Line of Lode café-restaurant to open with new operators
One of Broken Hill’s key tourism sites, the Line of Lode Reserve, will restore hospitality operations with the opening of a new café-restaurant, following an innovative agreement between the NSW Government, Foundation Broken Hill, and Broken Hill Mines.
The new Line of Lode café-restaurant operators will be Bradley and Lee-Anne Jackson, who aim to offer a mix of Australian, Mediterranean, Cornish and Jewish food in tribute to Broken Hill’s cultural roots. They hope to be operating in time for the Mundi Mundi Bash in August.
Last year, Crown Lands completed construction of a commercial kitchen at the Line of Lode’s Broken Earth Complex building to support a hospitality operation to enhance the reserve and tourism.
Broken Hill Mines will now enter into a sub-licence with Foundation Broken Hill to occupy part of the Broken Earth Complex for office space, with the café-restaurant operator to use the remainder of the building.
The broader Line of Lode site, including the Miners’ Memorial, gardens and carpark, will remain the responsibility of Foundation Broken Hill, a non-profit community organisation which was granted a licence by Crown Lands to manage the reserve in August 2024.
New Line of Lode cafe-restaurant operator Bradley Jackson said:
“We’re honoured to have the opportunity to operate this iconic space. Our family has a deep connection to Broken Hill — my wife Lee-Anne’s grandfather is listed on the Miner’s Memorial at the Line of Lode, which makes this even more meaningful for us.
“We hope to create a warm and welcoming space for both locals and visitors — a place to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner, and to gather for weddings, private events, and community fundraisers.
“We’d love to bring the space to life with live music, feature local Aboriginal art and sculpture, and eventually launch our own Broken Hill-branded honey and beer. We even dream of hosting monthly drive-in movie nights under the stars.”
Foundation Broken Hill Chairman, John Lynch OAM said:
“Foundation Broken Hill is honoured to have been provided the role as the Licensee of the Line of Lode Reserve, including the Broken Earth Complex building along with the Miners’ Memorial and the surrounding area, making it one of our great city’s best attractions.
“This innovative agreement is a win-win that will provide stable rental income for the Foundation to help maintain the reserve while supporting a café to service both tourists and locals and generate funds for other community support.
“As well as the kitchen facilities, including a large storeroom and separate cool room, the Broken Earth Complex offers over 200 square metres of open seating space with furniture, reception, bar and office areas, so there is huge potential to activate the building and a commercial café.”
Broken Hill Mines Head of Corporate Sustainability Shane Goodwin said:
“The Line of Lode is in a visually spectacular location so this agreement gives Broken Hill Mines a small public facing presence at an iconic former mining site while allowing us to help a hospitality operator get established to support regional tourism.
“We also want to work with Foundation Broken Hill and Crown Lands to explore other opportunities to better tell the story of the city’s mining history, for example by having other historic infrastructure on display, or enhancing views to the Rasp mine so visitors can see mining underway.”
Crown Lands Far West Area Manager Shane Smith said:
“This is a terrific result for the Line of Lode which is a key tourism site for Broken Hill and the Far West region but has struggled to attract a commercial hospitality operator despite investment in upgrades to the reserve and its commercial kitchen facilities.
“This great offer for a cafe operator to establish a business at Broken Hill’s most stunning tourism location is a compelling opportunity and I wish the new operators well.”