Broken Hill – A Living Legend

Conservatively, there are a half million square miles in Australia just like it, this spot near the western border of New South Wales. Space and distance are the elements. Mulga tree and salt bush, silvery under the sun, hug the ground too close to make welcome shade. To the east a wrinkle on the empty plain marks the line of lode, the Broken Hill bonanza. Strangely, the outback stops at a cyclone fence close by the ridge. Beyond, the peculiar island continent vegetation flourishes with the same frosty patina of the mulga and the salt bush. A city of 30,000 people is hidden behind the screen of vegetation. Once, the city was ugly and the people miserable from marching, flying sand. Now with a protective screen of vegetation, it is an oasis in the outback. The secret of the oasis is the fence. All regeneration plans failed until it was built to keep kangaroo, rabbit, sheep and man from destroying the plantations.