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 December 2013

June Bronhill OBE a famous Broken Hill daughter 1929 - 2005

June Bronhill
image courtesy abc.net.au
Not many people change their surname to thank a city, but one of the most famous people to come from Broken Hill, June Bronhill OBE, did just that.

Ms Bronhill was an internationally acclaimed and well known coloratura soprano singer. Her special way of saying thank you to Broken Hill for the support the city gave her by sending her overseas in 1952, for training and improving her chances of success, was to change her surname to Bronhill (a shortened from of Broken Hill).

June was born June Mary Gough in 1929 in Broken Hill.

She was best known for her light opera performances in such productions as 'The Merry Widow' and the 'Sound of Music'. In 1958 alone, Ms Bronhill played the lead role of Hanna Glawari in 'The Merry Widow' over 200 times at the London Coliseum. The Sadler 's Wells Opera production was a huge success and lead to many other operettas for June.

She was known for her impeccable diction. Some of her other roles included the Queen of the Night in the 'Magic Flute', Norina in 'Don Pasquale', Magda in Puccini's 'La rondine' (The Swallow) and Gilda in 'Rigoletto'. Although she was small in stature, her voice easily filled theatres.

Here is a brief YouTube clip of June singing "My Hero" -



In the year she returned to Australia for good, 1976, she was honoured with an OBE for her contribution to music in both the United Kingdom and Australia.


June Bronhill by Allan Warren
image courtesy Wikipedia
She married twice. Both marriages ended in divorce. Her first marriage was to Brian Martin and her second marriage was to Richard Finney and they had a daughter, Carolyn.

She beat breast cancer, but in her latter years grew deaf which impacted her greatly, depriving her of two of her favourite things - performing and talking to people. She retired in 1993 due to her deafness which was caused by tinnitus.

Ms Bronhill's autobiography "The Merry Bronhill" was published in 1987.

June Bronhill died in her sleep on 24 January 2005 in Sydney, aged 75. Broken Hill honoured her by declaring a minute's silence during the Australia Day celebrations two days later.

ABC Classic FM program Music Makers, produced a show on 22nd of this month, a series on Australia's Opera Heritage. Here is the link to program 1 on June Bronhill.

May she rest in peace.

Jane D

Wednesday 25 December 2013

Happy Christmas and best wishes for the festive season Broken Hill

Wishing everyone in and around Broken Hill all the very best wishes for Christmas 2013 and may you have a fabulous festive season, not to mention a fantastic 2014.

Cheers, Jane Deany

Friday 20 December 2013

Forty two degrees forecast in Broken Hill Friday 20th & Saturday 21st

West Darling Hotel's temperature gauge
Weather - heatwave
If you're heading to Broken Hill today or tomorrow, or you live there make a note that it's going to be a hot couple of days. Both Friday and Saturday are predicted to reach 42 degrees in the city. Sunday will be a little 'cooler' with 36 degrees forecast.

If you're a visitor, a few things to note -

  • virtually everywhere in Broken Hill is air conditioned,
  • the heat is a actually is hot, dry and not too bad really (in my opinion),
  • there are lots of cafes, pubs and clubs to enjoy a cool drink and the ever-present air conditioning,
  • just don't forget to take extra water with you.
Also, as always in summer, especially in Australia which has the highest skin cancer rate in the world, but don't let that put you off visiting Oz and Broken Hill, just please do remember your hat and sunscreen.

The most dangerous times to be exposed to the sun is between 10am and 2pm, or 11am and 3pm if the region you are in has daylight savings. Broken Hill does operate on daylight savings time in summer. By the way, note that Broken Hill operates on South Australian time (central time), even though it is in New South Wales.

It's the summer solstice on Saturday 21st at 17:11 UTC (GMT) in the southern hemisphere so it's no surprise that things might be warming up! Given Broken Hill is on ACST time, and it's now daylight savings, I think Broken Hill's summer solstice is 14:41 Sunday 22nd December.

Is that what you work it out to be? Are there any experts out there on this subject as it's often debated whether the southern hemisphere summer solstice is on 21st or 22nd of December. Obviously it depends exactly where you are.

Cheers, Jane D

Wednesday 18 December 2013

School holidays in Broken Hill 2013-2014. There's lots to see and do.

Entertainment
Broken Hill is a great place to come for the summer school holidays. It's no hotter in summer than other cities around Australia, for example Perth, Melbourne or Sydney. It is a nice dry heat too. So this is my annual post about some of the best things to do and see when visiting Broken Hill and the surrounding district.


