Silverton has the strange title of being the town beyond 39 dips. It’s only around 25 kilometres from Broken Hill to Silverton, but it’s a road like no other, with more than 39 dips and floodways giving you an interesting (bouncy) ride all the way.  Once you get to Silverton you’ll find quirky art galleries, historic buildings, and a museum containing all things relating to Mad Max 2, the internationally famous action movie which was filmed in this region in 1981, and starred Mel Gibson.    

While looking at all the attractions out here, I have to admit I’m also keeping a hopeful eye out for Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth who happens to be filming another Mad Max movie in this area, right now!  Not that I actually expect to run into him but you never know your luck. 

We’ve been staying in Broken Hill where the locals tell us he is staying, but so far we have only seen and heard some of the crew involved in the filming, as we tour around.

But I digress, back to the tour of Silverton. There are a number of good reasons to visit the town including the well known and well used pub. This historic façade of the hotel as well as its outback location has seen it featured in 19 different Aussie movies and commercials to date, under many different pseudonyms.

It has been rebadged as the ‘Mulga Mulga Hotel’, ‘Hotel Australia’, ‘Diggers Rest’, ‘Mundi Mundi Hotel’ and ‘Dingo Hotel’ amongst others.

The bar boasts a who’s who of famous visitors and the hotel now also has a large undercover beer garden where you can see live entertainment.

There are motel rooms to stay in at the hotel, and for caravanners, there is a large campground area nearby known as Penrose Park where you can stay in powered or non-powered sites.

Amongst the art galleries in Silverton is the John Dynon gallery. His unique art is instantly recognisable; because of his inquisitive emu subjects, poking their heads into the landscapes, and all of his works feature the bright colours of the outback, its flowers and distinctive landscapes.

Beyond 39 dips is another gallery which takes its name from the undulating road to get here. This gallery features the work of a few artists and as well as paintings, it includes glasswork, jewellery and leather accessories.

Another big reason to visit Silverton (apart from the hotel) is the Mad Max 2 museum. The museum is dedicated to the Mad Max 2 movie, (The Road Warrior) which was filmed around Broken Hill, Silverton and the Mundi Mundi lookout nearby. From that lookout you can see the stretch of road where some of the biggest action scenes were filmed.

Inside, the museum has memorabilia and props as well as costumes, hundreds of photos and life sized characters from the movie. As you walk around the museum, taking in all the memorabilia, scenes and sounds from the original filming plays on screens, giving you a behind the camera look at the making of the movie.

In an undercover outdoor area, some of the crazy, imaginative vehicles used in the movie are there to view as well as some of the menacing looking characters dreamt up by the creators.

 Mind you I did think these days they are less scary and had more of a bondage store meets taxidermist vibe. 🙂

It will be interesting to see what the 2022 version of Mad Max will look like when it is released.

Enjoy the trippy dippy journey to Silverton, but do take it carefully, on our way back to Broken Hill we passed an older caravan which had dropped a wheel, and was literally sitting on three wheels while the owner was looking in the scrub for the fourth.

We established they were ok before continuing on and were soon passed by a tow truck on its way to pick up the van.

Enjoy the journey and stay safe,

Glenys