29th Annual Conference-Broken Hill
Australia’s First Heritage Listed City
31 August to 6 September 2025
Conference Program 31 August to 6 September
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Sunday 31st August |
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6.00 pm |
Registration and Mayoral Reception, Albert Kersten Mining and Minerals Museum, corner Crystal and Bromide Streets |
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Monday 1st September |
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8.30 am |
Registration, Civic Centre, Level 1, Rooms 2 and 3 |
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9.00 am |
President's Welcome. |
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9.15 am |
Session 1. Broken Hill Now and Then |
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Keynote Address: Leigh Clifford: Broken Hill to Beijing: The Mining Industry's Half-Century Transformation. |
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9.50 am |
Shelley Mills: The Broken Hill Orebody. |
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10.30 am |
Morning Tea |
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11.00 am |
Rob McLean: The Heyday of Broken Hill: 1950 to 1970. |
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11.30 am |
Keynote Paper Gordon Toll: Broken Hill's Commercial Offspring - A Personal Reminiscence. |
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12.00 pm |
Patrick Walta: Broken Hill Mines Ltd. |
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12.30 pm |
Lunch |
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1.30 pm |
Jeffrey Nixon: Broken Hill South Mine - the 1480 Long Drive. |
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2.00 pm |
Robert Barnes: Traces of the Fortune Seekers before the Broken Hill. |
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2.30 pm |
Steve Sorrell: The History of Type Locality Mineral Discoveries at Broken Hill. |
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3.00 pm |
Christeen Schoepf: Relics of Mines and Mines Past; Using the Notion of Object Biography to Discover Stories of Mining in Broken Hill and the Transport of Ore to Port Pirie. |
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3.30 pm |
Katherine Hawkins: Long Duration Energy Storage Utilizing Underground Rock Caverns |
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4.00 pm |
Afternoon Tea |
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4.30 pm |
Australasian Mining History Association Inc Annual General Meeting |
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Tuesday 2nd September |
Tour of the Broken Hill Line of Lode, Pinnacles and the RFDS. Packed Lunch and entry to the RFDS included. |
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8.30 am |
Depart Broken Hill Visitor Services Centre, 23-27 Bromide Street |
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5.30 pm |
Drop off at Visitor Service Centre and accommodation |
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Wednesday 3rd September |
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8.30 am |
Registration |
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9.00 am |
Session 2. Mining Technology |
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Keynote Paper: Robert Williamson: Advances in Mineral Sampling and Laboratory Analysis. |
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9.45 am |
Keynote Paper: Jeffrey Nixon: Shafts of the Broken Hill Line of Lode. |
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10.30 am |
Morning Tea |
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11.00 am |
Ross Both: Haddon King: A Visionary Geologist. |
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11.30 am |
Neil Huybregts: The Chilean Mill. |
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12.00 pm |
Matthew Churchward: The Strange Intangible Phenomenon” Pioneering applications of Electricity in Victorian Mining, 1875-1914. |
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12.30 pm |
Lunch |
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1.30 pm |
Jim Morrison: Restoring the 1930s Glass Model at Charters Towers. |
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2.00 pm |
Derek Reid: The Beehive Mine Chimney: Maldon's Mining Memorial. |
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2.30 pm |
John Hayman: Hard Rocks, Hard Times: Accidents and Illness Among the Early Gold Miners. |
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3.00 pm |
Afternoon Tea |
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3.30 pm |
Joseph Ogierman: Radium Hill - Australia’s First Uranium Mine - AUKUS 1.0? |
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4.00 pm |
Nick Williams: Shackleton, Mawson and Oertling - an unexpected juxtaposition. |
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4.30 pm |
Jeffrey Williams: Mining Deaths in the Broken Hill District - 1885 to present. |
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6.30 pm |
Conference Dinner, The Blonde Room, Broken Hill Hotel |
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Thursday 4th September |
Tour to Silverton, Day Dream Mine, and Mundi Mundi Lookout and John Simmons Fauna and Flora Sanctuary with the Living Desert Sculptures. Entry to Silverton Gaol and Schoolhouse Museums and surface tour of Day Dream Mine and the John Simmons Fauna and Flora Sanctuary with the Living Desert Sculptures and lunch at the Silverton Hotel included. |
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8.30 am |
