Tuesday 6 October 2015

At Burra SA, Historic Town.

Burra SA.
It's a well kept historic town with the Burra Creek flowing through it.
A pastoral centre and an old mining town.  Once Burra mines supplied 89% of South Australia's and 5% of the world's copper for 15 years.  Copper was discovered here in 1845 and mining began in 1848.  Miners and townspeople migrated to Burra mainly from Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Germany.  The mine first closed in 1877, opened again early in the 20th century and for the last time from 1970 to 1981.
Of course the populations shrank and today it's a sweet little town.




The footbridge across the Burra Creek to the little caravan park and the miner's cottages.


Miners Cottages now accommodation places.




The Catholic Church. St. Joseph's






One of the Hotels.


Something different outside one of the shops.

34 comments:

  1. Just adorable. I love little towns like this, and especially if they have been maintained and restored. We were in a little copper mining town in Arizona a couple of years ago, and had such an enjoyable time. Love the little creek and viaduct.

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    1. They are sweet towns with much history, all of which I haven't documented.

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  2. Those first two shots, especially, are just beautiful! I came here from Linda Kay's website. :-) - Judy

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  3. The river with its attractive bridge looks really lovely with the blue sky and the beautiful reflections

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    1. Rosemary, It would have been much improved if that bank hadn't been there.....oh well.

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  4. It looks a truly delightful place. Quieter and cleaner than when the mining was going on. Interesting that it was originally populated partly by immigrants from Cornwell, where mining was such a tradition...
    Love the emus.

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    1. Must have been a very busy place in it's day. It's cold there in the winter though.

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  5. Burra has such a fascinating history. The miners who came when copper was discovered - lived
    in their national close-knit areas and even had their OWN cemeteries. The underground tunnel "homes"
    along the creek bed has a sad and fateful history.
    The Historical Society of Burra has done an excellent job in their record keeping, photographs, and mapping of town.
    One of the huge mine pits is now used to train divers for undersea research and rescue missions!
    And the pubs - 3 I think - all serve excellent counter lunches with a very good choice list.
    Cheers
    Colin

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    1. The town is a credit to it's people Colin, if not for them I'm sure the town would be passed by by many people.

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  6. It is a place of particular charm.

    I like the reflections in the water of the first image and the facade of the church.

    Kisses

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    1. I went inside the church on our last visit to Burra but it was so dark that photos didn't come out very well at all.

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  7. The footbridge reflecting in the water is stunning. You picked a beautiful time of day to be out taking photos.

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    1. When travelling it's not always possible to be up at sunrise to take photos or sunsets for that matter....lucky I was only in short walking distance to take these shots.

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  8. It is a town of substance and appears well looked after. I had to check where it is and it's not so far from Adelaide.

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    1. The town is well kept, even where the old mine is ok....

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  9. Margaret your miners house are completely different from ours. The town lloks nice . I love your bridge impressive and fantastic

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    1. Some miners cottages are separate but along similar lines.

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  10. Our little towns have so much history. There are stories behind each and every one of them just waiting to be told.

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    1. That is very true. We don't always know that story, that's the trouble as a lot of those great stories die with the aged.

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  11. Wow what a bloody great looking town there are some amazing little towns around the country

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    1. There are Jo-Anne, so many of them that are near abandoned these days.

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  12. Love that bridge reflection! The miners cottages are constructed similarly to shearers quarters, except the shearers quarters are usually corrugated iron and quite hot in summer.
    I like the emus outside that shop. Burra looks like a nice quiet place. Not too far from Adelaide either. Bit too far for a day trip though.

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    1. A lot of places are made of corrugated iron. One of my cousins lives in such a house in Darwin, many are like that in the top end.

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  13. It is such a well-kept old town and I would love to stay in the hotel. The emus are fun and I'm sure they attract some attention for the shop. I can't quite make out what their bodies are made of though.

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    1. The emus took my eye. I can't recall what the body was made of...

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  14. Oh M your blog is so interesting to me way over here. I may never see these sights but you are taking me there. Thank you my friend. What a wonderful journey you are having. I am so happy for you and B. xo hugs. G

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  15. Hello Margaret,
    Very nice pictures of all these special houses.
    The shot of the hotel is very great. Funny animals!!

    Many greetings,
    Marco

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