By Jade Johnston
There is something about Ghost Towns which really strikes a chord with me. Towns which were once prosperous, where people once lived, worked, and loved – that are now empty and desolate. But what is even more interesting about Ghost Towns are the people who stay, despite all the odds.
I actually grew up in a Ghost Town. The town of Solsgirth Manitoba had half a mile of paved road, a community hall, and a post office in a local residents shed. Although the scenery around my Ghost Town was a lot different to the surrounds at Silverton.
Silverton was originally a booming silver mining town, but it was soon eclipsed by it’s nearby neighbour, Broken Hill. The town now has, according to the last census, 89 residents, and 2 donkeys. We drove to Silverton in our rental campervan, and spent the entire morning there.
The following photo essay offers a glimpse into yet another outback ghost town. (To see my first outback ghost town post – check out this post on Cook!)
The Silverton hotel pokes fun at it’s Ghost Town status
A lot of old cars litter the streets of Silverton… but they are not all junk….
The area around Silverton was used to film the movie series “Mad Max”, and many of these cars are replicas of one’s used in the film
Silverton Church
Silverton Church
The two resident donkeys
We drove to Silverton in our Spaceship campervan, who without their discount camper van rental, this post would not have been possible.
Jade
Jade is a freelance travel writer from Manitoba Canada. She loves travel and meeting new people has lived in 6 countries and travelled to more than 30. She prefers to travel slowly - taking overland transit or working/ volunteering in the countries she visits. Her motto is that she might never return to this place again, so she has to try to soak up as much as possible. To learn more about the OurOyster project,click here! Or to find OurOyster on Google + : Jade's Google Profile You can also shoot her an email at jade@ouroyster.com
Natasha von Geldern (10 months ago)
Wonderful photos and light! Ha the closet petrol head in me is digging those cars
Congratulations on your circumnavigation of Australia Jade!!!!
Natasha von Geldern recently posted..All the colour of London’s Notting Hill Carnival
OurOyster (10 months ago)
Thanks!!! You definitely need to go to Silverton if you are in the NSW outback…. it’s such an interesting little town
Abby (10 months ago)
That looks awesome. I always find that ghost towns are just begging to be photographed, but I never seem to capture them right lol. Your photos are great!
OurOyster (10 months ago)
Thanks Abby! I was lucky with the light that day
Laurence (10 months ago)
Silverton and nearby Broken Hill were my first encounter with real outback scenery as I had imagined it during my Oz trip. I absolutely loved it. And the pub was an awesome place too
Great post!
Laurence recently posted..In photos: the 2012 Occitan Piégut Félibrée!
OurOyster (10 months ago)
Thanks! I’m really looking forward to Alice Springs though… now that to me is proper outback!
Christy @ Technosyncratic (10 months ago)
Whoa, you grew up in a ghost town? That’s so cool! Was it popular with tourists?
OurOyster (10 months ago)
ahaha nope…. my ghost town was not popular with anything! lol
The Travel Fool (10 months ago)
Ghost towns are fun to poke around in. They can give you a snapshot of history. I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on the Mad Max car.
The Travel Fool recently posted..Marlboro For The Entire Family
OurOyster (10 months ago)
Those ones are just replicas…. but some of the originals are in the Mad Max museum which is nearby
lissie (10 months ago)
My first graduate job was in Broken Hill, I have many happy, but blurry, memories of the Silverton pub. I went back a few years ago, i.e. nearly 30 years later, and nothing had changed at the pub, though there is now a coffee shop which was new!
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OurOyster (10 months ago)
That’s awesome! What did you do in Broken Hill? It was super freezing when we were there, although you can’t tell it from the lighting in my photos. The pub was closed when we went
but we spent a wonderful few hours just wandering around the town.
Monica (10 months ago)
It looks gorgeous but really creepy at the same time. I passed through a few ghost towns while I was driving my camervan through Oz but we never stayed too long. Way too creepy!
OurOyster (10 months ago)
Creepy? i have never looked at it that way! I guess they are a bit, but in the bright sunlight like we had in Silverton it seemed pretty harmless
Ayngelina (10 months ago)
I had no idea Canada has ghost towns although it actually makes a lot of sense with some towns being so dependent on natural resources.
Ayngelina recently posted..Food Friday: Jugo Verde
OurOyster (10 months ago)
There are lots of ghost town in the Prairie provinces… but since tourism is so thin over here I guess a lot of people would not have heard of them
Mary @ Green Global Travel (8 months ago)
I always wondered where Mad Max was filmed. Silverton seems like the perfect location.
Mary @ Green Global Travel recently posted..ECO NEWS: U.S. Announces Major Jaguar Conservation Projects
OurOyster (8 months ago)
There is even a Mad Max museum located there – I should do another post on that, it was pretty quirky