Broken Hill Pubs

Well this a story that’s very interesting. At its peak Broken Hill had 62 pubs. However the story is a bit more involved than that.
Looking at the photos attached you can see 2 types of pubs, the big 2 storey behemoths, and the smaller single level ones. What is interesting is that the big ones near the centre of town were not for the miners, but instead the elites. There were around 9 of the big monsters with hotel rooms and tons of accomodation. The smaller ones known as “Shanty’s” were the ones the miners drank in and made up the remainder of the 62.
Typically the miners would setup tabs during the week to buy their drinks and play 2 up. They were paid each Friday and that was clearance day for the tabs to be paid. By Sat morning they were broke again and restarting their tabs.
Eventually the Miners Housewives Association lobbied the Trades Hall to push the mining companies to withhold some of the miners pay so they could buy food. They won in the end with married men’s wages were garnisheed prior to payment and that money was given to the wives.Read more