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Hall site. It would appear as if there were an arrangement between the council and the Commonwealth Government for the transfer of the Council title. I would like to be informed if such is the case, and provided such is the case, whether the council would have any objection to a more secure title being given to the Commonwealth Government.
The letter was received and decided information be forwarded.
BDT May 26, 1916 City Council last night received a letter from Secretary of the Western Land Board stating that the Premier had advised that the Federal Government had accepted the offer made to transfer to the Commonwealth a portion of reserve 38899 at the corner of Blende and Gypsum Street Railwaytown, as a site for a Post Office. The board asked the Council to formally surrender Western Lands Lease No 2399 which was granted to the Municipality of Broken Hill over the area for the purpose of a library.
Railwaytown Post Office officially closed on Friday, January 30, 1987.
North Broken Hill Post Office
In 1897 a new post office was opened on October 20 at North Broken Hill, adjoining the police office.
BDT May 8,1901: The North Broken Hill Post Office is to be conducted in present premises as a semi-official office.
BDT July 26, 1909: The North Broken Hill Post Office has been converted to a semi official office and will be conducted in the present building (Nankivell's store) by Mr A. I. Campbell.
BDT May 19, 1983: The Post master for the past 16 years, Keith Austen, has advised that the office is to be moved to the McCulloch Street shopping centre at 278 McCulloch Street. The move to the McCulloch Street Shopping Centre took place on June 13, 1983.
Silverton Post Office
The closing of the Silverton Post Office on Friday, March 30, 1979, passed almost unnoticed locally but ended a chapter of history in the Australian Postal Service that can have few equals. Silverton, as it is now known to most locals, is a ghost town, once a mining centre that folded up when the line of lode in Broken Hill was discovered. But a closer look at the history of the township revealed some remarkable facts, and possibly none more interesting than the story of the Silverton Postal Service.
The first post office at Silverton was established in 1883 and the first postmaster, Mr W. Scully, was paid 10 pounds per annum. By August 1884, sale of stamps at 1d a stamp, reached twenty pounds, this represented 4,800 stamps a week.
On August 1, 1884, Mr F. K. Kenane became acting postmaster at £166 a year, and this was increased to £200 in September 1884. On January 16, 1985, Mr Kenane established that 1,100 people were living within the town boundary and the population was increasing, as many families were taking up permanent residence in the town.
Another 1885 report said that a police officer, Senior Constable O'Connell, had collected 1,750 names for the electoral roll, but he believed there were at least 1,000 more to be obtained.
The request went out to have a letter deliverer appointed, and the Silverton Progress Association backed the move for a postman. The request was not granted, because postal officials believed that 1,500 people needed to live within one square mile of the post office before such a service was required.
In 1885, 42 private boxes were placed at the post office for customers. On August 25, 1885, Silverton was connected to the NSW telegraph system, and the service was combined with the post office and general store.
From those hectic days the post office had a gradual wind-down as the population decreased and on Friday, March 30, 1979, the postal service at Silverton ceased to exist. The events didn't go unnoticed however, and on the final trading day, the postmaster stamped the last letters to be dispatched, 4,000 last-day covers and 150 special prints.
Milton Charles Hawke and Evelyn Vera Hawke were the last post office officials before the post office and phone exchange was closed. The post office was sold as a shop only.
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