Long Ride (Drive) 2014 - Day 16 - Peterborough to Silverton

Peterborough, SA to Silverton, NSW
Distance - 304km (7725km)
Weather - 34 degrees

Leaving Peterborough, it seemed appropriate that the next stop on the Long Ride would be Silverton in New South Wales.

Now a very real ghost town, Silverton was once a thriving mining town that was connected to Peterborough via the train line we had just learnt about, in fact it was much more important to Australia than Broken Hill. Eventually both of these factors would be the death of Silverton.

We would essentially follow the rail line that now bypasses Silverton as it heads to Broken Hill, in this regard we were following a very important part of Australian history.

Manna Hill pub, said to be one of the
regions best in its day.

Following the Barrier Highway we came across Manna Hill after about 130km.  There's not much to this place, a pub and a train station which, is no longer used, and this is the story of many towns along the Barrier Highway.  Once steam was fazed out, the towns simply faded away.  It really is sad however, a number have refused to die completely and now form a very unique part of the landscape.

The pub had an unusual garden that even had a 'pot tree', great some pain relief, no, it was a tree that had a collection of pots and pans in it.  While this was interesting it was the station across the road that really grabbed everyones attention. It was simply beautiful.

Manna Hill rail station, completed
before the rail line even was.

Here I met a man who was traveling with his wife and thought of the station much the same way I did.  We got talking and he explained that he had had heart surgery a while back after almost dying and this had given him a different perspective on life despite having been through two tours of the Vietnam war.  Speaking foir just a short while I think we got to know each other a little better, parting I thanked him for what he had done for our country and he was choked up, he thanked me for what the Long Ride was doing.  We departed, both with a glint in our eyes.

The town itself was founded on the prospect of gold but soon became more of a water station for the trains that ran the area.  The interesting thing is that the station was actually completed before the line itself was, so confident were the people of the area that they had something to offer.

During the peak of the steam trains, as well as the local gold diggings, and sheep farming (shearing) the pub would accommodate up to 50 people at a time plus those now passing through.  These days they are lucky to have 50 people a month.

Just over 100 kilometres further east we came across Cockburn.  This town sits on the border with New South Wales and in fact was the end of the line for the South Australian rail system.  In the 1880's the NSW government refused to build a railway between Silverton / Broken Hill and the SA border so it was up to private enterprise to do this, something the government was heavily against.  It seems even back then that Australian governments, federal and state, couldn't see that building for the future was important.

Cockburn was essentially setup as another water station for the trains heading along the line although, the hotel had been in existence for around 15 years prior.

Approaching the town the weirdest thing appeared the on the horizon.  A bloody Hills Hoist, a clothesline, in the middle of what is essentially still desert.

What the hell?  Why is this here? Who put it here?

One of the weirdest things I have seen.

I couldn't help myself, I had to take a look.  It appears that originally it might've been some sort of art, there was a pair of steel socks hanging on it however, over time it seems that passing tourists have stopped and added their own bits and pieces.  Some of the undies hanging on the line look like they would be better suited to a maxi-yacht competing in the Sydney to Hobart classic.

A little further down the road was the Border Gate Hotel.  Originally opened in 1870, the pub had closed in 1986, and was now just a truck stop.  As it had a Ulysses club sign out the front we thought we had better stop and have a look.

Border Gate, one of the oldest around

Inside was very similar to what it must've been like 140 years earlier.  We ordered from the very basic menu and sat down while the 'barman' went and cooked the meals.  At the table next to us were a couple of truckies chatting about past jobs.  They told us they were waiting for another truck that was coming from Adelaide but didn't expect it to turn up at the due time, I guess this is why it''s important that people keep this old pubs running, so that the drivers have somewhere to get a decent feed and rest while waiting for more cargo.

We finished off the meal and then as we were paying the lady serving us put her hands together, as if in prayer.  She was so thankful that we had stopped by and had a meal at their little establishment that it was quite humbling. It certainly made the stop very much worthwhile.

Back on the road we made straight for Broken Hill and ultimately Silverton.  Out on these open roads it's become pretty evident what a problem Australia has with feral animals.  I always thought rabbits were a major problem however, it would seem that goats are just as bad.  There must surely be the need for some sort of cull or baiting to eradicate the problem although then I guess the people from PETA would be up in arms.

Less than 80 kilometres up the road we started to see the mining city of Broken Hill with it's massive open cut mines and associated equipment.  This then lead us on to Silverton around 25 kilometres outside of Broken Hill.

With a population of around just 60 people, Silverton is a far cry from what it used to be.

I'd been here a couple of times before when working on advertising shoots and was always

fascinated by the place however, it seemed to have changed, becoming a little more commercial.  First impressions of the famous pub were very different to what I had witnessed previously, in fact I was probably a little disappointed.  Nevertheless we checked into the new accommodation which has been added to the property and were pleasantly surprised.  They were extremely modern and upmarket yet kept in theme with the region and the pub.

After setting up we went back into the pub to have a drink, a feed and meet the locals (and tourists).  It was here that I discovered that my fundraising had hit $12.5k, taking the total raised for the Long Ride to over $300k.  I have to thank you all for the help with that.  I still have a little way to go to reach my target of $20k.