Australia So Much to See

Donkeys roam the streets in Silverton. In a typical street scene, the John Dynan Art Gallery is in a colourfully painted corrugated iron building. Behind it to the left is the former Methodist Church, and to the right the former Catholic Church, and Masonic Lodge building far right.

Photos below of the Horizon Gallery, with a corrugated iron camel bursting out of the wall and a tin sheeting kangaroo slouching on the verandah.

Below left the Old Gaol built in 1889 is now a local history museum.

The former school, once attended by over 300 students, is now a local education and history museum. Poet, author and journalist Dame Mary Gilmore, who is featured on the Australian $10 note, taught here from 1887 to 1889.

The Interceptor Love Child Story

One balmy night, the Mad Max Interceptor grabbed a bottle of nitro and proceeded across the hill for some party time with two emu badged Volkswagen girls. Ot was a long night and a great time was had by all. In the early hours, the Interceptor returned to its garage before its owner was aware it had gone missing. Well six months to the day, being 9th of October 2010, the Interceptor is the proud father of his love child you are now viewing.

PS A DNA test will be conducted to find out the mother, as both VWs are claiming rights.

Silverton Hotel, showing exterior and Mad Max style car "Interceptor's Love Child", horse tethering post, outdoor seating area, outdoor area "Ghost town" bar, and stage for music events.

Above shows the ruins of Saint Stephens Church of England Church, built 1886, on the outskirts of present day Silverton.

In 1875 two men drilling a well on a Thackaringa station south of the present town hit a lode of silver.

Patrick Green, a storekeeper at Menindee, staked out a claim and named it the Pioneer mine. Nothing came of the discovery and the sample was lost when it was sent to England for assessment.

In 1880 it was recognised that there were rich deposits of silver in the area and 300 miners flooded into the district.

In 1881 John Stokie established the Umberumberka claim. See photos at right. Prospectors arrived and a settlement of around 150 people, known as Umberumberka, grew up two kilometres south west of the current Silverton townsite. Due to lack of water, an alternative settlement was established. Initially known as Umberumberka Creek, the settlement was soon renamed Silverton.

Umberumberka is said to mean "native rat hole" and appears to have applied to a wider area which encompasses Silverton. The Umberumberka Mine and settlement initiated mining and settlement in the Silverton area.

Silverton was surveyed in 1883 and by September the population was 250 and by the end of the year had risen to 500. Daydream mine also opened in 1883 and attracted an additional population with an estimated 500 people living in and around the township of ‘Wilson’, named after the mine manager.

In 1884 1,222 mineral leases, 937 business permits and 114 miners' rights were issued. 6,000 tonnes of ore were extracted and the town acquired its own newspaper, the Silver Age.

By 1885 the Silverton’s population had reached 3,000. Silverton was proclaimed a township, and a declared a municipality in 1886.

1892 saw the Umberumberka mine closed. It was followed by the closure of Daydream mine. The Thackaringa mine closed in 1897.

The rapid depletion of the high grade ore around Silverton, along with the discovery of an even richer silver-lead-zinc ore body in nearby Broken Hill, led to a sudden decline in Silverton's population.

By 1901 after miners had moved to the richer fields at Broken Hill, houses were moved and only 286 people remained in the Silverton area, but the town remained popular as a venue for recreational outings by Broken Hill residents.

Further out the only remaining evidence of the former Silverton hospital site is this tank, now almost filled in with sand and rubbish.

Sourced from

Follow our touring in and around Silverton on the following pages as we continue exploring north west New South Wales

Ruins and remnants from the Umberumberka Mine and townsite a few kilometres west of Silverton form and important part of the history mining and development of the area. Photos above and below. The Silverton Tramway passed through this site and the route can be seen below.

Silverton is well known as the venue for the movie Mad Max 2 and a number of other movies. See previous page. But Silverton is more that that. It is a quaint little remnant of a mining town, with a history that pre-dates the mineral discoveries in Broken Hill.

Only 26 kilometres north west from Broken Hill, there is a permanent population of around 50 people. There are several art galleries and museums, a few old ruins, and a Hotel which is a popular spot for meals and functions.

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