Broken Hills was founded by two Englishmen, Joseph Arthur and James Stratford, who discovered silver-lead ore at the site in 1913. A rush of miners to the area in the following six months was halted when it was discovered that Arthur and Stratford had claimed the most promising sites.[2][3][4]
Broken Hills reached the height of population, with a few hundred residents, from 1915 to 1920. The town had stores, a hotel, saloons and a school.
By 1920, both Arthur and Stratford's mining efforts only produced US$68,000 (equivalent to $1,093,000 in 2025). Arthur and Stratford then sold their claims to George Graham Rice, who promoted the mine and sold shares of property. Rice invested US$75,000 (equivalent to $1,205,000 in 2025) of stockholder money into the mine to produce only US$7,000 (equivalent to $113,000 in 2025) of revenue. Other mining companies in the area also failed.[3]
In 1926, there was a silver rush to the Quartz Mountains nearby, and the post office and a few stores at Broken Hill reopened. After 1928, the settlement declined again, but mining continued in a limited away. The area produced approximately US$180,000 (equivalent to $4,137,000 in 2025) from 1935 to 1940.[3][4]
From 1913 to 1920, Broken Hills was primarily an operation of two men: James Statford and Joseph Aurthur. Because they got to the best prospects, the town never really boomed. It held a post office from December 1, 1920, until October 15, 1921.[5] The post office was in operation from December 1920 until October 1921 and then from June 1926 until February 1935.[6]
The population was 12 in 1940.[7]
