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| AUSTRALIA | |
| New South Wales | |
Broken Hill is situated at an elevation of 315 m in the far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia in the Barrier Range. The municipality has a population of about 17,500 (2021). Unlike the rest of New South Wales, Broken Hill (and the surrounding region) observes Australian Central Standard Time (UTC+9:30), the same time zone used in nearby South Australia. This is because at the time the Australian dominions adopted standard time, Broken Hill's only direct rail link was with Adelaide, not Sydney. Similarly, Broken Hill is regarded as part of South Australia for the purposes of postal parcels rates and telephone charges.
The earliest human settlers in the area around Broken Hill are thought to have been the Wiljakali Indigenous Australians,
once thought to have only intermittently lived in the area because of the lack of permanent water sources. The first British
expedition entered the area in 1844. Pastoralists first began settling the area in the 1850s, and the main trade route to the
area was along the Darling River. Broken Hill was formally founded in 1883 when ore was found here. The ore that initially was
thought to be tin proved to be silver and lead. The orebody they came from proved to be the largest and richest of its kind in
the world and comparable to contemporary mining in Bolivia. Mining at the old main mines at Broken Hill ceased in
1939; however, some mining continued at the southern and northern ends of the Line of Lode. Broken Hill is also known for its
input into the formation of the labour movement in Australia, and has a rich trade union history. Some of the most bitter
industrial disputes have been fought in Broken Hill in 1892, 1909, and 1919. The last of these led to the formation in 1923 of
the Barrier Industrial Council, a group of 18 trade unions, which became one of the most influential organisations in the
politics of the city. Although now depleted somewhat, mining still yields around two million tonnes annually.
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_Hill, ]