Silverton: Pioneer History, Film and Outback Views

In Silverton, traces of early settlement history meet a film heritage that remains part of the town to this day. The Silverton Heritage Walking Trail passes the ruins of long-abandoned homes and shops and climbs into the Barrier Ranges. From a rest area, the view stretches across the Mundi Mundi Plains. If you’d like to explore Silverton on foot while also discovering its historic sites, this route offers both: visible remnants of everyday life in the past and a striking landscape view.

Explore history and landscape on foot

The Silverton Heritage Walking Trail is listed as taking about 2 hours. Along the way, the focus is on the abandoned homes and shops; farther up in the Barrier Ranges, the perspective changes until the Mundi Mundi Plains come into view from the rest area. The trail thus combines an encounter with the former settlement and a view of the open landscape.

If you’d rather discover Silverton through individual places and collections, the museums offer other ways to explore its history. The Silverton School Educational Museum began as a tent in 1884. In 1888, the tent was replaced by the present stone building. The museum features a classroom set up to show education in bygone eras. The journey from tent to stone building, along with the classroom display, makes the history of the former school a tangible part of the visit.

Museums spanning settlement history and film

Silverton Gaol was built in 1889. Today, the Silverton Gaol Museum houses collections on settler history, including displays about mining and the Silverton Tramway. If you’re interested in these aspects of the town’s past, you can explore different chapters in Silverton’s development here. Silverton Historic Cemetery also recalls the harsh living conditions in the town’s early years. Several of Silverton’s pioneers are buried there, including John Stokie. The cemetery and museum focus on different aspects: personal stories and the conditions of the early years at the cemetery, and collections on settlement history at the museum.

Another side of Silverton is connected with the film Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, the second instalment in the film series, which was filmed in Silverton. The Mad Max 2 Museum displays photographs, life-size figures in full costumes, and original and replica vehicles. The exhibits offer film fans a range of points of interest: photos, figures and vehicles are presented side by side, so the visit isn’t limited to just one kind of film memorabilia.

Encounters and special experiences

At the John Dynon Gallery, the gallery also serves as the painter’s studio. Visitors can see his artworks, watch him at work and talk with him. The visit therefore focuses not only on the finished work, but also on a glimpse into the artist’s process and a conversation with him. If you enjoy looking at art while travelling and experiencing how it is made firsthand, this visit offers something quite different from a tour of historical collections.

Silverton Outback Camels offers a camel sunset tour around the historic town. This tour adds a distinctive option alongside the walking trail, museums and gallery: it combines camels with a sunset experience. When planning your trip, you can consider whether you’d prefer to discover Silverton on foot, through its museums and art, or with this special tour. Your interests can also help you decide which experiences to prioritise during your stay.

The Silverton Municipal Chambers were completed in October 1889. Together with the gaol, built in 1889, the school museum and the historic cemetery, they are specific places to visit if you’re interested in the town’s history. The trail and its views complement these historical themes with the landscapes of the Barrier Ranges and the Mundi Mundi Plains. Silverton is especially suited to travel plans that combine local history with a range of visitor experiences.

If you’d like to discover more places, you can also find pages about Coopers Shoot, Deepwater, Yass River, Leeton, Lake Innes, Joadja, Goolgowi and Menah.

For the broader travel guide: New South Wales.