In January 1888 a thirty-mile stretch of train track was opened with much pomp and ceremony on the western border of New South Wales. It’s hard to imagine now but the construction of this infrastructure, when the only modes of transport were bullock train, camel, and horse and cart, was vital and revolutionary in its […]
Born Germany in 1846, Charles Rasp (1846-1907) arrived in Melbourne in 1869. Although his early years in Australia were spent as an itinerant agricultural worker he went on to become one of the founders of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and ended his days a very wealthy man. After a few years working on […]
On 12 February 1938 the SS Orama left London for Australia and among its passengers were twenty-eight child migrants. Edwin Lambert, one of these children, boarded the ship clutching a suitcase that held his clothes, a science book and these small toys. As the ship eased away from the wharf Edwin waved goodbye to his […]
This decorated certificate, along with a silver table-centerpiece known as an epergne, was presented to Carcoar’s Bank Manager, Mr John Phillips, at a farewell organised by the village’s residents in August 1893. Printed tributes like this example were commonly gifted in this era, they acknowledged the community esteem felt for those who received them. The […]
In 1883 Scottish migrant George McCulloch (1848-1907) took a risk on a rocky field on the Mount Gipps sheep station he managed. The risk paid off and within a few years he had founded the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP). George left Broken Hill soon after he made his fortune, but he never forgot his […]
Born in 1908 at Silverton, Florence May Harding was a well-known art teacher in Broken Hill. She was responsible for fostering the talent of some of the town’s most famous artists and was a founding member of the Willyama Art Society (WAS), based at Broken Hill. It was in the capturing of nature that May […]
The retailers of Broken Hill embraced advertising fans whole-heartedly during the 1920-30s. It was before the invention of air conditioning and the economies of scale associated with the mass production of printed goods meant that advertising fans were a cheap, cheerful and functional way for retailers to make their businesses known. The rigid screen fans […]
Joshua (1838-1918) and Gertrude Bray (1846-1938) were among the earliest European settlers to live permanently in the Tweed River district, near Murwillumbah, on Bundjalung Country. They arrived to an environment covered in dense sub-tropical rainforest. On the Tweed Joshua and Gertrude prospered. They served in important community roles and gained prominent standing locally. Their life-story […]
Born in Northern Italy in 1883, Emanuel Pedergnana was just 18 when he migrated to Australia in 1901. Although almost illiterate, the plucky young man went on to lead a successful strike action, work on the mines and own two retail businesses after settling in Broken Hill. Emanuel first found work at St Herberts, a […]
In post-WWII Broken Hill much of the town’s daily bread supply was baked and delivered by three brothers born to Italian migrant parents – the industrious trio proudly named their enterprise Forner Brothers. Immediately after the war they bought their first bakery and convinced their elderly father Carlo to quit his job on the mines […]
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