The Sundown Nature Trail was originally conceived and constructed as a voluntary project for the Broken Hill Centenary in 1983, by the Barrier Environment Group. The trail and information were refreshed in 2018 by volunteers from the Barrier Rangers, Barrier Field Naturalists’ Club, and NSW Roads and Maritime Services as a Foundation Broken Hill 25in25 liveability project with the assistance of the Broken Hill City Council.
For nearly 100 years the Common was heavily grazed by stock and rabbits and the amount and diversity of vegetation have been reduced as a consequence. In the early days too, many trees were harvested for firewood and fence-posts and for use in the mines. Today grazing and tree removal are no longer permitted. Rabbits are being controlled with the introduction of selective diseases whilst feral goats remain a pest in the region.
Euros, the stocky dark wallaby (Macropus robustus) and Red and Western Grey kangaroos (Macropus rufus; M. fuliginosus) may be seen especially in the gullies. Reptiles include skinks, shingle back lizards, bearded dragons, goannas, and brown snakes. Wedge-tailed eagles circle the ridges and wrens and finches dart among the bushes whilst galahs, parrots, and crows call overhead.
Rocks along the trail are metamorphic schists and pegmatite. The schists were originally sandstones and shales deposited about 1800 million years ago. They were laid down in a rift sea on top of the silver, lead, and zinc-rich rocks which now form the Broken Hill orebody. The rocks have been deeply buried and completely folded and are now made up mainly of quartz, feldspar, mica, and sillimanite. The pale coloured course-grained rock which cuts across the schist is pegmatite. The pegmatite intruded the schist as molten magma several hundred million years later and crystallized to form white translucent quartz, creamy opaque feldspar, flaky clear-brown muscovite (mica) and, in places, red garnet and beryl.
Wilyakali:
Wilyakali lies in the east of the state of South Australia, crossing into New South Wales, including the town of Broken Hill. The Wilyakali people traditionally visited the Paakantji people on the Menindee Lakes in the Darling Riverine Plains Bioregion each year.
The three Major language groups for the Broken Hill Region are the Paakantji, Mayyankapa, and Nyiimpaa.
Wilyakali and Danggali both lie east of the Ngadjuri language and north of the upper River Murray languages.
Wilyakali and Danggali are part of the Darling River Language Group or Paakantyi / Paakantji language group. This is a group of closely related languages in South Australia and New South Wales, which can be subdivided into two groups: the “Northern Dialects” and the “Southern Dialects.” Wilyakali and Danggali are both part of the “Southern Dialects.”
Other “Southern Dialects” include Pulaali, Southern Pankantyi, Pantyikali, Wanyuparlku and Marrawarra. Some of these languages have been recorded more than others. Although each language has its own distinguishing features, they are so similar they can be understood by speakers of other languages in this group. Therefore, the following reference list will include Southern Paakantyi references that may be helpful. The language name is noted in square brackets after each reference, when known.
Today the Wilyakali people are still the main Aboriginal group in Broken Hill, though there are a number of Aboriginal people that come from other language groups.
The Aboriginal people of Broken Hill have established working parties to pursue their vision of a better future. They continue to look after their traditional lands and are joint managers of the Mutawintji National Park which is the first national park handed back to the traditional owners in New South Wales. There are many strong elders who continue to maintain and pass on their traditional knowledge to their young people and, today, share their stories with the wider community.
Source: Visit Broken Hill (www.visitbrokenhill.com/Play/Living-Desert-State-Park/Sun...), & Mobile Language Team & Aboriginal Housing Office.
