I find it interesting that Australia does not yet have a dedicated mining heritage site inscribed on the World Heritage list. This is surprising given how mining shaped Australia's economic history and its importance in global trade, particularly during the 19th and 20th centuries. We visited this site on a hot sunny day in December 2025, as part of a day trip from Adelaide which also featured wineries and beaches.

Getting the keys

Burra was pretty much the first mining town in Australia and in mid-19th century, it was Australia's largest inland town. To be more accurate of what it was at its peak, Burra was the name for a collection of town which included Kooringa, Redruth, and Hampton. Most of the miners were Cornish and thus used Cornish mining technologies to extract the vast deposits of copper. Burra was known to be the "Monster Mine" at the time, and mining operations gave heaps of wealth to the then British province of South Australia. The discovery of gold in other parts of Australia had contributed to the eventual decline of the town.

We arrived in Burra after a two-hour drive from Adelaide. The dry heat, dusty roads, and pesky flies instantly gave the town a Wild West feel. To visit Burra’s mining and other heritage sites, you first need to stop at the Burra & Goyder Visitor Information Centre to purchase a Burra Heritage Passport, collect the guidebook (entitled Discovering Historic Burra) and get the keys to several locations. This setup makes touring the sites entirely self-guided and self-paced.

Tour of the Monster Mine

I told the cheerful lady at the Visitor Centre that we were keen to visit the mining sites. She gave us a map of the town and recommended which sites to visit and the driving route to take. While we focused our visit on mining sites (listed below, visited in sequence), the town has also other buildings of interest such as the Town Hall, the former Telegraph Station and Post Office, and the St Joseph's Catholic Church.

• Bon Accord Mine Complex - This former mine office and workshop, now a small museum, is ideally the first stop on the tour, as the excellent guide welcomed us with an informative overview of the mining town’s history and layout. However, take note of the operating hours of the museum as it only opens within a few hours and varies depending on the day. The museum contains lots of exhibits, ranging from workers' tools, larger mining equipment, minecarts, and vehicles. The shaft of the Bon Accord mine is housed in the pump shed.
• Burra Mine Historic Site - This would perhaps be the highlight of your visit, as it preserves the remains of Burra's old mining operations. You would need the key to open the gate to the site and some of the buildings. We checked out, among others, the Morphetts enginehouse, the dressing tower (in ruins) and some of the surrounding chimneys (such as in the photo above). We also visited the Burra Lookout, which offered a panoramic view of the town and mine area. The standout feature is, of course, the open-cut mine with its striking emerald-green water (see photo below).
• Redruth Gaol - What’s an early Australian town without a prison? For some reason, this gaol (see photo at the bottom) gave me the creeps, but I reckon it was worth a quick visit. You’ll need the key to open the main door.
• Hampton Village - This site felt more like a cluster of crumbling walls and floors, almost like an abandoned housing complex. Access also requires a key, but I didn’t linger long due to the oppressive heat and lack of shade.

Before heading home

We finished visiting the sites in just a couple of hours and went back to the Visitor Centre to return the keys. We could've explored more but we decided to end the tour as we had to charge our vehicle. On the way back to Adelaide we stopped at a winery in Barossa Valley, which is perhaps Australia's best wine region and specialises in reds. Another wine region near Burra is Clare Valley, which is known for its sweet Riesling, and definitely another option for oenophiles. Another tentative UNESCO WHS--the Flinders Ranges--is just a 4 hour drive from Burra.