First stop, the historic town of Burra

Burra is a beautiful old town, with heaps of history, old buildings and beautiful gardens.    

Burra is approximately 164 km north east from Adelaide and 42 km from the vineyards of the Clare Valley.   Burra sits fairly close to the invisible Goyder Line which runs east/west across South Australia.   South of the line means good rainfall and the ability to grow crops and north of the line means unpredictable or little rain, therefore difficult to grow crops.   

North and north east of Burra the country is dry and arid, and we are heading that way tomorrow.

The distant history of Burra involves mining, and until 1864 it was the largest metals mine in Australia, producing 50,000 tonnes of copper.   But like many mines in Australia the copper ran out, and underground mining ceased in 1867.  After that open cut mining continued but it gradually stopped as well.

Interestingly the miners who came here initially, from Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Germany, built their own small settlements, named Aberdeen, New Aberdeen, Kooringa, Llwchwr, Redruth and Graham, although the official name of the town, which included all the areas, became Burra in 1940.

The last time we visited Burra was in March, 2020, just as Australia was closing down due to the pandemic.   It was panic time.   Shops were putting barriers up, and we had to book into the Clare Caravan Park via an outside telephone.   Crazy.  

The temperature was in the high 30s on the day we visited, so it was extremely hot. 

However we did take the opportunity of visiting the mines, buildings, jails and some cottages using a passport system which allowed electronic access to the different areas.

This time we spent the time walking around the town, going for a drive, and having a good look at the display in the old Town Hall.

We are staying at the Burra Camping Ground, no photos sadly, but it is a lovely little spot, beside the Burra Creek. 

It has been raining, great for the countryside, and quite cold, and windy.   

Our favourite cafe for coffee and cake in the mornings.   The kerbs are very high on the side of the street.   Thank goodness there are railings. 

A view of the tree covered town.   Water does make such a difference to the small country towns.

There are 33 cottages which form a square, aptly named Paxton Square Cottages, which are available for holiday rentals.   They have been renovated and have modern amenities.   Two of the cottages have been retained as museum pieces, and one of them has the original polished dirt floor.

The old Town Hall, which also doubled as a cinema and theatre many years ago.   It was a beautiful old building.     It is now a museum with photographic displays, a room with dressing up clothes, plus two meeting rooms. 

One room contained large photos of Merino sheep and the ribbons and medals that had been given to the owners and breeders.   Fascinating.   Merino country.

These three lonesome sheep were a little alarmed at Piper barking at them.   The Red Heeler part of her makeup wanted to round them up.

A photo of part of the beautiful park that runs along Burra Creek.

This part if the creek had plenty of water in it.   

We drove out into the countryside and saw plenty of ruins, which were once people's comfortable homes.   I think the building above might have been a hall or even a church.   Settlements disappear so quickly here.

There were so many ruins that I lost count.    People who tried to farm the land, and ended up leaving, either due to droughts, or stock being eaten by dingoes.  Dreams lost.

On one of the roads we were fairly high up and had a great view of the countryside and the farm buildings below.   We noticed that the farms were now large properties, with fewer sheep per acre.

We stopped at the bakery in Eudunda, for some delicious pies.   A view of some of the shops in the town.

Piper feeling the need for some love and attention from Walter.    It took her a few days to settle into the new caravan.

It was an easy drive here, although some of the roads were in very bad condition, due to too much traffic plus heavy vehicles.

We set up very quickly, except for the awning which kept getting stuck, but a bit of WD40 fixed the problem.

The new jocky wheel makes life so much easier.   No arguments when unhitching the car.   

Tomorrow the road to Broken Hill.