Broken Hill mining landscape with full moon at sunrise
To begin with, a few good reasons to visit Broken Hill over the December 2013 - January 2014 school holiday period are - 

  • it's not as busy as in the peak seasons of Autumn or Spring;
  • as it's off-peak, there are often better prices for accommodation etc... and other special deals to be found. Just ask the tourism operator if there are any school holiday specials; and
  • Popular 'photogenic' sculpture at sunset
  • with less tourists, photo opportunities are easier at popular tourist attractions such as the 'Living Desert Sculpture Park'. The sculptures themselves are a fantastic attraction and are set in a striking location which photographers flock to it. It's a great spot for a sunset picnic. Sunrise is spectacular too and not as busy.

Regardless of when you visit, there are lots of great things to see and do.

Some of my favourite attractions include the -


Art
I love the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery in Argent Street. It is housed in an historic building, Sully's Emporium, and has an excellent regional gallery collection. There is always an impressive and sometimes thought provoking exhibition on the go.

There are about 24 or so other galleries in Broken Hill and nearby Silverton. You can find a list of all of the galleries in the region at the foot of this website. Alternatively you can go to www.ilovebrokenhill.com 's sister website www.artofbrokenhill.com which also lists the galleries. www.artofbrokenhill.com will eventually contain more comprehensive information about various local galleries, art groups, artists, art organisations and possibly art events from the region.

Here is a list of some more local attractions - 
Historic Trades Hall Building
  • RSL Hall of Fame - Argent Street
  • Historic Day Dream Mine (20km NW Broken Hill, off Silverton Road) - 08 8088 5682
  • Argent Street - main Broken Hill shopping strip which includes beautiful old buildings such as the Town Hall Facade and the famous The Palace Hotel (internal murals, 'Priscilla Queen of the Desertmovie fame amongst other things. Two-up is also played there weekly)
  • White's Mineral Art and Living Mining Museum - 1 Allendale Street - 08 8087 2878
  • Patton Village - Patton Street, South Broken Hill
  • Film Studio Precinct - Eyre Street, South Broken Hill
  • Social clubs including 
    The list just goes on and on. There are countless things to do and a wide variety of places to stay and dine and don't forget to check out some of the galleries. For a city of under 20,000 people, there are a lot of galleries and they are well worth visiting.

    Accommodation
    As you can see there is a lot to do in and around Broken Hill. Perhaps you should book an extra night or two, you may need it and there is a wide variety of accommodation available.

    The Broken Hill Visitor Information website lists lots of attractions, as well as many accommodation options (although not all are listed on that site) - check their website www.brokenhillaustralia.com.au . The Visitor Information Centre is located on the corner of Bromide and Blende Streets.


    Line of Lode view with Miner's Memorial (left) and Broken Earth Complex (right)

    Dining
    There are plenty or restaurants, cafes, pubs, clubs and takeaways to enjoy a delicious meal and parks to enjoy a picnic.

    Swimming
    There are a couple of options to cool down and go for a swim (apart from the motel pool). There is the fantastic Broken Hill Regional Aquatic Centre which includes an outdoor 50m pool and an indoor 25m pool, an adventure/water slide and disabled access. I've seen Kangaroos grazing on the lawn just outside the centre.

    If you feel like something more beachy, there is a huge water body - Menindee Lakes about 110 kms south east of the city which is a beautiful spot to include in your visit, as is the nearby Kinchega National Park and the famous huge shearing shed.


    The road to Silverton.
    You never know what you might see!
    Share on social media
    Look at more Broken Hill images on @ilovebrokenhill 's Pinterest account or Tweet special Broken Hill finds to @ilovebrokenhill on Twitter.

    Why not follow ilovebroken.hill Google+ as well. We're just getting started there.

    Of course there's an ilovebrokenhill.com Facebook page as well. Please like us there and spread the word about Broken Hill, this fabulous outback Australian city located in far west New South Wales.

    Enjoy your holidays, drive safely and pack some extra water just in case.

    Cheers, Jane Deany

    Sunday 8 December 2013

    www.ilovebrokenhill.com blog by Jane Deany is 2 years old today!

