Image credits: Visit Burra
With a Burra Heritage Passport Key, you can visit most of Burra’s rich mining heritage sites. As a State Heritage-listed town, Burra provides a fascinating insight into early settlement life in South Australia.
The Passport follows an 11 kilometre trail around the town and its surroundings, allowing tourists to visit several sites which are not ordinarily open to the public.
The Monster Mine is likely the most popular attraction, where Passport-holders can see exactly where all the action took place. At its peak between 1845 and 1877, nearly 50,000 tonnes of copper were extracted from the mine.
With a Passport, visitors can also unlock the old miners’ dugouts, which served as residences during the unprecedented arrival of thousands of miners in the 1840s. Miners dug cave-like dwellings into the banks of the Burra Creek so they could live rent free while working in the Monster Mine.
Remarkably, most of the history, which dates back to the early 1840s, is still intact, and is open for the public to visit.
The Redruth Gaol provides another fascinating insight into early life in South Australia, serving as the state’s first gaol outside of Adelaide. Here, tourists can see some interesting excerpts of its history, such as criminal records, doctor’s journals, and even an escapee list.
An interactive experience is also available. By downloading the Discover Goyder app, visitors to Burra can collect clues at each heritage site, and attempt to solve a mystery.
Only a two hour drive from Adelaide, you could take a day trip to see the sites, but Burra is best explored over two days. On-theme accommodation is available in the Paxton Square cottages, where you can experience a Victorian era-style stay, with modern comforts.
Burra Heritage Passport pricing ranges between $15 and $30, with children under 15 years free.
To purchase a Passport, head into the Visitor Information Centre at 2 Market Square, Burra. It’s open from 9am-5pm, seven days a week.
Find out more about Burra and the Passports here.
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