It's a Broken Hill staple, but what are the origins of the classic side dish?

Cheese slaw as it's served now at takeaway places in Broken Hill. (ABC Local:Alexandra Back)

This is controversial, but the earliest mention of cheese slaw on Trove, a digital newspaper search engine, is in a December 1939 edition of the Townsville Daily Bulletin.

The recipe for "ham and cheese slaw" calls for two cups of cooked ham cut in julienne strips, one cup cubed cheese, three cups of crisp shredded cabbage, one cup mayonnaise, one tablespoon lemon juice and two tablespoons of mustard. Salt and pepper to taste.

From there, the humble side went from strength to culinary strength.

It featured twice in the Australian Women's Weekly, once in 1946 and again in 1966. In the former the cabbage is cooked rather than eaten raw and in the latter, the editors add the gourmet touch of caraway seeds and cottage cheese.

In later years on recipe websites, the salad pops up in southern American style, repurposed as a hot dog dressing with blue cheese.

But some in Broken Hill say the Silver City's claim as the birthplace of cheese slaw is not diminished by these faux-slaws.

"See, that's a completely different recipe," said Christine Reiss, referring to the ham and cheese slaw published in the Townsville newspaper.

"The basic recipe of Broken Hill was just carrot, cheese and mayo."

Ms Reiss is a co-owner of Rag's Takeaway and has owned takeaway shops in the far west city for 18 years. She is adamant that it was here in Broken Hill where cheese slaw was first consumed.

At her place, a Broken Hill institution where the chips are saltier than sea water, cheese slaw has been served by owner after owner, until the eponymous Ragenovich "Rag's" Brothers.

They didn't serve cheese slaw, said Ms Reiss, but the Argent Milk Bar did.

Former local Dianne O'Reilly also remembers the Argent Milk Bar's "heavenly" cheese slaw toasted sandwich, which she says they served as early as the 1960s.

But earlier memories than that of the salad in Broken Hill are limited to family lunches in the 1930s and 40s when the "rellies" would come round for Sunday roast.

"We didn't call it cheese slaw, we just called it cheese and carrot," said Geraldine Channing. "You had to make your own mayonnaise."

Mrs Channing was born in the mid-1940s and says her mum was grating cheese and carrots for the salad since before she can remember. Joy Welsh, who was born in 1930, says she also remembers her mum making it from very early on, but neither can remember it being served in Broken Hill cafes and milk bars until much later.

So, it's possible the dish did originate in Broken Hill family kitchens, but wasn't formalised in milk bars and cafes until the second half of last century.

Here in Broken Hill in 2015, the side is ingrained in the local diet, where it most often accompanies a barbecued chook and hot chips from the local takeaway. The cheddar cheese is grated into thick, matchstick type pieces.

"It's beautiful," said Ms Reiss of the dish. "Put it this way, my customers [think so]."

"[People will] buy a cheese slaw and they'll pour it over the top, and the cheese melts into the fillet, chips and gravy."

Your move, Townsville.