Ross Howse has been welcoming visitors to the Silver City since 2017 when he became a volunteer heritage walk tour guide.
Mr Howse had continued to host walking guides weekly, except for missing some time during the COVID pandemic, and is known to fill in when another guide is sick or otherwise absent.
A 4th generation local and a 4th generation miner, he recalls how his great grandfather came to Broken Hill from Burra, and how his family remained in Broken Hill ever since.
Reflecting on a 50-year mining career, Mr Howse said that “I’m not a big history buff, but we have so much fantastic history to learn.”
Quirky pieces of history, such as the amount of wealth Broken Hill generated in its early days, to the fact that arguably one of the great companies in Australia, BHP, was founded here, are stories which Mr Howse believes should be shared with fellow visitors.
Another quirky piece of history that Mr Howse recounts to the visitors is the fact that “we were a completely unionised town, and this went on for a long period of time until the 1970s.”
He added that the degree of power and influence the unions exercised over Broken Hill was unique, and visitors are often surprised when they learn of the extent of the unions’ historical influence.
With all this information to share Mr Howse reminisced that “I appreciated what I’ve got out of the town. I thought to myself, why not put something back into the place?”
“It’s very rewarding because the visitors are often surprised with the stories about Broken Hill. It’s quite an eye-opener for them,” he added.
Aside from volunteering as a guide, Mr Howse is an avid golf-player, telling the Truth he has played the sport all his life, and currently plays twice a week.
“I was [also] heavily into clay target shooting, and I still do it occasionally,” he mentioned, noting that he now travels interstate regularly in his caravan in his spare time.
For those considering becoming a volunteer guide, Mr Howse offered his encouragement because “you actually learn more history about the place as people ask you things, so you go home and look it up and research.”
He concluded by commenting that the experience “is very rewarding because visitors are all very nice, and I’ve never had any trouble with anyone, they are all relaxed.”
For those who are interested in learning more about volunteering with Visitor Services, please call Patrick Kreitner, the coordinator, on 8080 3571.
