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Burra State Heritage Area

Location

The mid-north town of Burra is located approximately 160 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, along the Barrier Highway. The settlement has developed around the Burra Creek and lies nestled in a valley surrounded by bare rolling hills - the trees long ago used to fuel the mine's smelters.

In recognition of Burra's outstanding value as an historic place, the entire town has been designated as the Burra State Heritage Area. The precinct consists of a number of distinct nineteenth century elements, including the Burra Mines and Smelts site, the Bon Accord Mine site, and the former villages of Kooringa, Redruth, Llwchwr, Aberdeen and Hampton.

View Public Notice (250Kb PDF).

Significance

The Burra State Heritage Area, declared on 28 January 1993, encompasses one of Australia's earliest, largest and best-preserved nineteenth century mining towns. The declaration acknowledges the Burra copper mine's significant contribution to South Australia's early prosperity and the town's later development as a major service centre for agriculture and pastoralism in the State's mid-north.

Burra Jinker, Market Street north of Square

Burra's magnificent collection of historic nineteenth century buildings provides evidence of the work and lifestyles of this early mining community and of its later development as a significant mid-north service town. The mine site, and the townships that later amalgamated to become Burra, present the earliest examples of Cornish mining and domestic architecture in South Australia. Paxton Square and cottages in Thames Street, for example, were amongst the first company housing in Australia, while the powder magazine is one of the country's earliest mining structures still in existence.

Burra's importance within the State's early history lies in its major contribution to South Australia's economic recovery during the 1840s and 1850s, and in the impetus of the mine for immigration, transportation and further settlement.

The discovery of copper in 1845, and the subsequent development of the 'Monster Mine', brought an enormous boost to the fledgling colony's flagging economy. Burra became a thriving mining community, which for 15 years was the largest mine in Australia, and one of the world's great copper producers. By 1850 Burra was Australia's largest inland settlement, with a population around 5 000.

The value of the copper mined at Burra contributed markedly to the development of the whole colony. Sir Henry Ayers, Secretary of the South Australian Mining Association and seven times State Premier, claimed that all of South Australia was directly or indirectly employed by the Burra Mines during its hey-day.

Paxton Square cottages

From about 1870, when copper production was dwindling, Burra became increasingly a service centre for the expanding agricultural and pastoral industries in South Australia's mid-north, and experienced renewed growth and development. The rise of a successful merino industry made Burra and its hinterland one of the acknowledged centres of Australian sheep-breeding and brought further prosperity for the town.

A Brief History

Copper ore was discovered near Burra Burra creek in June 1845 and, before the end of the year, the South Australian Mining Association had established its 'Monster Mine' in the region. During its first six years nearly 80 000 tonnes of rich ore were shipped to England to be smelted, boosting South Australia's flagging economy and making the colony the most prosperous in Australia.

Panoramic view of the Burra Copper Mines
1870 (approx)
Photo B 4150: State Library of SA

The mine employed more than 1 000 men and boys, most of them Cornish. From 1849 smelting was done on-site by the Patent Copper Company, who brought the smelters from Wales. The ore was initially carted to Port Wakefield by bullocks, and later by teams of mules. By 1860 Burra was recognised as the second largest producer of copper in the world.

Production declined after 1860 and eventually, in 1867, underground mining ceased. From 1870, until the mine's closure in 1877, it was worked by an open-cut system, but this proved unprofitable. Between 1845 and 1877 the Burra 'Monster Mine' had produced about 50 000 tonnes of copper metal, valued at approximately £5,000,000.

Commercial Sreet, Kooringa 1900
Photo B 27684: State Library of SA

The town of Burra began in 1846 as the company settlement of Kooringa. As the population and the demand for freehold land increased, other villages were surveyed further north. These settlements - Redruth, Llwchwr, Aberdeen and Hampton - reflected the cultures of the various immigrants who flocked to the Burra Mine. In 1876 the individual townships were formed into the Corporation of the Town of Burra, but retained their identity until 1940, when the name Burra was adopted.

From the 1870s, when copper production ceased and the town's population declined, Burra developed as a service town for the district's rapidly expanding agricultural and pastoral industries. New public buildings appeared, but much of Burra's mining era was retained. Today Burra attracts attention as a cultural tourist destination, displaying a unique mix of mining heritage and well-preserved nineteenth century architecture.

Read a more detailed version of Burra's history (50Kb PDF) or visit the website of the Burra History Group.

