Silverton
Silverton sprang up around the discovery of silver deposits in 1875, eight years before the Broken Hill deposits were found.
In 1885 the editor of the local newspaper got together with early BHP directors and began agitating to build a rail line to the South Australian border. They wanted a way of carting ore to Port Pirie.
Politicians in Sydney were reluctant to build a NSW line to the border and denied South Australian engineers permission to cross into NSW. So the ideas men formed The Silverton Tramway Company and took a private line 50km from Silverton to the SA border.
Today Silverton is an essential outback experience, a ghost town that is paradoxically filled with life and colour.
Do the walking tour of the old streets with photo-signs showing how much and in some instances how little has changed in 150 years. Visit what remains of the train station and see one of the very few sections of the existing narrow gauge steel rails. Drive out to the Historic Day Dream Mine to descend the shafts worked for their precious silver.
The town and surrounds have been used as locations for Mad Max, Razorback and Breaker Morant, and artists with vibrant visions of their own have also established galleries here. Be sure to enjoy a beer in the Silverton Hotel one of Australias truly great outback pubs.
In 1885 the editor of the local newspaper got together with early BHP directors and began agitating to build a rail line to the South Australian border. They wanted a way of carting ore to Port Pirie.
Politicians in Sydney were reluctant to build a NSW line to the border and denied South Australian engineers permission to cross into NSW. So the ideas men formed The Silverton Tramway Company and took a private line 50km from Silverton to the SA border.
Today Silverton is an essential outback experience, a ghost town that is paradoxically filled with life and colour.
Do the walking tour of the old streets with photo-signs showing how much and in some instances how little has changed in 150 years. Visit what remains of the train station and see one of the very few sections of the existing narrow gauge steel rails. Drive out to the Historic Day Dream Mine to descend the shafts worked for their precious silver.
The town and surrounds have been used as locations for Mad Max, Razorback and Breaker Morant, and artists with vibrant visions of their own have also established galleries here. Be sure to enjoy a beer in the Silverton Hotel one of Australias truly great outback pubs.
