Broken Hill

Western NSW

Broken Hill is a heritage-listed city in the far west of New South Wales, its mining heritage and vibrant art scene blend together in the semi-desert landscape. (Note: Broken Hill is classified MMM5 – GP Synergy funding purposes)

A Grouping

MMM3

Location

The city of Broken Hill is close to the NSW/SA border, and is closer to the SA capital Adelaide (530 km) than Sydney (1150 km).

Broken Hill, also known as The Silver City, is a great place to live. It has a rich and colourful mining history and is renowned as a cultural hub (with more than 30 art galleries and many museums). Its beautiful weather and outback lifestyle contribute to a great sense of community.

How to get there

Regional Express operates air services from Broken Hill Airport to and from Adelaide, Dubbo, Melbourne via Mildura and Sydney.

Broken Hill is one of the stops on the Indian Pacific passenger service, from Sydney to Perth via Adelaide. The weekly NSW TrainLink Outback Xplorer service arrives from Sydney on Mondays and departs Broken Hill on Tuesdays for the return service. NSW TrainLink also operates a daily road coach service, connecting at Dubbo with the Central West XPT to Sydney. There is also mini-bus service to Adelaide.

There is a local bus service operating four city routes and the city is also serviced by two taxi companies.

Population

The population of Broken Hill is more than 17,800. The median age of residents is 45 years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 8.4% of the population.

Broken Hill is located within the Western NSW Primary Health Network this fact sheet provides an overview of community health.

Healthcare facilities

Broken Hill Health Service is a 108-bed public hospital. It is a rural teaching hospital, providing acute, non-acute and outpatient and community health services to Broken Hill and surrounding communities. It has general medical, surgical, obstetric, paediatric, dialysis and acute mental health beds, as well as palliative care, intensive and coronary care units.

Support services include radiology and pathology departments, as well as a wide range of allied and primary health services, and an emergency department.

There is an Ambulance Service of NSW station in Broken Hill and the town is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia.

Accredited GP practices

Broken Hill GP Super Clinic
Clive Bishop Medical Centre
Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation
Nachiappans

Industry

The main industries employing residents of Broken Hill local government area are: silver-lead-zinc ore mining, hospitals, aged care residential services, supermarket and grocery stores, and primary education.

Education

Broken Hill has eight primary schools and two public high schools. A range of vocational education and training courses are available at Broken Hill College (TAFE Western) and Robinson College (Community Colleges NSW). Charles Sturt University also has a campus in Broken Hill.

Childcare

For young families, there are several child care options in Broken Hill including family day care, long day care, preschool, before school care, after school care and vacation care.

Shopping

Grand and bustling Argent Street is Broken Hill’s main thoroughfare, it is lined with an array of shops, galleries, cafes and restaurants. Many are housed in heritage buildings adding to the ambience of the city as a destination. Broken Hill has a variety of supermarkets and other large chain stores including Woolworths, Coles, IGA, Target, Big W and Harvey Norman.

Places of worship

Broken Hill has numerous places of worship for a range of faiths including Catholic, Anglican, Uniting, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, and Baha’i. The Broken Hill Mosque has historical significance as the first mosque built in NSW, and the only surviving mosque built by cameleers in Australia.

Points of interest

There is much to see in and around Broken Hill. From unique desert flora and fauna, parks and gardens, art galleries, mine tours and walking tours, to National Parks including Menindee, Kinchega and Sturt and the isolated Mutawintji National Park with its natural beauty and Aboriginal art works.

Sporting activities

Broken Hill has a range of social and sporting clubs.

Community groups and activities

Broken Hill City Council provides a community directory including community and service groups and an events calendar for markets, sporting and cultural events.

Social media groups

There are many social media pages and groups dedicated to life and sport in Broken Hill. Good place to start are the Facebook pages Broken Hill and Broken Hill City Council.