Days 8 and 9 Burra

28 May


Burra is a charming little town nestled in the folds of the aptly named Bald Hills Range in South Australia.  It is a friendly place where you can enjoy chatting to strangers while standing in the sunshine on a street corner.  It is quiet and peaceful without much passing traffic.  It does have its fair share of coffee shops and cafes and I have to say, the coffee is good.  A lady we got talking to recommended a particular bakery, so we tried it out today.  Great pies and even better cornish pasties; try it out if you ever come to Burra.

The town owes its existence to the discovery of copper ore in 1845.  Mining operations soon got going.  These operations were based extensively on the skill and experience of copper miners from Cornwall in the UK.  Not only did Cornwall provide the human resources, but the mining practices and the machinery.  The town that is now Burra started life as Australia's first company owned mining town.

At its peak, the mine produced 5 % of the world's copper and saved the infant colony of South Australia from certain bankruptcy.  The mine is within easy driving distance of the town, in fact, you could walk there in a short time which, of course, the miners did.  The mine began as a traditional shaft and tunnel underground mine. However, in the 1870's it changed to the then revolutionary method of open cut mining.  The original pit reached a depth of only 35 metres before it became uneconomic to carry out further mining and most mining activity stopped in 1877.  In 1971 the pit was reactivated and mining was carried out for another ten years, over which time the pit was deepened to 100 metres.  Today, the bottom 50 metres are flooded.

Fortunately for Burra, by the time mining originally stopped the town had become the service centre for the surrounding pastoral and agricultural industry which by then was well under way.  This, plus its growing reputation as a tourist attraction, seems to have ensured its future.

The local visitor's centre runs a very informative self-guided tour of the mine museum and of many other points of historical interest in and around Burra.  Several of the places on the tour require entry by key.  This is provided by the visitor centre for a fee of $25 ($20 for seniors) when you sign up for the tour.  It does not take long to complete, it holds your interest and is well worth the money.

Before, I forget, I have to tell you about the most curious sight of the day.  As we were driving up to the Bon Accord Mining Museum, we came across a group of kangaroos in someone's front yard.  These kangaroos were pure white!  I presume they were albinos, certainly I had never seen white kangaroos.

No, he is not dead, he is just enjoying a nap after lunch with the sun on his tummy

And now for an update regarding the car air conditioning.  The Alice Springs Hyundai dealer told me that I would be better off waiting until we get to Darwin and have it done there.  So that is what we are doing.  The parts manager at the dealership thinks that it will be possible to have the part delivered from Korea in two or three weeks.  There is only one problem, we won't be in Darwin until 1 July.  We will just have to suck it up until then.

Tomorrow we are off the Port Augusta.  The main thing in the itinerary once we get there is shopping for food and groceries.

Here are a few more photos of Burra.

Burra in its valley in the Bald Hills

Burra Market Square

The Rotunda in the Market Square

St Joseph's Catholic Church

The Doctor's House, now a private residence

Paxton Square miner's cottages.  These company-owned cottages were rented to the miners at 3/- per week.  A significant amount when the average weekly wage for an experienced miner was about 25/-.

Mine ruins

Poldark watchers will see the similarities here