It is difficult to comprehend the nature of the outback as it was in the 1880s. Yet it was through those harsh, desolate and lonely places that the telegraph lines - and the postal services and the railways -- had to be constructed.
The Sydney Morning Herald of 23 May 1885 provided an excellent description of the areas around Silverton and Broken Hill at about the time the Telegraph lines were being constructed.
"The Minister for Mines has been devoting the whole of the time spent in Silverton to the inspection of the silver mines, of which he has been shown the largest and most important. The Umberumberka mine - so called from the original name of Silverton - was visited on Monday morning, the Apollyon, Day Dream, and Hen and Chickens in the afternoon. These mines are wonderfully rich in silver ore.
A sketch of the view from the Umberumberka mine may interest, as it embraces some of the most noteworthy features in the field. The Umberumberka mine, which is distant about two miles from the town of Silverton, is situated in and around a gorge running east and west between two lofty ridges which form the western edge of the Barrier Range. The range itself trends in a northerly direction, in a series of parallel ridges, plentifully clothed after a comparatively good rainfall with herbs and stunted bush. Most of the mining work is done on a ridge situated to the south of the gorge and it is here that mineral ore, ranging in colour from copper green to the richest brown, may be seen cropping out of the surface of the earth.
In the gorge below are a few sheds constructed of galvanised iron, such as form the bulk of the homes at present used by the residents on the field, and even in town itself. On every side but one the landscape is broken up by hills of varying heights. To the west, the plains stretch out as far as the eye can see away towards the Gulf of Carpentaria, only a slight rise at Coopers Creek relieving the monotony of the landscape from the Barrier Ranges to the sea. The stock route from Mount Browne skirts the western side of the Barrier Range and, crossing the border, touches Thackeringa on the South Australian side.
About a mile from the Gorge, in the open plain, is a small mound where stands a tank holding 3,000.000 gallons which has been placed there for use of the stock travelling along the route. To the south-west the horizon across the border is broken by a small but picturesque chain of hills, while that to the north-west is relieved by a few trees which mark the course of the creek as it flows from Broken Hill, 20 miles southeast of the town, to lose itself on the western plain or, in time of heavy flood, to form lakes.
On the South Australian side are about a dozen miles of open plain due west of the Gorge, with which it would form a continuous line. The terminus station of the proposed new railway from Adelaide will be erected in less than a couple of years and here it is proposed to start a township in opposition to Silverton - a danger which the Silverton folks desire to avoid by asking the Government to continue the line from the Border terminus across the Gorge into the town. When this takes place, as they hope in time it will and Silverton is also connected with the« proposed line from Forbes to Wilcannia, the transcontinental line from Adelaide to Sydney will be complete and the fondest dreams of the people of Silverton will be realised".
On Tuesday the Ministerial party visited Broken Hill, distant 20 miles, one of the most extraordinary sights on the field. For over two miles extends a series of lofty silver cliffs, with rich ores cropping out of the surface, and which yield wonderful assays at a depth of 100 feet. The loftiest pinnacle of Broken Hill stands 150 feet above the plain and caps the huge boulders beneath like an iron helmet. The main shaft has been sunk 150 feet and at a depth of 100 feet a lode of extraordinary richness was met 14 feet in width which, at the lower level, has broadened to 20 feet and the side wall is not yet reached. The lode apparently extends from the north-east to south-west, right through the entire hill. A full account of this wonderful mine has only recently been published in the Herald so a further description of it may be dispensed with for the present.
Among those present during the visit was Mr. Charles Rasp, formerly a station hand on Mr. McCulloch's run, on which the mine is situated. Mr. Rasp was the first to take out a lease of the mine, suspecting that there was something good from the peculiar appearance of the ground. That was in September, 1883. Most of Mr. Rasp's mates, including the overseers, manager and contractors took shares in the Company, which was immediately formed, and Mr. McCulloch himself became Chairman of the Board of Directors. There were only fourteen shareholders in the company and the shares were rising with extraordinary rapidity. One gentleman, who bought a share from Mr Jamieson, the Manager of the Broken Hill Company, for £200 a short time ago sold out two months afterwards for £2,100 and the last share sold fetched £4,500.
Mr Abbott expressed his astonishment at the extraordinary character of the hill and bumpers of champagne were emptied in honour of the guest and the mine, as indeed had been the case at the visit on the previous afternoon to the other mines. To show what work is being done on the field, it may be mentioned that a sum of over £10,000 was paid in wages by the Apollyon Company alone during the first three months of the present year. This company embraces 16 mines, one of which (named the Day Dream) paid wages to the amount of £3,719, the Apollyon £2,468, Hen and Chickens £1,230, Gipsy Girl £1095 and the Day Dream new company £893; the balance was distributed over 11 smaller mines.
In proof of the value of ore raised from these mines, the last sales per Orient, from the Day Dream, realised over £24 per ton in Hamburg and Swansea and, from the Hen and Chickens, the best quality realised £90 and £99 15s in Hamburg and Swansea respectively. Some of the Broken Hill ore is said to contain over 1,000 ozs per ton and to be worth £250. The value of the Umberumberka ore is estimated to average about £10 per ton, which costs between £7 and £8 to deliver in London, including insurance, freight and other charges.
The party left Silverton on Wednesday morning for Mount Gipps station, lunching at Purnamoota - the second largest township on the field - on the way. Before leaving, Mr Abbott promised to place £1,000 on the Estimates as an unconditional vote for the hospital or £500 more than was stated in the report of answers to the addresses from deputations, telegraphed Terowie".