Historic Character

Burra today is a vibrant community offering one of Australia's finest historic precincts. The town retains many mid-nineteenth century buildings and structures, from the years when the Burra mine was one of the world's great copper producers. It also displays many later Victorian buildings reflecting the town's secondary role as a regional centre for agriculture, pastoralism and local government.

It is the combination of the mining and post-mining heritage that is Burra's total character. When the mines declined in the 1870s, and Burra became a service town for northern agriculture and pastoralism, shops, flour mills, commercial premises, government offices, dwellings and civic buildings developed rapidly. These joined with the structures of the mining boom to make Burra an exceptionally large nineteenth century town.

Burra was not developed as one town though, but as a group of villages with their own identity, character, shops and facilities. The South Australian Mining Association controlled the town of Kooringa, the government developed Redruth, and other settlements including Aberdeen, Llwchwr and Hampton were privately surveyed. The village names, and their layout and design, reflect the cultural diversity of Burra's colonial settlers. Experienced miners, smelters, labourers, tradesmen and businessmen flocked to Burra from Cornwall, Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland and Germany. There were also Chinese market gardeners and Chilean muleteers. Many brought their families and attempted to preserve a familiar lifestyle. The cultural diversity of Burra's early days is evident in the street names and the distinctive architectural styles that developed in the original villages.

Tivers Row, Truro Street

Burra's built environment is clearly derived from the two historical phases of its development. The mining phase from 1845-1877 gave rise to the mining and industrial architecture at the Burra and Bon Accord mine sites, and provided the impetus for both company and private housing, much of which was timber and has not survived. Many of the stone cottages that remain (such as Paxton Square and Tiver's Row) are based on company housing in Cornish towns, and are some of the oldest buildings remaining in Burra. The architecture of this era mostly followed the 'Old World' models, with designs coming unaltered from Europe. Many of the early structures, for example, do not have verandahs.

The later agricultural and pastoral phase brought a new prosperity, which stimulated the use of Australian colonial architecture. This style is particularly evident in the buildings of the commercial core of Kooringa, at Commercial Street and Market Square, in public buildings such as the Town Hall and the school, and in the gracious hillside houses with spreading verandahs.

Bon Accord Mine Offices

One important element in Burra's architecture is the distinctive use of rich, local bluestone that gives a unifying effect to many buildings, regardless of their form or age.

Burra's built heritage remains largely intact, thanks to a caring community and the efforts of the National Trust. This historic town is now one of South Australia's best-conserved reminders of industry and every day life in the nineteenth century. While the town's economy is now linked to the surrounding agricultural and pastoral communities, its copper heritage is evident everywhere. The town's character has become a key in the success of a developing local industry - tourism. Today many people in Burra interpret heritage sites for visitors or provide services and facilities specifically targeting the cultural heritage tourism market.

Features

Kooringa Bridge, Burra Creek

The town of Burra (and thus the Burra State Heritage Area) can be viewed as two distinct precincts, linked by the Burra Creek, the main road (Market Street) and the topography of the valley. The Burra Mines Site and remnant structures to the west, and the Burra Smelts Site across the creek on the eastern boundary, separate the two precincts and have ensured that development has not linked the townships over the years.

One area is the old Kooringa township (the company town to the south), which includes early company housing, Market Square, a section of the Burra Creek Dugouts, and residences and commercial and civic buildings of the post-mining era.

Hampton township ruins and quarry

The other area, Burra North, encompasses the former government and private settlements of Redruth and Aberdeen. It includes original terrace houses and rows of cottages built and occupied by mines and smelts workers, as well as the original courthouse, police station and gaol and later Victorian dwellings. The railway station is also located in this section, and the ruins of the Hampton township are located on the State Heritage Area's north-eastern boundary.

The Burra State Heritage Area brochure (250Kb PDF), provides a good summary and map of Burra's main built heritage features.

The Burra Jinker

Burra Jinker, Market Street

A discussion of Burra's attractions is not complete without mention of the Burra Jinker displayed near Market Square. This massive 'cart' was purpose-built to transport the mine's huge beam-engines (imported from Cornwall) from Port Adelaide to Burra. The epic journey, using 36 oxen, took two months and is a part of South Australian folklore. The Burra Jinker was one of eight South Australian items listed on the 2001 BankSA Heritage Icons List.

State Heritage Places

Market Square, Burra

The Burra State Heritage Area includes 70 State Heritage Places that are entered in the South Australian Heritage Register. These places are a mix of privately-owned dwellings, commercial businesses, National Trust properties, civic and government buildings, hotels, churches, bridges, mining structures and more. View full list (50Kb PDF).

More detailed information about each of these places, and their significance to both Burra and South Australia, is included within the following:

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