Broken Hill in far western NSW has become the first city in Australia to be included on the National Heritage List.
"Broken Hill has a rich and colourful history virtually unmatched by any city in regional Australia," Minister for Western NSW Kevin Humphries said as he paid a visit to the mining town on Tuesday.
Mr Humphries was joined by Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt as they declared the city the latest addition to the list, because of its outstanding heritage significance to Australia.
Home to the world's richest deposit of silver, lead and zinc and once NSW's second-largest settlement, the town's population peaked about 30,000 in the 1960s but has since shrank to about 18,000, representing just 0.2 per cent of the Gross State Product (GSP).
Locals hope the impending heritage listing will jumpstart the region's tourism industry.
Broken Hill tour operator Michael McCulkin, who moved to the Silver City in 1991, says the listing will go a long way in making the area more alluring to tourists.
"This is a big feather in our cap when it comes to making Broken Hill a drawcard," Mr McCulkin told AAP.
"I certainly think it will create an increased awareness and possibly be just one of the other incentives to travel here."
The resource-rich town was founded in 1883 and is home of the world's largest mining company Broken Hill Proprietary, now known as BHP Billiton, as well as one of the springs of Australia's union movement.
Broken Hill mayor Wincen Cuy said it was a proud moment for the community as environment minister Greg Hunt bestowed the honour on the town after a 10-year campaign.
"Blood, sweat, tears and very good times have been part and parcel of our history. And while today's announcement looks at our past - our National Heritage Listing is now very much about our future," he said at the ceremony.
"Our past is our future. We do have a great story to tell."
Broken Hill joins other Australian icons on the Heritage List including The Great Barrier Reef, Bondi Beach and Kakadu National Park.
