Silverton: Local History and Film Culture

Silverton offers unusual contrasts: along the Silverton Heritage Walking Trail, you’ll come across the ruins of long-abandoned homes and shops; the Mad Max 2 Museum is dedicated to film history. There’s also a school museum set up as a classroom, a gallery that doubles as a studio, and views across the Mundi Mundi Plains. You can shape a trip that takes in the landscape, local history, art and film.

Trail, Ruins and Views

The Silverton Heritage Walking Trail passes the ruins of abandoned homes and shops and heads towards the Barrier Ranges. A rest stop offers views across the Mundi Mundi Plains. The trail is listed as taking about two hours—a rough guide to help you plan your day. It offers two distinct perspectives: traces of former homes and businesses, and views across the plains. If you’re travelling with children, these contrasts may also be worth considering as you plan together: would you rather explore local history or focus on the landscape views?

School History and Settler Life

The Silverton School Educational Museum began as a tent in 1884. In 1888, the tent was replaced by the present-day stone building. The museum is set up as a classroom and showcases education from past eras. This brings the history of the building together with an account of earlier education. For a group with varied interests, it offers a different way to explore local history than the trail’s ruins or the views across the plains.

Silverton Gaol was built in 1889. The Silverton Gaol Museum houses collections on settler history, including mining and the Silverton Tramway. Silverton Municipal Chambers was completed in October 1889. Silverton Historic Cemetery is the burial place of several pioneers, including John Stokie, and recalls the harsh living conditions in Silverton’s early years. These places offer different points of focus: buildings, themes from settlement history and individual people.

Film, Art and Experiences

Film history is also part of Silverton: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, the second film in the series, was shot here. The Mad Max 2 Museum is in Silverton and displays photographs, life-size figures in full costumes, and original and replica vehicles. If your travel group has varied interests, you can easily compare this focus with the school museum: the museum centres on education from past eras, while this one focuses on film history.

The John Dynon Gallery also serves as the painter’s studio. Visitors can see his artworks, watch him work and talk with him. So, alongside the artworks, the gallery also puts the painter’s work in focus. Another activity is a camel sunset tour around the historic town of Silverton with Silverton Outback Camels. Compared with the approximately two-hour Heritage Walking Trail, the experiences differ in how you get around and in their timing: a sunset camel tour or a walk among ruins with views.

Plan the Right Stay

When looking for a hotel in Silverton, it helps to decide on your trip’s priorities first: would you like to make time for the trail, explore school and settlement history, or discover film and art? For people travelling together, the mix can also make a difference—for example, combining historical topics with an outdoor activity.

Discover more destinations: Palm Grove, Newrybar, Mount Panorama, Crackenback, Wollongong, Lismore, Table Top, Menah

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