 The town sprang up after the discovery of rich silver deposits, although it was soon eclipsed by an even richer silver-lead-zinc ore body at nearby Broken Hill.The town is often referred to as a ghost town; however, there remains a small permanent population and mainly tourist related businesses.The earliest human settlers in the area are thought to be the Wiljakali Aborigines, although this was probably only intermittent due to lack of permanent water sources.