Sunday 13th May - Broken Hill Mining

Down the Mine


Very cool night and colder than expected during the day.  The sun is so bright and the air so dry but the wind is cold and the temperature only reached a high of about 14 degrees.

Daydream Mine, near Broken Hill NSW

Started the day touring Daydream Mine which was in operation for about 100 years closing in the early 1980's.  Silver was mined here and even though there is plenty left in the ground, the current lack of demand makes it uneconomic to operate.  We really got to understand what a hard life the miners had.  In the early part of the 19th century they worked 12 hour shifts underground with no safety measures to speak of.  Consequently they were often injured and breathed air containing silica and lead.  Life expectancy was short with most dying before the age of 40.  They were frequently in pain and used opium and belladonna to dull the senses when the shift ended; the deadly nightshade and opium poppies were grown all around the mine site.  These were not the guys making all the money!  Full marks to the tour operators for making it so informative and interesting.

Silverton NSW

Next we drove to Silverton, a ghost town which at one stage had a population of 3,000.  The population and many of the buildings soon disappeared when the silver mine there was closed in the late 19th century.  Some of the buildings have been beautifully restored and the backdrop has often been used for films including the Mad Max series and A Town like Alice.  Very interesting and amazing to consider how people survived here in the desert as the wide river bed was completely dry.

Determined to fit in as much as possible we finished the day at the Broken Hill Sculptures to watch the spectacular sunset.  The sculptures are situated on a hill about 12kms out of town and look west over the desert.