Kintore Reserve in Blende Street contains a series of pieces that point to the history, art and culture of Broken Hill along with the greenery that makes it so welcoming from first glance. Almost directly in the centre of town, the reserve is dominated by a retired wooden head frame, originally put to work in the 1800s. This headframe was originally located at the Kintore Shaft, the principal shaft of the Central Mine, and prior to that at the No. 5 shaft at the South Mine. It was moved to this site in 1984 to allow open-cut mining of the original site. It is constructed of oregon, supported on concrete footings, and cross-braced with steel rods.
Kintore Shaft was typical of eary shafts used at Broken Hill. The shaft had two levels of access. Early shafts such as Kintore eventually proved inadequate to handle the massive Broken Hill orebody. The shaft was named after the Earl of Kintore, the first chairman of the Central Mine.
There are also two enormous Pro Hart sculptures depicting life for the miners of Broken Hill, a plaque dedicated to the Brushmen of the Bush and a sculpture done by TAFE students, depicting the most famous mineral found around Broken Hill.
Kintore Reserve is located on the route of the Silverton Railway which closed in 1970. The company constructed and operated a 56 kilometre, narrow-gauge railway between Broken Hill and Cockburn at the South Australian border, via Silverton. The line was used from 1888 until 1970 when standard gauge was introduced on a more direct route via Thackaringa. Keeping alive the memories of the reserve's time as railway land is the Penrose Park Picnic Train, a narrow gauge train which had a run around the park's circular track on the third Sunday of every month, and during school holidays, between 10am and 1pm. A gold coin donation is requested for a ride. A BBQ, cakes and drinks are for sale, adding to the fun day out.
The Silverton Picnic Days are a legendary local custom in Broken Hill. The eagerly anticipated social outing to Penrose Park for a picnic offered a welcome escape from the heat and monotony of outback summers, and was common practice by the 1950s. These days were popular with families in Broken Hill and people headed out to Silverton by the hundreds. Bob Pittaway Senior built the picnic train in the early 1950s. The mines used it at the annual Mines Picnic Day at Penrose Park, Silverton for mine employees and their families. By 1993, the Picnic Train had fallen into a serious state of disrepair but has since been restored and revived by the Machinery Preservation Society.
Location: Cnr Blende and Bromide Streets, Broken Hill NSW 2880
