Burra Monster Mine

Burra Mine and Engine House Museum

Useful Information

Location:	Burra. 170 km northeast of Adelaide. East of the Stuart Highway to Alice Springs, off the Barrier Highway to Broken Hill and Sydney.
Open:	All year daily 9-17. Closed Christmas Day. The key is part of the Burra Heritage Passport can be obtained from the Burra Tourist Office. [2004]
Fee:	Burra Heritage Passport: Adults AUD 15, Concession AUD 11. [2004]
Classification:	Copper Mine
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	VR=187 m.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	The Burra Mine and Enginehouse Museum. Burra Tourist Office, Market Square, Burra. S.A., Tel: +61-8-8892-2154, Fax: +61-8-8892-2555. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1845	underground mine opened.
1867	mine closed.
1870	open pit mine continued.
1877	again closed.
1971	modern open cut mine opened.
1981	finally closed.
1994	declared a South Australian State Heritage Area.

Description

The Burra Burra Monster Mine was an underground mine reaching a depth of 183 meters. This mine, in operation during the mid 19th century produced 50,000 tonnes of copper metal during 30 years of operation. Reactivated in the 1970s, it produced additional 24,000 tonnes of copper metal in a decade. Today it is open to the public as an open air museum, showing numerous buildings of the interesting mining history.

The Powder Magazine was built in 1884. There is a reconstructed Cornish engine house, called Morphett's Flue from 1860. Today it contains a comprehensive display on beam engines and engine houses. An excavated tunnel with access to the pumping shaft is the underground bit of this mining museum.