The regional schistosity at Broken Hill, previously regarded as a single fabric element, has been separated into three overprinting elements—one of high meta‐morphic grade (S1), one of variable grade (S2), and one consistently retrograde (S3). S1and S2make up by far the majority of occurrences mapped to date. A new descriptive terminology is introduced to take account of this complexity. Extensive metamorphic crystallization has taken place during the first two periods of schistosity formation (F1, F2), and the distribution of metamorphic assemblages is thus partly controlled by the extent to which F1assemblages have been modified by F2, and the variable grade of F2. A regional retrograde schistosity can locally be shown to be S2, although it is sometimes superposed on F2structures and is then classified as S3.