claim after being shown the sample, calling it
the Pioneer mine. However, when the material was sent to
England to be assayed it went astray and it was not until
1880 that the value of the find became apparent. A
settlement of 300 people soon developed around the site
which had but one public house, albeit a popular one.
In 1881 John Stokie established the Umberumberka claim.
Miners and prospectors began to arrive, especially from the
declining copper fields of South Australia. A settlement,
initially known as Umberumberka, soon emerged 2 km
south-west of the present township. It consisted of a store,
a hotel and two boarding houses to cater for a population of
150. However, many settlers preferred to establish
themselves closer to the water supply and so set up camp by
Umberumberka Creek. The town centre gradually shifted to the
latter location and was named Silverton in 1883 when a
survey took place. Slap-dash huts of iron and canvas began
to proliferate. The population increased from 250 in
September of that year to 500 by December and peaked at two
or three thousand in 1885-86. In 1884 alone 1222 mineral
leases, 937 business permits and 114 miners' rights were
issued. That same year 6000 tonnes of ore were extracted,
three-quarters of it being sent to South Australia for
processing.
Silverton was proclaimed a township in 1885 and a
municipality the following year. A newspaper, the Silver
Age, was established in 1884. It published some of the early
verse of poet Mary Gilmore who, from 1887 to 1889, was an
assistant teacher at Silverton school which is still
standing.
In 1887 the Town and Country Journal wrote that: 'The
scum of the country began to be attracted to the new and
prosperous field like blowflies to a carcase (sic).
Horse-stealers, cattle duffers, mining sharks and rogues of
all descriptions rolled up...Robberies, and the jumping of
claims and allotments, were things of daily occurrence. It
was nothing unusual to see from ten to twenty culprits
chained together to a tree at the rear of the police camp -
some of the more refractory members having bells fixed on to
their backs so that, should they attempt to get away, the
police would be warned.
Silverton's geographic isolation was originally an added
expense to the mine's transport costs. The South Australian
government extended their line to the border but the NSW
government refused to join it to Silverton and Broken Hill
so the locals formed the Silverton Tramway Company and, in
1888, built a line to the South Australian border.
The Day Dream Mine, to the north-west, opened in 1883 and
a settlement of 400 to 500 people soon coagulated around
that site. The first smelters in the district were
established there in 1885 but closed the following year. The
problem was that the extraordinarily high-grade ore was
rapidly disappearing on all of the sites. Moreover, the
discovery of a huge lode at Broken Hill soon began to draw
the population away. By 1888 Silverton was down to 1700
people and to 286 by 1901. Many of the houses were carted
off to Broken Hill by their owners. Umberumberka mine closed
in 1892, Day Dream was abandoned in the 1890s and
Thackaringa mine closed in 1897. Today about 50 people
remain in Silverton and most of those cater to tourism.
Remember, if driving in the outback, ensure that your
vehicle is in tip-top condition, carry emergency fuel, water
and food supplies, inform someone of your plans and it is
advisable to take spare belts and hoses. Always stay with
your vehicle if lost or broken down and ring (08) 8087 0660
to check in advance on the state of local roads which can
become impassable after rain.
Things to see:
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Church, School and Galleries
As you enter Silverton from Broken Hill you will cross
Blackhill Creek and find yourself in Burke St. Take the
second left into Loftus St and proceed up the hill. To the
left is the old school building which served as an
educational centre from 1885 to 1970. On the way up the hill
you will pass St Carthage Catholic Church, which dates from
1886, the Peter Browne Art Gallery and the John Dynon Art
Gallery.
Masonic Lodge
Return along Loftus St a short distance and turn left into
Canopus St. To the left is the old masonic lodge (1885),
built with the money of Charles Rasp, one of first lodge
members.
Sturt St
Continue along Canopus St, turn right into Layard St and
proceed to the Sturt St corner where you will find Andy
Jenkins: the only person in Australia who has a licence to
deface the currency. Andy is a coin carver who fashions
money into interesting pieces of jewellery.
Turn right into Sturt St which was the route along which
railway once ran. On your right is the old Methodist Church,
built as a Presbyterian Church in 1885. As the Wesleyans
greatly outnumbered the Presbyterians the latter sold their
church to the former when the Wesleyan Church was destroyed
in 1891 by a tempest.
