5th to 6th Mar - Burra

We continued down RM William Way towards Burra.  Through Jamestown, where we discovered that Reginald Murray Williams was born here in 24/05/1908.  After a hard start to working life, Reg commenced in leather working - saddle bags, boots in a shed down the back of his dad's house in Adelaide.   He then went on to earn a good living from the gold fields of Tennant Creek NT, then headed to Qld, where he was heavily involved with the Aust Stockmans Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre in Longreach, he died in 2003 aged 95. 

We had to have a drink for RMW at the Commercial, nice chicken burger for lunch too.  We missed the turn off and did a scenic drive to Burra via couple little country towns and Hallett.   This is a big wind farm area, the big white fans went for miles.

Leaving Jamestown

Funny enough when we got to Burra, we ran into Gary and Pat (Ural riders) we met at Wilpena Pound – see ya guys, probably won’t run into them again this trip.  But then again you never know. 

Gary and Pat leaving Burra

We got our pass port key from the tourist info, this allows access to 8 heritage sites/buildings around town and you get a booklet and map – the 11km heritage trail also includes 3 museums.   Burra has a big mining history, it’s great to see a lot of the buildings etc., preserved under the National Heritage Register.

Look closely to see little "Johnny Green" - miner's mascot at top of tower

Morphett's Enginehouse - now restored as museum

We visited the Morphett’s Enginehouse Museum located at the site of the “Monster Mine”  the largest metal producing mine in Australia up until 1860.   A lot of the workers back then come from Cornwall in England.   The Cornish were instrumental in providing the mining infrastructure including equipment and a lot of the manpower to operate the copper mine.  Back then young boys 7-11 yrs of age would work in the mines operating the horse driven turntable, taking the buckets up and down from the mine shafts.  It was either fork out money to send your kids to school or get them working which a lot parents opted to do.  Once turned 12 the boys then worked as adults, doing adult work for adult wages and conditions.  If you were a working 12 year old lad, you could also legally drink alcohol.     Wow how times have changed.

A hunka hunka copper mined from the Monster Mine

The Monster Mine today, beautiful colored water!  Leased out for diving exercises these days

They say that the heritage trail takes about 2-3 hours to complete plus extra time for the museums.  We were pushed to get it all done in one day, starting at 9.30 in the morning.  The museums were all very interesting, other points we found quite good were the Redruth Gaol, after closing in 1897, it become a girls’ reformatory until 1922.  Gees didn’t those girls play up, you wouldn’t think it way back when.  The small township of Hampton was just a big ruins, once home to 30 miners’ cottages and a chapel, it was virtually abandoned in the 1920’s with the last resident leaving in the 1960’s.



Our first albino roo!  In the burbs of Burra

Redruth Goal, also venue for B&S Balls in the 80's - now that would be a hoot! 

Hampton  ruins, not much left of this community....

Unicorn Brewery Cellars is just over the road from the van park we are staying at, so that was one of the last stops for the day.  Built in 1873 when there were 9 hotels in the town, it was forced to close in 1902 when new licensing laws would have made the plant obsolete.   The mainstay of the premises was demolished for stone in 1911, leaving just one building plus the cellars to wander through and wonder about how it was back then.

In the deep dark cellars of the brewery, not a drop to be had

A bit of fun in the park across the road from the ........

Burra school, this is a big joint

We saw miners’ dugouts in Coober Pedy, but what we saw here was amazing, dugouts in the banks of Burra Creek.  Due to the rapid influx on miners and the housing shortage, miners dug their own “digs” back in 1846, being rent free and close to water.  By 1851 about 1800 people lived in 600 dugouts along the creek, however we all know what happens when it rains, yep the floods come and by 1960 the dugouts were virtually deserted.    Quite an interesting day out in Burra.   Lots of antique shops here also to explore.   Had a drink in a few of the old pubs and you can’t leave Burra without having a Cornish pastie. 



They bred 'em tough way back when....

Yep we are lovin' our little trailer right now.....