Cockburn also known as Cockburn-Burns is a town on the border of South Australia and New South Wales near Broken Hill. The town population consists of roughly 25 people with a greater regional community of 180 as of 2005. The huge ore deposits discovered in Silverton prompted the South Australian Government in 1884 to offer to the New South Wales (NSW) Government the building of a narrow gauge railway line from the NSW-SA border to Silverton. This was seen to be necessary since horse drawn transport could not cope with the transport of the ore through South Australia. This offer was rejected by the NSW Government.