If you've done any research on the history of Broken Hill, chances are you are both overwhelmed and excited by it. The most well known product of Broken Hill is the company BHP, which has in its time employed family members and friends of everyone, Australia-wide.

Although many had crossed its boundaries previous to Charles Rasp, it is naive to think that white Australians were not driven to the region by his discovery of silver in the region. The pet name of Broken Hill is "The Silver City". In 1883 the boundary rider Charles Rasp returned to Mount Gipps Station from the region that would later be named Broken Hill with an enormous discovery - he thought he'd found tin, but the samples he brought proved otherwise. Rasp had found the wealthiest source of silver and lead the world would ever see.

Broken Hill sits on the edge of the Barrier Range, which was named by the explorer Charles Sturt - he named it after finding his progress in the region difficult, but the name now no longer reflects this, rather it reflects the pride in the hardiness of those who broke it.

Charles Sturt and his party first saw the Barrier Range in 1844, and it was documented later by our most famous explorers, Burke and Wills in the 1860s. At that time there was no way of transporting any materials, except through the use of the Darling River and then further by bullock trains.

The 'Broken Hill' referred to by Sturt became the focus of Charles Rasp who, despite the gold prospecting that had been undertaken in the area from the mid 1860s, found something which would prove to be far more valuable - vast veins of silver. He immediately claimed sixteen acres and then encouraged others to buy in with the objective to claim the remainder of profitable ground in the region. This was the foundation of the Broken Hill Proprietry company, or BHP as we now know it - it is historically known as the Syndicate of Seven.

In 1885, the group found the ultimate paylode - the richest silver-zinc-lead lode in the world.