About

ABOUT
ilovebrokenhill.com , was first published on 8 December 2011 by Jane Deany. My blog is all about the famous outback Australian National Heritage Listed City named Broken Hill, located in the state of New South Wales. I first visited #BrokenHill in 2002 and have returned many times since then. ilovebrokenhill.com will help you discover what's great about this historic mining city, where in the mid 1880's the line of lode, a rich ore body of silver, lead and zinc was found. You will find stories about anything related to Broken Hill.

Saturday 28 July 2012

R.M.Williams shoots Spring/Summer 2013 catalogue in Broken Hill

The lavishly shot R.M.Williams Spring/Summer 2013 catalogue has featured Broken Hill, Silverton and surrounds as the setting.
Five models were used for the shoot, and included Shadae Magson the 2010 Miss Universe Australia finalist, Ashley Hart, sister of well known Sports Illustrated cover girl Jessica, and Kris Smith (Australian singer Danii Minogue’s ex partner (yes that’s Kylie’s sister).  The catalogue’s photographer was Nick Leary.
R.M.Williams – The Bush Outfitter, was established in 1932 by Reginald Murray Williams AO, CMG.  It is an iconic Australia clothing brand.  The company is world renowned for Australian handcrafted boots, in addition to shoes, clothing and accessories.
I have a pair of their famous Craftsmen boots, they’re fantastic and considered pretty stylish down-under, and almost essential if you live on the land.
Check out the catalogue online here.  It’s a very substantial production – 154 pages.  The company is celebrating their 80th anniversary.
Congratulations R.M.Williams.
Cheers Jane D

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Indian Pacific, Australia’s trans-continental train visits Broken Hill

One of the special points about Broken Hill is the fact that one of Australia’s great rail journeys, via the Indian Pacific, passes through Broken Hill on its trans-continental trip.

The old Broken Hill station, now a museum
The three day/three night trip begins in Perth (the Indian Ocean) then travels to the significant mining town of Kalgoorlie some +/- 10 hours away.  The train then continues eastward for 30 hours or so to Adelaide.  After about 2.5 hours in Adelaide, it -turns north east to visit Broken Hill some 6.5 hours away.  After another brief stop there (2 hours, the station is in the heart of town so there is time for a quick look around the city).  The final leg, some 16 hours, sees the train travel east to its destination in Sydney (the Pacific Ocean).


Indian Pacific courtesy GSR

I have done some of the trip from Kalgoorlie to Adelaide in 2006 and that was a really wonderful experience.

The rail company involved is the Great Southern Rail (GSR).  This company and the Indian Pacific itself have been in the news recently but for the wrong reason unfortunately, although there is a happy ending to this tale.  GSR, earlier this year had reduced its service from twice a week to once a week, which is not unusual as this happens periodically in the off-peak season of January and February.  However, this year GSR extended the reduction to August and November.  However, GSR had recently decided to alter the service to be only once a fortnight in the coming December 2012 and January 2012, a move which saw the Broken Hill tourism industry and the City Council being quite critical of the proposal.  Happily I read in the “Barrier Daily Truth” today that the service will remain weekly, which a lot better than fortnightly.

Indian Pacific courtesy GSR
If considering doing part or all of the trip there are several classes available, seats (that do recline somewhat), red class – sleeper in own cabin but not including food (food can be purchased separately and there is a bar also) or gold class including cabin (single or double) plus food which includes full silver service and a special bar car as well.

I treated myself to the gold class, well worth it if you can afford it.  Amazing scenery.

The fact it visits only a handful of cities which includes Broken Hill tells you that the city is a special place indeed.

Cheers, Jane D

Thursday 12 July 2012

First meeting of Silverton Wind Farm Community Consultative Committee 12 July 2012

Silverton Municipal Chambers
Further to my other two recent posts about the future establishment of the Silverton Wind Farm near Broken Hill, please note that today sees the first meeting of the Silverton Wind Farm Community Consultative Committee (SCCC).  AGL, the company involved, has established the SCCC which is open to interested members of the community.  AGL’s general manager for power development, Scott Thomas and manager of solar development Doug Landfear will be in attendance.  There is no set agenda.  The meeting details are as follows -  

Date:          12 July 2012
Venue:       Silverton Municipal Chambers
Time:         6.00 pm

Aim
It is a voluntary committee and as previously noted, “the aim of the Silverton Wind Farm CCC is to help strengthen the community engagement process so that community issues can be addressed appropriately.”  It is a voluntary committee (initially meeting monthly) which will include various stakeholder and community representatives who have demonstrated an interest or connection to the project.  The meetings are to discuss planning developments as well as community issues and concerns regarding the project.  It will also provide an opportunity for the local community to work with the AGL project team to find solutions.

It is part of AGL’s acknowledgement that there are (to quote their initial advertisement) “some community concerns regarding development of the Silverton Wind Farm.”

If you are interested in being involved the number to call (free) is –

1800 039 600  Silverton Wind Farm CCC Community Hotline and they will send you a nomination form as well as further details.  Neil Cooke, Manager Power Development is the contact.  He can also be reached on mobile  0402 059 855.

I am registered to be on their email list to be kept up to date with developments.  It’s a good way to be involved if you can’t physically be there.

Cheers, Jane D

Sunday 8 July 2012

Rex begins Broken Hill to Melbourne via Mildura route 9 July 2012


Don’t forget the regional airline rex aka Regional Express commences their new service between Melbourne and Broken Hill via Mildura tomorrow 9 July 2012.

The service will run once a day, each way, Monday through Saturday.  The cost of a one way trip is approximately $225 including taxes/gst.

Flights will depart from Melbourne at 4.25 pm (eastern standard time – EST) and arrive in Broken Hill at 6.40pm (central standard time - CST).  The return flight from Broken Hill will depart at 8.20 am CST and arrive in Melbourne at 11.40 am EST.

The new service will be a real time saver as the drive from Melbourne to Broken Hill is some 840kms which is well over a 9 hour drive, realistically closer to 10 hours or more with the necessary pit stops.

There will also be an increase from two to three return flights a day from Sydney.

The Regional Express's press release can be seen here which includes timetable information on page 2.

Do give the new service a try and support this fantastic initiative.

Happy flying …

Cheers, Jane D