Broken Hill Music on Oxide St, the Silver City’s only music store, is up for sale, with Manager Peter Harvey looking to call time after 37 years of overseeing the successful and well-established business.
First opening in August 1986 at 3 Chloride St (now the Town Square), the shop moved a further three times before settling in its current location 10 years ago.
The story of Mr Harvey’s involvement would be one of luck, originally applying for a position at Regent Music in Adelaide. While he was unsuccessful, Owner-Manager Ron Harrison decided to open a store in Broken Hill and asked Mr Harvey to run it.
In May 1989, Mr Harvey and his wife Chris bought the shop from Mr Harrison and have owned Broken Hill Music ever since. But now, Mr Harvey says it’s time to step back.
“It’s one of those things where you look and think, ‘well, do we keep carrying on or is it time to step back?’. I’m in reasonable health. I don’t want to drop off the planet too soon. I’m getting on in years so it’s time to step back and maybe go fishing or something”, he told us.
The one-stop shop for high quality instruments, hire equipment, and sheet music, Mr Harvey says it’s been an integral business to have in town, outlining the benefits of owning the store and hopes someone can continue the history of the place.
“There’s a lot of good stock here which and we’ve got a lot of good hire equipment which, hence this weekend we’re doing some stuff for the Broken Heel Festival – not the main stage but a few parts like Town Square and inside The Palace Hotel itself.
“[The store is] an important thing because a lot of the small towns and music shops have drifted away or closed down and it’s a matter of then going online and buying things where at least if you’ve got a local music shop, you can walk in, pick the instrument up, look at it, play it – you can see what you’re getting.
“To me, that’s maybe one of the best things that you can do is have it, see it, play it, like it, take it.”
If you’re interested in purchasing Broken Hill Music, contact Anne Simmons on 08 8088 6041.
