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.

Sunday 28 April 2013

Tradition lives with Broken Hill's Civic (Debutante) Ball on 3 May 2013

Community Event
Broken Hill is holding a Civic Ball this coming Friday 3 May 2013 and nine young ladies will be making their debut.  It is nice to see old fashioned traditions still live on.  I remember making my debut many moons ago at Number 9 Darling Street South Yarra in Melbourne, but that's another story.


Broken Hill Entertainment (Civic) Centre
courtesy Barrier Daily Truth
The venue for this special occasion is of course Broken Hill's Civic (Entertainment and Convention) Centre - corner Blende and Chloride Streets.  Tickets are limited, see details below.

According to the media release from Broken Hill City Council's website, the Civic Ball has been part of the City's history for many years.  It is a celebration of young women coming of age.

In the media release, Mayor Wincen Cuy said “Given the current climate it is very pleasing that Council in partnership with Old Fashion Favourites and Gallery of Silverton, is able to provide the opportunity for nine young ladies to make their debut at the Civic Ball in 2013”.

The community at large are also invited to attend with up to 30 tickets available to the general public. This is your chance to support this important social event and keep the tradition alive.  “The young people taking part in this year’s ball have shown commitment and enthusiasm throughout the rehearsal process and I invite the community to enjoy this special evening with them”, Mayor Cuy said.

Tickets are $60 per person which includes a 2 course meal. You can purchase tickets from Council’s Customer Relations Counter, 240 Blende Street between the hours of 8.30am –
4.00pm until Monday 29 April 2013. No tickets will be available on the day (of the ball).  Telephone enquiries 08 8080 3300.

If the tickets haven't sold out, it sounds like a very good deal to me, and I'm sure it will be a really special night.

As I researched to write this article I came across a quote from Mayor Cuy from the "Barrier Daily Truth" newspaper back in 2010 about a past Civic Ball.  He said ' that it was something the girls can "look back on and be glad they had done it" ', and having been a debutante myself, I think he's right.

Best wishes to the Debutantes, cheers, Jane D

Thursday 25 April 2013

ANZAC Day 2013 in Broken Hill, Australia and New Zealand 25 April

Community Event
Broken Hill will pause to reflect, with all Australians and New Zealanders to remember the fallen and surviving soldiers today April 25, 2013 - ANZAC Day.

Dawn services are over, but marches and parades continue around the two nations who were brought together as they fought for peace.

Details of service times for Broken Hill - provided by ABC Broken Hill website see link here and below.  There is still time to get to the 11am service at the Cenotaph.
ANZAC poppy from
www.abc.net.au

5.25am: Rum Rations at West Darling Hotel.
6am: Dawn Service at the Cenotaph.
7.45am: Service at the Garden of Remembrance at Broken Hill Cemetery.
8.15am: Service at the Tobruk Memorial at Memorial Oval.
11am: Anzac Day Memorial Service at Cenotaph.

Lest we forget.

Thanks to the ANZACS, we are indebted to them.  Jane D

Thursday 18 April 2013

Snapped out of Broken Hill, ABC Open's free photography workshops to visit Milparinka and Tibooburra this weekend

ABC Open Broken Hill's Jenia Ratcliffe (right) and me
at the Patton Village Summer Vibes Festival in January
Community Event
ABC Open Broken Hill's Jenia Ratcliffe is visiting Far North West NSW this weekend, and will spend the 20th and 21st of April 2013 in Milparinka and Tibooburra (respectively) where she is holding photography workshops, and the best part is that not only is everyone welcome, the workshops are free.

Okay, so Milparinka isn't exactly around the corner, it's about 296 km north of Broken Hill (or 1,150 km from Melbourne - I won't be going) and Tibooburra is another 39 km beyond (north) of Milparinka or 335 km north of Broken Hill.  I have yet to visit either of this famous historic towns, but hope to on one of my trips to Broken Hill, so I can't tell you much about them.

No doubt after the workshops, which run between 10am and 4pm each day there will be plenty of photos downloaded onto ABC Open Broken Hill's website, as well as participant's Facebook pages and well, they could end up anywhere these days.  My point being that the photos will provide a great opportunity for readers to get a taste of what's in store if you manage to make the trip to these isolated towns where a real taste of outback Australia can be found.


'Pub with no beer' - Milparinka - by Ruth Sandow
Ruth co-ordinates the Milparinka Heritage Precinct
image provided by ABC's Jenia Ratcliffe

Here are the links to ABC Open Broken Hill's information about each of the workshops, and Jenia's contact details can be found there and below - see Milparinka link and Tibooburra link.

ABC Open Broken Hill - Jenia Ratcliffe (08) 8082 4024 or ratcliffe.jenia@abc.net.au

Here is a link to a recent article Jenia wrote about Milparinka's 'Pub with no beer'.

