1. Kintore Reserve
The Kintore Reserve is a quiet green space in the centre of the city – a place for visitors to rest. It also marks the beginning of the Broken Hill Silver Trail.
The most striking feature of the Kintore Reserve is the retired timber headframe previously located at Kintore Shaft which was the main shaft of Central Mine from 1903-1940. The shaft was named after the Earl of Kintore who was the first chairman of the Central Mine that in its lifetime produced six million tons of ore.
The shaft is constructed of Oregon wood for fire resistance and is supported on concrete footings and cross-braced with steel rods. The headframe allowed access to the mine and extraction of ore in the upper levels. Steel headframes replaced these wooden headframes after 1930.
Alongside the industrial remains of early mining are two towering and dramatic sculptures by Pro Hart, Broken Hill’s most famous artist. Pro Hart was himself an underground miner, and the sculptures are an homage to the harsh life of generations of miners. The dedication plaque acknowledges the Brushmen of the Bush, the charitable artists’ collective of which Pro Hart was a member.
The head frame alongside the sculptures tells a story of a place where mining and geology meets the arts.
Audio transcript available.