Burns, New South Wales
Burns, New South Wales is a former small village, now comprising only two houses and a roadside café, in the Unincorporated Far West of New South Wales.[1] It was established as the transfer point for rail freight vehicles between the Silverton Tramway and the South Australian Railways, necessitated by the New South Wales Government's refusal to allow South Australian trains to operate in its state.[2]: 2–3 Cockburn, immediately over the border, was the corresponding transfer point in South Australia.
The Barrier Highway, main Sydney-to-Adelaide railway line and the now defunct Silverton Tramway, all pass within 100 metres (110 yards) of Burns.[3]
The topography is flat and sparsely vegetated. The district has a Köppen climate classification of BWh desert.
History
Burns is located on the traditional lands of the Wiljali people.[4]
The township was laid out as a grid of five by six streets, but due to the location and harsh environment it never developed beyond a small village of railway employee houses. When the Silverton Tramway was closed in 1970, all but two of the houses were either sold in situ or removed and sold at a more accessible place.[2]: 246
Burns was the location of an astronomical station.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Map of the County of Yancowinna, Western Division N.S.W., Land District of Willyama". Original published in Sydney, New South Wales. Digital reproduction published in Canberra: National Library of Australia – Trove digital archive. 1964. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ a b Roberts, Lew E. (1995). Rails to wealth: a history of the Silverton Tramway Company Limited, Broken Hill's railway service. Melbourne: L.E. Roberts. ISBN 0646265873.
- ^ "Cockburn SA" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ Horton, David R. (1996). "Map of Indigenous Australia". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Retrieved 27 January 2025.