Broken Hill Australia

Broken Hill is an isolated mining town in the outback of New South Wales Australia. It has a hot desert climate, averages 9 inches of rain per year, population of 17814 people. In 1883, silver ore was discovered in this area.

There are currently three active mines, lead zinc and silver owned by BHP Broken Hill Proprietary. When a miner was told to go to the “Kremlin” that meant he had been summoned to the BHP headquarters, Kremlin being the miners nickname for the headquarters.

Broken Hill played a major influence on the labour unions in Australia. Some of the most bitter labour disputes have been fought in Broken Hill.

Australia is a leading producer of gold. During WWII, many feared the Japanese would invade Australia. Gold from the capital cities where it had been stored was moved to Broken Hill for safekeeping. The first transfer of gold was from Sydney in February 1942, by special train under a combined military and bank guard under great secrecy. The soldiers believed that they were bound for a secret mission overseas. They were very surprised to find themselves escorting a number of very heavy boxes to Broken Hill. More surprised still was one of the Bank’s employees. He had been informed that he was required for a secret mission and was told that it was in the nature of a fishing trip. Among his luggage, therefore, was a fishing rod!

A special strongroom was built within the jail to house the gold. An elaborate system of alarms provided a security check at least every fifteen minutes. Building this strongroom called for large quantities of cement and other materials. The rumor around town was that the jail was being reinforced to house Rudolf Hess and other German prisoners.

Besides mining, there are now many Merino sheep farmers in this area. Merino wool is highly valued. Merino has very fine fibers, making it the softest wool available with high elasticity so it will keep its shape.

Broken Hill has a huge solar farm (plant) nearby. It has a Royal Flying Doctor Service and a School of the Air base. There are several artists and art galleries, many in the aboriginal style. Broken Hill also claims to originate cheeseslaw. Cheeseslaw is made from cheese, usually cheddar, carrots, mayonnaise and sometimes cabbage. All the streets in the city are named after elements.

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