Population: Teeny tiny
About 25 kilometers away from Broken Hill is the teeny tiny town of Silverton. The town sprang to life back in 1875 when two workers drilling a well came across a large silver deposit. By the 1890s the town boasted a population of 3,000 but it wasn’t to last. The richer deposits at Broken Hill soon lured the majority of the population away. By 1901 Silverton could only claim 300 residents. Today Silverton is very nearly a ghost town. The 2006 census reported 89 people still living there but Wikipedia states that currently the population is closer to 50. I guess a few families must have moved away over the past few years.
Only a few buildings in town are still in tact. Others have either crumbled over time or were moved elsewhere. Many of the families once residing in Silverton lived in canvas houses. When it was time to move on their homes were packed up and brought along with them. Fascinating. The remaining buildings have been put to good use as cafes, galleries, and a museum dedicated to Mad Max 2.
Ghost towns are a bit sad in my opinion. The life is gone and only the skeleton remains. I suppose they are good reminders that towns are only as rich as the people living in them. I’m accustomed to thinking of cities as permanent fixtures but really it only takes a change in resources or industry for them to falter.
xo, jill
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