Broken Hill Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charles Sturt

Charles Sturt was the first European to document details about Broken Hill in 1844. He described a 'broken hill' in his diary, and also named the Barrier Range which is a feature of this area.

Answer: Charles Rasp

Charles Rasp was a boundary rider who was credited with identifying the first ore in the area. He thought he had discovered a deposit of tin.

Answer: Lead, silver and zinc

Broken Hill is famous for its silver (which is amongst the most pure in the world) as well as for its lodes of lead and zinc.

Answer: True

While most of the silver used to make the medals was mined in Cannington, Queensland, Broken Hill donated 22.5 kg of silver.

Answer: True

The 'Battle of Broken Hill' took place on New Years Day, 1915. Two men opened fire on a picnic train. They killed four people, and wounded another six. They were eventually killed by local policemen and soldiers. It was speculated that they were of Turkish citizenship, as Turkey was at war with the British Empire.

Answer: True

The gold reserves were transferred to Broken Hill in 1942. They were stored in a special vault in the Broken Hill gaol. At the time, the threat of invasion from Japan was serious. As Broken Hill is so far inland, it was thought to be a safe place to store this gold.

Answer: June Bronhill

June Bronhill was born in Broken Hill. She adopted the surname of 'Bronhill' (an abbreviation of Broken Hill) as a way of thanking her home town for its support.

Answer: Titanic Memorial

The people of Broken Hill were touched by the bravery of the musicians on the Titanic. To honour them, a memorial was built listing their names. The column which forms the memorial is broken, as a way of symbolising lives cut short.

Answer: Sturt Desert Pea

The Sturt Desert Pea is a striking flower. The flower itself is a deep, dark red, with a small dark pea in the middle. It grows close to the ground, and is quite small in size.

The Waratah is the official state flower of NSW.

Answer: Vivian Bullwinkle

Vivian Bullwinkle was born in Kapunda, South Australia. She trained in general nursing and midwifery at Broken Hill Base Hospital before transferring to Melbourne. She was evacuated from Singapore when the Japanese army invaded on the Vyner Brooke. Two days later the ship was destroyed by the Japanese. The survivors washed up on the shores of Banka Island. Sadly, the group of women that Miss Bullwinkle was with were killed by the Japanese, and she was the only survivor. At the end of World War II she gave evidence to the War Crimes Tribunal about the incident. Betty Jeffries and Pat Darling were two other nurses who were on the Vyner Brooke. Their group landed on a different part of the island.


Miss Bullwinkle's uniform is kept by the Australian War Memorial where it is sometimes on display. It is possible to see the bullet hole from when she was shot.

Nancy Wake was an Australian operative who served with the SOE in France during WWII. She was code-named 'the White Mouse' by the Germans.

Answer: True

The Broken Hill Entertainment Centre has been named in honour of Chips Rafferty who was born in Broken Hill in 1909.

Answer: Jack Absalom

Jack Absalom hosted a series of TV shows in Australia, including his 'Outback Journeys' series. He has a large art gallery in Broken Hill.

Answer: True

Several key scenes of 'Priscilla' were filmed in Broken Hill. They include the scene were the 'girls' enter a bar to be heckled by some of the locals. This scene was filmed at 'Mario's' and the wall painting in the background of the scene can be seen there.

Answer: Silverton

Silverton is a short drive from Broken Hill. It is a small town which has featured in a number of Australian movies and TV ads. The Silverton Hotel is often pictured in different publications. Peter Browne is an artist who has his gallery in Silverton and is known as the 'Vegemite artist' as brown features in his paintings.

Answer: True

Broken Hill is in NSW, but uses South Australian time which is normally half an hour behind NSW. There have been times during daylight saving when Broken Hill has been half an hour ahead of the rest of the state!

Answer: BHP Billiton

BHP (Broken Hill Proprietary LTD) was founded in 1895.

Answer: The Indian-Pacific

The Indian Pacific track runs for 4532 kilometres and includes one of the longest straight sections of track in the world. The trip between Sydney and Perth takes 65 hours.

Answer: Mad Max II

'Mad Max II' was filmed on location in Broken Hill and Silverton. The car used in the movie can often be spotted in Silverton.

Answer: Pro Hart

Pro Hart was a self-taught artist. He used a wide range of techniques in his painting, including the famous 'cannon art' style. He illustrated several poems of Henry Lawson's and was known for depicting country life in his art. Some of his work can be seen on cars in the Broken Hill area.

Pro Hart had a famous art collection, estimated to be the largest private collection in the country.

Eric Minchin, Jack Absalom and Hugh Schulz were all members of the 'Brushmen of the Bush'. Broken Hill has a thriving art community.

Answer: Yes

The RFDS has a base at the Broken Hill airport. Episodes of the Australian TV series were filmed on location in Broken Hill.

Answer: Silver City Mint

The Silver City Mint is the home of the world's largest acrylic painting measuring 12m by 100m and painted by Peter Anderson. It is called 'The Big Picture'.

Answer: Yes

For more information on how to see one of these lessons, check with the school. The School of the Air was established in 1950 to give lessons to children living on outlying stations. The lessons used to be conducted using wireless radio, but most school lessons are now conducted by the internet.

Answer: Mutawintji National Park

Mutawintji National Park is spectacular. The best way to visit it is with a guide, and a number of the local Aboriginal people are guides.

Answer: Kinchega National Park

The Menindee lakes are over 100 km south of Broken Hill. Menindee is the oldest European settlement in western NSW. Menindee is also the site of one of the Burke and Wills camps.

Answer: Yes

Broken Hill is mentioned by this nickname in the song 'Khe Sanh' by Cold Chisel.