Depart Broken Hill Visitor Services Centre, 23-27 Bromide Street |
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6.30 pm |
Drop off at Visitor Service Centre and accommodation |
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Friday 5th September |
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8.30 am |
Registration |
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9.00 am |
Session 3. Mining People |
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Peter McCarthy: Mine Manager Training at Zinc Corporation and NBHC in the 1970s. |
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9.30 am |
Michael Webb: Deconstructing the Life of One of Australia's Eminent Mining Captains. |
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10.00 am |
Louise Spencer: John Corea: The First Korean Miner in Australia. |
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10.30 am |
Morning Tea |
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11.00 am |
Geoff Randall: 'Heroes and Villains': The 1892 Broken Hill Strike. |
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11.30 am |
Ross Both: 'And Packard is your Name!': The 1909 Broken Hill Strike. |
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12.00 pm |
Peter Benkendorf: Broken Hill Mines and Infrastructure: The Engineering Centenary Plaque Report (Delivered by Jeff Nixon) |
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12.30 pm |
Lunch |
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1.30 pm |
Geoff Hudson: Follow the Gold: A Family History |
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2.00 pm |
Wendy Carter: The Halls Creek Goldfield and the Ruby Queen Gold Mine, Western Australia. |
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2.30 pm |
Howard Combes: Survey of Zinc Corporation Buildings. (Delivered by Jeff Nixon) |
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3.00 pm |
Preview of 2026 conference and proposals for 2027 conference |
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3.30 pm |
Afternoon Tea |
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4.00 pm |
AMHA Advisory Committee Meeting |
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Saturday 6th September |
Broken Hill Trades Hall, Guided Heritage walking tour (two groups, fee include), Sulphide Street Railway and Historical Museum (entry included) and optional visits to galleries, museums and the self-guided cemetery walk. Bus drop-off and pick up available. Provide own lunch. |
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9.00 am |
Meet at the Trades Hall for guided tour. |
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10.30 am |
Meet at Visitor Tourist Centre for guided heritage walk. |
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12.30 pm |
Meet at the Sulphide Street Railway Museum. |
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2.00 pm |
Bus assisted travel from Railway Museum to other tourist sites. |
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5.00 pm |
Return to accommodation |
Broken Hill was discovered by Charles Rasp in 1883 who believed that the outcropping gossan might be tin bearing. With six others, Rasp pegged the entire outcrop, and the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited was created in 1885.
Rasp reported finding silver-lead mineralisation and the ensuing rush brought thousands to the area. Initially, early mining exploited the near surface oxidised ore which was carted to Adelaide by camel, wagon and pack mules.
Hand selection of rich ore was the practice but was very wasteful in that lower grade material was discarded. The froth flotation method developed concurrently by BHP and a Melbourne chemist became known as the Potter-Delprat Process. This process allowed the treatment of ore and waste dumps and has been adopted world-wide for the concentration of sulphide minerals.
In recognition of the development of froth flotation in Broken Hill, the Conference will emphasise the significance of technological development in the minerals industry and will include invited keynote speakers as well as submitted papers on any topic related to Australasian mining history. You are encouraged to attend and submit a paper for this conference. For information regarding papers please contact Jeff Nixon on jeffrey.nixon@outlook.com.
Planning of the conference is largely comlete and the preliminary program is indicated below, so save the dates 1st to 6th September. It is recommended that you arrive in Broken Hill by 5 pm on Sunday the 31st August for the Mayoral Receptiion at 6.00pm.
The Mayor of Broken Hill has kindly offered to host a reception on the Sunday evening at the Geocentre which houses a wonderful display of mineral specimens and mining artifacts.
Presentation of papers will commence on the Monday at the Civic Centre, a modern building with excellent facilities. Over the week there will be three days of conference papers and three days of site visits and tours, finishing on Saturday 6th September.
One of the tours will include an overview of the Line of Lode mineralisation with visits to mine sites and the RFDS. On Thursday we visit Silverton, the Day Dream Mine, and the Living Desert State Park. Highlights of the Park are the John Simons Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, with the Sanctuary Cultural Walk Trails and the 12 sandstone sculptures. A guided walking tour of the City centre and visits to historic sites and art galleries is scheduled for Saturday. Further details are to be found under "Tickets" below.
