THE BIRTH OF BROKEN HILL

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 July 1932, Page 12

THE BIRTH OF BROKEN HILL

SECRET OF THE BARRIER. In . the west of New South Wales stood the grim and forbidding Barrier, or Darling ranges. Early explorers had traversed them and had written of them —mostly in words of gloom. Prospectors had visited and tested them, leaving with a curse as disappointment dispelled golden hopes. The 19th century was drawing to its close before there came any inkling of the enormous riches which the for-bidding-looking hills bore within them (says a writer in the “B.H.P. Recreation Review”). The dawn of a new era began when silver was discovered at Thackaringa, Umberumberka, and elsewhere. Not far distant were the ranges. A section, known on account of its, rugged skyline as “the broken hill, occupied portion of the horse paddock of Mount Gipps Station, a pastoral property owned by McCulloch, Sellais, and Co., of Melbourne. George McCulloch, a nephew of the senior partner, was the manager of the station. Of the station staff, Charles Rasp was a boundary rider, and Philip Chai ley was a jackaroo. Rasp was a man whom the West knew and admired as a “shrewdie,” and he was specially valued by his employer. In his off times, and at other times when his duties led him that way, he had made superficial examinations of thp “broken hill’s” geology. His knowledge of mineralogy was not great, but he cogitated on what he saw, comparing it with what he had learned from his observations around the mines of Silverton. All imbued him with the unshakeable belief that there was something very rich in the hill. Although instinct urged him to im- z mediate action, he was held back by his native caution, augmented by the fact that experienced prospectors had pronounced the hill to be worthless —a mere “hill of mullock.”

A trip to Adelaide on business for the station was the means of forcing Rasp to make a decision. In Adelaide he purchased a small volume: “The Hrospec'tor’s Handbook/’ A close study of its contents was followed by another and keener inspection of the hill. The light of his? new-found knowledge illumined the result of his efforts. He found there was mineral in large quantities, mineral which he believed to be tin. The news of the ‘find” was' communicated to a. couple of mates engaged in sinking a dam not far away. Prompt action followed, and the hill was pegged. Rasp told George McCulloch, the managei’ of the station, what he had done. Quickly he outlined the proposal. A syndicate would be formed. He would make one, and the station hands could come in, as many as wished to. The plan was adopted. A syndicate of seven, a syndicate never registered, was formed to develop the “broken hill” for tin. This syndicate of Charles Rasp, boundary rider; George McCulloch, station manager; George Urquhart, sheep overseer; George A. M. Lind, storekeeper and bookkeeper; Philip Charley, station hand; David James, dam sinker; James Poole, his mate.

Shortly afterwards the syndicate found itself in difficulties. The money it had put into the venture was soon exhausted, and the weekly drain on its earnings from its ordinary occupations began to prove irksome. The need to raise more capital became imperative. The work being done was the very minimum allowed by law. The position was acute. Unwittingly the Government of New South Wales sent the man who was destined to preserve the wealth of the “broken hill” to the original prospectors. William Jamieson, surveyor of the Mines Department of New South Wales, was dispatched to the Silverton field to survey some portions of it. A conspicuously able officer he was, big in body and mind, and of dominating personality. Out of curiosity he visited the leases on the hill, and, becoming interested in them, he decided to invest. One or two others followed his lead, and the original syndicate of seven became a syndicate of fourteen. The syndicate also was nfever registered. It is on record that shortly after the foundation of this syndicate two shares were sold for £25 each. Hence we find that the first value of the Broken Hill Proprietary was £175. Since then the mine has paid £11,405,754 in direct dividends and cash bonuses.

AN HISTORIC EUCHRE GAME. Still a long way had to be travelled before the mine became established and began pouring out its treasures There were times when the stoutest hearted of the original holders became despondent and wished themselves well out of their venture. The syndicatae still wanted money. McCulloch offered for sale one of his two shares for £2OO. Along came a new chum named Cox. He offered £lOO for the share, then raised it to £l2O. Ultimately Cox laughingly challenged Me Culloch to play a rubber of euchre for the share. If McCulloch won he was to get the share for £l2O. Cox won the rubber.

Surely no game of cards in history ever had such a fortune depending on it. That share, had it been retained intact, in a few years would have paid Cox £1,260,000. He did not hold all of it, but he kept sufficient to enable him to return to England a very wealthy man. The months sped by and the fortunes of the “broken hill” and of the stout-hearted fourteen saw many fluctuations. On October 4, 1884, an advertisement appeared in the “Silver Age,” Silverton’s first essay in jour nalism, as follows:—“Miners wanted to contract for sinking 100 ft from the bottom of the shaft at the Broken Hill. Apply, Poole and James’s Camp, Nine Mile Tanks, Mount Gipps.” This was the first advertisement the Broken Hill mine ever inserted. A fortnight later a second advertisement called for tenders for the driving of a tunnel 900 ft. into the hill. These advertisements brought forth a roar of derision from the population of Silverton, the members of which regarded these “btishinen and station-hands” as crazy fools bent on throwing away good money. In a little while, however, this laughter died out, and Silverton’s residents were gaping in amazement at the news —confirmed, not a mere mining rumour—of the discovery at the hill of ore of immense richness. Philip Charley had been on a holi-

day trip to Melbourne. On his return to Mount Gipps, almost his first action was to visit the hill, intent on seeing how things were shaping. It was a momentous visit. The miners answered his questions bj r telling him that they were sending up just the usual stuff —low-grade lead ore. Charley began pottering around. He picked ur some of the stuff and ‘idly broke it between his fingers. His eye was caught by some grey specks which he picked out with his knife. Excitedly, he called out, “Chlorides' These are chlorides!”

The miners ran to him, but they laughed at his excitement. “Its carbonate of copper!” they told him. He persisted in his belief, and, galloping off to the homestead, he arranged for an immediate meeting of the syndicate. Bulk samples were sent to Adelaide for assay. The result disclosed the presence of silver equal to 800 oz. to the ton. The best previous returns had been but 250 z. At last the grim Barrier had yielded up its secret. The doors were open, and the richest silver-lead mine known to the world was about to begin business. In a very brief time the Broken Hill Pty. Co. was formed, and from then on for many years a continuous stream of wealth flowed from Broken Hill.