Silverton Information

Silverton Information

SILVERTON

This outback ghost town is the scene of more than 140 films and commercials and was once a vibrant and busy mining town.

You've already seen Silverton - on the silver screen. from Bryan Brown's Dirty Deeds, Mad Max II, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and XXXX beer ads, to the Royal Flying Doctor series.

Cinematographers are attracted by the clear light, the colonial buildings full of character, haphazardly placed, the wide streets, the famous pub and the magnificently evocative scenery. Silverton is the ideal image of an outback town.

Prospectors began working in the area in 1867. They'd heard a tale of a gold find by a local station hand - unfortunately, his claim turned out to be a pretext for stealing a horse. Some years later, though, two men drilling a well on Thankaringa station to the south hit a lode of silver. Silverton's population was 250 by September 1883, double that by December and 1700 a year later, all living in slap-dash huts of iron and canvas.

Many of the diggers came from South Australia's copper mines, depleted by that time, but Silverton also had a reputation for harbouring various undesirables - horse stealers, cattle duffers and mining sharks. Silverton's high grade ore was quickly taken. With the boom in Broken Hill, many owners carted their homes to the Silver City and , by 1901, Silverton was home to only 286 people.

Now Silverton is a picturesque cluster of buildings, with a restored gaol, some art galleries and artist's studios and the celebrated Silverton Hotel, with it's desert backdrop, a replica of Mad Max's car in front and film memorabilia inside.

Silverton is situated 25 kilometres north-west of Broken Hill. Access is via a sealed road. Once a thriving community of more than 3000, it is now a ghost town. NO FUEL

Attractions include:

SILVERTON GAOL (1889)

ART GALLERIES : John Dynon Gallery, Horizon Gallery, Peter Browne's Gallery

MUNDI MUNDI LOOKOUT

UMBERUMBERKA RESERVOIR

HERITAGE WALK

HISTORIC BUILDINGS

LOCAL ARTS AND CREFT SHOPS

PENEROSE PARK