To minimise plastic waste, please bring along water bottles. Refilling will be available from the Coaches. Please note that the program is subject to change without notice.
Accommodation is tight in Broken Hill in September and it is recommended that bookings are made as soon as possible. As the Civic Centre is centrally located it is recommended that those without transport book near the city centre where there are numerous hotels/motels within walking distance of the Civic Centre. Four that have been suggested are the Ibis Styles, Comfort Inn Crystal, the Lodge Outback Motel and Desert Sands Motel.
Travel to Broken Hill at the time of writing is as follows:
From Adelaide
Rex Airlines: daily except Saturday
Public bus: Sunday and Tuesday
An AMHA bus from Adelaide to Broken Hill and return will be arranged if there are sufficient numbers who require this service. Depart Adelaide Airport 9.30am, 31 August with a pickup in the City. Returning to Adelaide Sunday 7th September arriving by 4pm. Please purchase a ticket below.
From Sydney
Rex Airlines: daily
Qantas: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday
Train: Monday
From Melbourne
Qantas: via Sydney
Train to Mildura then bus to Broken Hill: Wednesday and Friday
If you require assistance in travel arrangements including accommodation and transport to and from Broken Hill, please call the Travel experts at Helloworld Travel Broken Hill and let them know you are a part of the 2025 AMHA conference and their corporate sales consultant will be able to assist you.
Alternatively contact the Broken Hill Visitor Information Centre website: https://www.visitbrokenhill.com/Plan/Visitor-Information-Services
The weather in early September is likely to be cool to cold overnight and comfortable and sunny during the day with a low chance of rain.
AMHA gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Foundation Broken Hill, Lodestone Mines, through AMHA member Robert Williamson, and the Broken Hill City Council for their assistance and support of the Conference. Images supplied by the Broken Hill City Council.
To register for the Conference and other activities please select "tickets" below and follow through to the payment page. To pay by EFT go to https://amha.tidyhq.com/public/pages/broken-hill-conference-payment-by-eft If you have have a problem with registration please email grthudson@icloud.com
| Ticket Type | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Bus from Adelaide to Broken Hill and return Sunday 31 August: Bus pick up at Adelaide Airport 9.30am, Adelaide City 10.00am to Broken Hill arriving at 5pm for hotel drop off and Mayoral Reception. Return trip on Sunday 7 September departing at 8.30am to Adelaide City and Airport at about 4pm | $100.00 | Sale Ended |
| Delegates Mayoral Reception at the GeoCentre. Registration and Mayoral Reception at the GeoCentre , 6.00 pm., Cnr Crystal and Bromide Streets. 6. Free for 3 day Conference Delegates and AMHA Members. | $0.00 | Sale Ended |
| Conference Registration AMHA Members: Early Bird ends 27 June Early Bird AMHA Member Registration for 3 days Conference presentations, Level 1, Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride Street, Broken Hill. Includes Morning, Afternoon Teas and Lunch, Conference Proceedings and tourism brochures and the Mayoral Reception (book separately). | $220.00 | Sale Ended |
| Conference Registration Accompanying Persons: Early Bird ends 27 June Accompanying Person Early Bird Registration for 3 days Conference presentations, Level 1, Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride Street, Broken Hill. Includes Morning, Afternoon Teas and Lunch, Conference Proceedings and tourism brochures, and the Mayoral Reception (book separately) | $195.00 | Sale Ended |
| Conference Registration AMHA Members after 27 June AMHA Member Registration for 3 days Conference presentations, Level 1, Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride Street, Broken Hill. Includes Morning, Afternoon Teas and Lunch, Conference Proceeding and tourism brochures and Mayoral reception (book separately) | $260.00 | Sale Ended |
| Conference Registration Accompanying Persons after 27 June AMHA Member Registration for 3 days Conference presentations, Level 1, Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride Street, Broken Hill. Includes Morning, Afternoon Teas and Lunch, Conference Proceeding and tourism brochures and Mayoral reception (book separately). | $235.00 | Sale Ended |