The workshops sound like a great opportunity to spend time doing something different in a striking outback landscape.

Happy snapping, cheers, Jane D

Monday 8 April 2013

Broken Hill Regional NAIDOC Ball Saturday 13 April 2013

Official 'Flag of Australia'
Community Event
Broken Hill will host the first Regional NAIDOC Ball this Saturday 13 April 2013.  Part of the evening will include awards for 'high achievers'.  There will be four award categories (I believe nominations have now closed).  The categories are -

"Inspiring Community Elder",  "Excellence in Youth Education", "Community Involvement and Leadership" and "Sporting Leader and Role Model".

ABC News ran a story about it on 26 March - see link to the article here.

Details of the Ball are below -

Where:   Gary Radford Pavilion, Broken Hill Race Course

Time:      Doors open 6.30pm, official opening 7.00pm

Official 'Flag of Australia'
Cost:      $45 per head (inc. 2 course meal, entertainment & transport to & from venue)

Dress:    Formal

Tickets:  Available from Haylee at Maari Ma Regional Office
               443 Argent Street, Broken Hill  NSW  2880

Telephone: (08) 8082 9888

For more information on NAIDOC see their website www.naidoc.org.au

It should be a fun night, I look forward to reading about it and who won the awards.

Enjoy, cheers, Jane D

Saturday 6 April 2013

Outburst's Tracy sings karaoke The Palace Hotel Broken Hill tonight

The Palace Hotel Broken Hill
Entertainment
Broken Hill's Tracy Peduto of Outburst will be 'powering out her karaoke hits' tonight Saturday 6 April 2013 at The Palace Hotel.

It should be a fun night.

I know that going to 'The Palace' makes for a great night anyhow with their fab - 2013  Good Pub Food Guide 2 Scooner - award winning food and funky retro vibe.

The Palace Hotel is at 227 Argent Street, Corner Chloride Street, Broken Hill.
Phone: 08 8088 1699


I saw Tracy sing at 'The Palace' earlier this year and she has an amazing range of songs and can sing up a storm.

You can see she really loves performing.
Tracy (singing) with her 'back-up'
crew, her mother

Lots of people ended up singing including me, as well as some lovely travellers I met that night, Steve and his sister Sue.
It ended up quite a late night.

So I can definitely say that I recommend it as a lot of fun.

Make sure you book if you would like a meal as it's a very popular venue.

Enjoy!

Cheers, Jane Deany

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Wake in Fright, Mad Max 2, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, NFSA gems

'Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior' car at Silverton and me
Film
The National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) website has some interesting movie and film records as you would expect.

I was surfing around the web tonight and found this interesting link from the NFSA's blog about some of the famous movies that have been filmed in and around Broken Hill.

The 1971 film 'Wake in Fright' directed by Canadian Ted Kotcheff is a famous and, in my opinion, a quite harrowing 'drama/thriller' set in and around Broken Hill and Silverton.  When I realised the prominence Broken Hill and Silverton play in the film, I decided it was time to see it.  I found a copy of the DVD at  the Broken Hill Video Ezy when I visited earlier this year.  I imagine it's not everyone's cup of tea, and if you don't like cruelty to animals (which I don't), it may not be for you.  You need to see some of the credits at the end of the film for more of an explanation about what I'm referring to.  It's R rated (most definitely in my opinion).


The Palace Hotel Broken Hill
'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' (1994), directed by Stephan Elliott, is another famous Aussie film which was shot, in part in Broken Hill. The Palace Hotel was also used for some of the filming.  I've seen this film a number of times and enjoyed it.  It's great if you like comedy, drama and a musical all mixed together.  (Adult themes, R rated).

'Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior' (1981), directed by George Miller, is the other very well known film which was shot in and around Broken Hill and Silverton.  I must say I haven't seen that one yet.  It's an adventure, action, thriller which isn't really my scene.  It's R rated, but I don't know any more than that.

Anyhow, the NFSA's blog has this interesting article 'A Broken Hill time capsule', about these and some of the other 35+ films that have been shot in the Broken Hill/Silverton/Far West region.  Here's the link to the story.

Happy reminiscing, cheers, Jane D

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Broken Hill General Manager Greg Wright begins 4 month term today

Greg Wright source
Sydney Morning Herald
Broken Hill City Council has a new interim General Manager for the next 4 months.  His name is Greg Wright.  The news was announced at Council's general meeting last week on Wednesday 27 March and Mr Wright commenced work today.

Here is a link to the Broken Hill City Council's press release on the subject.

Mr Wright who was most recently the General Manager for for the NSW city's Camden Council, replaces Frank Zaknich.  Mr Zaknich has moved from this role in Broken Hill, which he held since 2006, to become the new General Manager for Albury Council, which he commenced on 1 March 2013.

I wish Mr Wright all the best in his new role.

Cheers, Jane D