Broken Hill (pop. 17,456), a city in the far west of New South Wales, Australia, is one of the world’s major mining centers. Mining companies in the city extract rich silver, lead, and zinc ores from the huge lode that runs beneath the city. Broken Hill lies in the Barrier Range mountain range, about 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) west of Sydney. Railway lines link the city with both Adelaide and Sydney. The surrounding area is semidesert. A belt of trees and shrubs protects Broken Hill from sand and dust storms.
The Barkindji people are the traditional Aboriginal inhabitants of the Broken Hill area. The British explorer Charles Sturt named the area Broken Hill in 1844. In 1883, Charles Rasp pegged (marked claim boundaries for) the first mining lease at Broken Hill. Rasp was a boundary rider—that is, a person who rides on horseback to inspect and repair fences on ranches in Australia.
In 1884, a New South Wales government geologist reported that Broken Hill contained a large body of ore. In 1885, silver and lead ores were discovered there. The following year, Rasp and some associates formed the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd. (now part of BHP) to exploit the ores. The settlement prospered. It became a municipality in 1888 and a city in 1907.