| Conference Registration Student Member AMHA Student Member Registration for 3 days Conference presentations, Level 1, Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride Street, Broken Hill. Includes Morning, Afternoon Teas and Lunch, Conference Proceedings and tourism brochures and and Mayoral reception (book separately) | $100.00 | Sale Ended |
| Conference Registration Student Non-Member Student Registration for 3 days Conference presentations, Level 1, Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride Street, Broken Hill. Includes Morning, Afternoon Teas and Lunch, Conference Proceedings and tourism brochures and the Mayoral Reception | $140.00 | Sale Ended |
| Conference Registration Broken Hill Historic Society Members BHHS Member Registration for 3 days Conference presentations, Level 1, Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride Street, Broken Hill. Includes Morning, Afternoon Teas and Lunch, Conference Proceeding and tourism brochures and Mayoral reception (book separately) | $280.00 | Sale Ended |
| Conference Registration Non-Member Registration for 3 days Conference presentations, Level 1, Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride Street, Broken Hill. Includes Morning, Afternoon Teas and Lunch, Conference Proceeding and tourism brochures and Mayoral reception (book separately) | $300.00 | Sale Ended |
| One Day Conference Registration-Monday This day includes a keynote address on transformations in the global mining industry by ex CEO of Rio Tinto, Leigh Clifford, followed by a papers focussing on the Broken Hill orebody, its significance as a mineral resource and company maker. Conference registration includes morning and afternoon teas and lunch, but does not include the Welcome Reception or a copy of the proceedings. No more than two one day registrations permitted. | $75.00 | Sale Ended |
| One Day Conference Registration-Wednesday Papers on Wednesday will focus on mining technology . Robert Williamson of Lodestone Mines will present on electronics in mining with other topics will including shafts of the Line of Lode. Conference registration includes morning and afternoon teas and lunch, but does not include the Welcome reception or a copy of the Proceedings. No more than two one day registrations permitted. | $75.00 | Sale Ended |
| One Day Conference Registration-Friday Papers on Friday will focus on human resources and unions. Broken Hill led the way of labour reform in Australia and papers on this and other aspects of mining history will be addressed. Conference registration includes morning and afternoon teas and lunch, but does not include the Welcome Reception or a copy of the Proceedings. No more than two one day registrations permitted. | $75.00 | Sale Ended |
| One Day Walk up registration at the door. Monday Entry to presentations only. No Teas, Lunch or copy of the Proceedings | $60.00 | Sale Ended |
| One Day Walk up registration at the door. Wednesday | $60.00 | Sale Ended |
| One Day Walk up registration at the door. Friday | $60.00 | Sale Ended |
| Conference Dinner Conference Dinner 6.00pm in the Blonde Room, BHP Hotel, 400 Argent Street, Level 1. Canapes, Main Course and Desert with entertainment by the United We Stand players. Buy own drinks. | $65.00 | Sale Ended |
| Tour Tues 2nd September Line of Lode etc- All to travel by Coach. AMHA Members and partners only This Coach tour will focus on the Line of Lode mineralisation with visits to the Perilya Museum, the Rasp and Pinnacles leases and finish with the Royal Flying Doctor Visitor Centre. A packed lunch and entry to The RFDS included. | $110.00 | Sale Ended |
| Tour Thurs 4th September Silverton etc- All to travel by Coach. AMHA Members and partners only Coach tour to Silverton, Day Dream Mine, and Mundi Mundi Lookout. Entry fee to Silverton Gaol and Schoolhouse Museums and surface tour of Day Dream Mine and the John Simmons Fauna and Flora Sanctuary with the Living Desert Sculptures. Packed lunch included. Mad Max Museum and Camel Farm at Silverton optional. | $150.00 | Sale Ended |
| Tour Saturday 6th September City Guided Walking Tour, Railway Museum plus. AMHA Members and partners only. Two hour Guided Heritage Walking Tour of City Centre taking in many of the historic sites including the iconic Trades Hall and a visit to the Sulphide Street Railway and Historical Museum at 12noon. Transport will be provided to other sites in the city with entry fees to be paid by participants. Sites could include the Pro Hart and Absalom Galleries, Mosque and Synagogue Museums, Cemetery Walk and the Broken Hill Mining Museum. Fee includes guided walk and entry to the Railway Museum. Buy own lunch. | $30.00 | Sale Ended |
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