    One of the Living Desert sculptures
    and me. This sculpture recognises
    Broken Hill's mining heritage.
    You can see a pick and shovel
    carved into the stone.
    Anniversary
    Happy 2nd Birthday www.ilovebrokenhill.com 
    On 8 December 2011, I began my www.ilovebrokenhill.com
    blog. You can see the link here to my first post. Amazingly, it's two years now since that day and I have written 204 posts.

    It has been a lot of fun to date, very interesting and informative, and, yes, I am going to continue blogging about Broken Hill as I haven't run out of things to say.

    Writing for my blog has given me an excuse to meet and talk to many Broken Hill locals. I have made some new friends along the way and been featured in the local news a few times as well.

    News Update
    In this last year I decided to become a full time blogger. I also advise and train people on how to use social media including blogging (just one of the many forms of social media).

    Blogging can be lots of fun and many people make a living from it.

    I really enjoy sharing my social media knowledge and, being an ex-secondary school and TAFE teacher makes it a natural progression to add training to my blogging business, which, by the way is called 'theblog-ed'  www.theblog-ed.com

    All this has come to be from the fact that I started a blog two years ago about Broken Hill!

    You may have noticed that www.ilovebrokenhill.com is ad free. I haven't ruled out advertising or related possibilities such as sponsorship in the future. If you think your Broken Hill business might have a service or product that would suit my blog please feel free to contact me to discuss. My primary target audience is visitors to Broken Hill.

    Cheers, Jane Deany
    Founder and creator of www.ilovebrokenhill.com

    Saturday 7 December 2013

    Broken Hill Christmas Pageant 2013 today 6.00pm. Don't miss it!

    Broken Hill Christmas Pageant 2012 float
    corner Oxide and Argent Streets
    Image courtesy Barrier Daily Truth
    Entertainment/Community Event
    Christmas is in the air in Broken Hill.  The annual Broken Hill Christmas Pageant begins tonight at 6.00pm local time. I'm sure there will be some great photos in the "Barrier Daily Truth" newspaper on Monday, not to mention many uploads to facebook pages all around, and of course, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube etc... Hopefully there will be many updates to various local's accounts, as it will help those who can't be there to not miss out on all the action.

    At 4pm, the activities kick off with a Community Market in Beryl Street at the Centre for Community.

    At 6pm the Pageant will begin and from 6.30pm an after party at Sturt Park will see the festivities continue and a float category award will be announced at 7.30pm. There is also a movie in the park as darkness falls - Elf, a family favourite.

    The Pageant begins on the corner of Lane and Oxide Streets, the 35 floats will then head down Oxide Street until they reach and turn right into Argent Street (the main street in Broken Hill). The floats then travel down Argent Street until they reach Sulphide Street, where again they turn right. They then turn left into Blende Street where they will disperse.


    Temperature gauge - West Darling Hotel
    at corner Oxide and Argent Streets
    where the Pageant turns into Argent Street
    Activities at the after party include -

    Santa, Food Stalls, Bouncy Castle,
    Pony Rides, Games and Activities, HillFM
    Dave Currie, Giveaways, Merry Go Round

    I will put this event in my diary for next year as there are too many Christmas parties and events at home in Melbourne to make the trip this time. Hopefully I can make the trip next year. It is just one of the many Broken Hill events that I still look forward to attending in the future.

    The Pageant and accompanying festivities will be a lot of fun for everyone.

    Last year's Pageant was on 1 December 2012, see link here to my article about the event.

    I would love to hear feedback from anyone who goes or who's been in the past.  What was it like?  What was your favourite float?  You get the idea ... don't be shy.

    Cheers, Jane D

    Wednesday 4 December 2013

    Did you know ilovebrokenhill is on Pinterest? Why not check it out!

    PinterestDid you know www.ilovebrokenhill.com has a Pinterest account? New images are being added regularly. www.ilovebrokenhill.com has had the Pinterest account since April this year, I just haven't mentioned it.

    If you haven't already used Pinterest it's a lot of fun, and useful too. I highly recommend it.


    I would love you to have a look at www.ilovebrokenhill.com 's Pinterest account and even follow a few boards or re-pin a few pins and help share what Broken Hill has to offer.


    Pinterest is a great and easy way to see some of the sites of Broken Hill from the comfort of your own ... well you get the idea ;-)


    In fact www.ilovebrokenhill.com is not only on Pinterest, it's on Twitter @ilovebrokenhill, YouTube, Google+ and Facebook as well.


    Cheers, Jane Deany