Moonta Mines Railway, South Australia, Australia
Interested in Cornish copper mining history and heritage - then welcome to the National Trust of South Australia Moonta Branch! Moonta forms a unique and important part of the Cornish mining heritage of Australia, and a visit to Moonta and the Moonta Mines State Heritage Area will ensure an educational and informative experience whatever your interests. Moonta is situated on Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, approximately a two hour drive north from Adelaide's CBD. In the mid 1800s it had the richest copper mines in the country. Falling copper prices caused closure of most of them in 1923 but fortunately much of the infrastructure remained. The Moonta Branch of National Trust SA was established in 1964 to preserve the local mining history, buildings and artifacts and to conserve the heritage listed Moonta Mines area for future generations. From humble beginnings the branch has grown to become one of the largest in SA and its dedicated band of volunteers now look after seven different venues. The town derives its name from a word of the local Narrunga aboriginal people, moonta-monterra, meaning thick impenetrable scrub. Copper was discovered in 1861 by shepherd Paddy Ryan, on a pastoral lease owned by Walter Watson Hughes. He was paid a reward of £6 per week for discovering the copper, but was dead in 9 months from alcoholic poisoning. Cornish miners were recruited from Burra Burra, Kapunda, the Victorian Goldfields and from Cornwall to work in the mines. The mines closed in 1923 for economic reasons; the price of copper fell after the First World War and it was costing the Company £14 more per ton to mine it than they were getting at the smelter. Early Problems There was no reticulated water to the area until 1890 when a pipeline from the Beetaloo Reservoir in the lower Flinders Ranges was commissioned. Until then the people relied on rainfall, company built dams and soaks in the sand hills at Nalyappa. This water was sold to the miners.
Size: 7400px × 3700px
Location: 34-35 Milne Terrace, Moonta,
Photo credit: © Alexander Kondakov / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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