World Heritage bid for historic South Australian Cornish mining sites

The two historic landscapes located in the Mid-North and Yorke Peninsula regions of South Australia offer outstanding universal value and are unparalleled in showing the first major transfer of Cornish hard-rock mining and Welsh smelting technology across the world in the 1840s.

The addition is supported by the Regional Council of Goyder, Copper Coast Council, National Trust of South Australia and the South Australian Government to help ensure the protection and preservation of the mines and their distinctive high-pressure steam engine houses, which are recognised as icons of Cornish mining technology and industrial architecture.

Tentative Listing is the first step in the World Heritage nomination process, providing international recognition at the highest level.

The nominated sites join the Cultural Landscapes of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland and Murujuga in Western Australia on Australia’s Tentative World Heritage List.

Heritage SA Manager Beverley Voigt said it was wonderful to see the sites recognised.

"The Burra and Moonta Cornish mine sites are two incredible examples of early deep mining practices and the use of steam power," Ms Voigt said.

"These mines help to showcase our state's industrial history and a World Heritage listing would help to protect and preserve the sites for generations to come."

Australian places on the World Heritage List include the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Naracoorte Caves), Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Macquarie Island, the Sydney Opera House and the Great Barrier Reef.