broken hill history stories
- Stories
Ten working women pose for the photographer. They range in age from sixteen to sixty and each holds a garment in their hands. There are two Singer sewing machines being operated by foot treadle, and a dress cloth on the silver plate. On the work table, a tough corset material rests on a pile ofDig deeper >
The Award for Miner’s wages and conditions established in 1906 expired on December 31st 1908. The Mining Manager’s Association held talks with the union representatives early in the month, but the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, Chaired by John Darling, and three other companies announced that due to low metal prices, they would discontinue the 12.5%Dig deeper >
Tom Mann the Social activist from Great Britain addressed the Women’s League on Wednesday 14th October, 1908 urging them to ‘resist any lowering of the standard of living on the Barrier, and calling upon the men to claim the half-holiday as a reasonable concession’ to their demands in the Award negotiations due for review inDig deeper >
Ill feeling toward the Broken Hill Proprietary Company ran high during the days when workers were locked out from the field. Since the NSW Arbitration Act of 1901, all negotiations had to be through the Courts. The following year BHP cut wages by 10% and two thousand miners left for other fields. In 1903, JusticeDig deeper >
On Easter Monday, a party of young men and women enjoy a picnic at Silverton. When the mines and sulphurous smelters of Broken Hill denuded the nearby hills of trees, the Silverton Tramway Company delivered day-trippers to the shady creeks at Penrose Park, Silverton and McCulloch Park, Tarrawingie. Little did these revellers imagine the stormyDig deeper >
The story of Broken Hill begins with the search for water. The Bulalli, Barkinji and Wilyakali river people, wandered the arid lands of what colonials later called Far Western New South Wales in search of food and water. Some tribes held ceremony and painted rock art in watering places such as Muttawintjie. They knew theDig deeper >