Silverton Hotel
Return to Layard St and continue past Horizon Gallery to the
Silverton Hotel near the Burke St corner. Silverton has
recently become popular as a location for filmmakers looking
for an easily accessible desert setting. It has used for
films as diverse as Wake in Fright, Mad Max 2, A Town Like
Alice, Hostage, Razorback , Journey into Darkness and Golden
Soak. It easy access to Broken Hill has also meant that it
has been popular with commercial makers. One prominent
feature in these films is the Silverton Hotel, built in 1885
to house the town's postal service which was established in
1883. A photographic collection bears witness to its place
in Australia's film history. This is a pub with lots of
character and a wry humour typical of Australia. The bust of
Menzies, Australia's prime minister from 1949-1967, is
presumably ironic, given his 'honorary' title of Ming the
Merciless.
Silverton Pioneer Museum and Opal Shop
Turn right into Burke St. To your right is the Silverton
Pioneer Museum. Open daily it features an outdoor display of
farm equipment such as carts, wagons, engines, tools and
machinery from the old sheep stations, all located in a
garden setting. The indoor collection includes minerals,
shells and Aboriginal rock carvings. The museum is also home
to an opal shop. Over the road is the old municipal chambers
building (1889).
Gaol and Courthouse
At the corner of Burke and Loftus Sts is the town's second
gaol. The original gaol was a timber and iron building. When
NSW's Chief Justice, Sir Frederick Darley, visited Silverton
in 1888 he was appalled at the conditions which the inmates
endured. 22 men were crammed into four small cells and
secured at night in leg irons, regardless of whether or not
they had been tried. When the gaol overflowed they were
chained to peppercorn trees outside. The sole female
prisoner was gaoled for nine months awaiting retrial and was
being kept in the bathroom, there being nowhere else for
her. The present building was erected in 1889 but was soon
superseded by facilities at Broken Hill. It became an
overnight lock-up in 1892, a boys' reformatory in the 1930s
and was closed altogether in 1943. It was restored by the
local historical society and reopened as a museum in the
1960s. Open daily from 9.30 am. to 4.30 p.m. it now displays
historic items such as photographs, documents, household
items and pastoral and mining equipment. One document is a
bill of sale by which James Poole tragically exchanged his
share in the Broken Hill mine for ten steers before the
extent of the mineral deposit was realised. There is also a
silver model of the Block 10 Mine given by shareholders to
the manager for his success in ending the strike of 1892.
One of the real curiousities is the coroner's bath. This was
filled with some preservative and bodies were placed in it
until the coroner could arrive from Sydney. In the days
before the railway this could take up to three months. Over
the road from the gaol is the old courthouse (1889).
Lookout
Proceed west of Silverton along the sealed road for about 5
km to the place clearly marked Scenic Lookout on the edge of
the Mundi Mundi Plains. It is a remarkable view. From the
top of the hill the flatlands stretch for an eternity to the
horizon.
Reservoir
It is another 4 km west to Umberumberka Reservoir. The
complex was completed in 1915 although the original pumping
plant was found insufficient and replaced in 1920 by another
unit. This second plant, replaced in 1960 by a new diesel
system, is now on display every day except public holidays
from 8.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. Today the reservoir functions as
a standby facility to supplement the main water supply at
Broken Hill.
Penrose Park Recreation Area
1 km east of town on the Broken Hill Road is the turnoff
across the Umberumberka Creek to Penrose Park Recreational
Area. This 20-ha park is a popular picnic spot for people
from Broken Hill who come out to Silverton for the day and
pay for the upkeep by means of a subscription. There are
picnic facilities, wood and gas barbecues, powered caravan
and camping sites with amenities, a large hall for hire with
power, kitchen facilities and bunkhouses, as well as a
playground, an oval, bird aviaries, day and night-time
tennis and other sports facilities, tel: (08) 8088 5307, or,
after hours, (08) 8088 5327.
Day Dream Mine
It is still possible to get some sense of what life was like
for the miners of the late 19th century at the old Day Dream
Mine site which is open to tourists. Take the Broken Hill Rd
out of town and, after about 3 km, take the signposted
turnoff on the left. Snacks, cold drinks and souvenirs are
available. The tour takes one hour. Be sure to take sturdy
footwear. You can either make a booking at the Broken Hill
Visitors' Centre or just turn up any time between 10 a.m.
and 3.30 p.m. seven days a week.
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Silverton
