“Australia’s little Cornwall” – Burra and Moonta vying for World Heritage status
Two South Australian towns are one step closer to securing World Heritage status, alongside some of the country’s most popular landmarks, Uluru and the The Great Barrier Reef.
The Albanese Government has added the Australian Cornish Mining sites at Burra and Moonta to Australia’s UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
The two historic landscapes located in the Mid-North and Yorke Peninsula offer outstanding universal value and are unparalleled in showing the first major transfer of Cornish hard-rock mining and Welsh smelting technology across the world in the 1840s.
The addition is supported by the South Australian Government, Regional Council of Goyder, Copper Coast Council and National Trust of South Australia to help ensure the protection and preservation of the mines and their distinctive high-pressure steam engine houses, which are recognised as icons of Cornish mining technology and industrial architecture.
Tentative Listing is the first step in the World Heritage nomination process, providing international recognition at the highest level.
The nominated sites join the Cultural Landscapes of Cape York Peninsula and Murujuga on Australia’s Tentative World Heritage List.
Australian places on the World Heritage List include Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Macquarie Island, the Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Naracoorte) in South Australia.
Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, said a World Heritage listing would help preserve and protect the precious sites for future generations.
“The Australian Cornish Mining Sites of Burra and Moonta showcase our country’s industrial history. I want to see them added to the World Heritage List alongside our other precious places like the Great Barrier Reef, and the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Naracoorte) in South Australia.
“Burra and Moonta were at the forefront of deep mining practices, especially the creative application of steam power.
Minister for the Environment, Susan Close said she was delighted to see the iconic Australian Cornish Mining sites getting the recognition they deserved.
“As a result of these mines, Cornish culture, language and literature has remained throughout this region, and we are proud to preserve and protect Burra and Moonta, ‘Australia’s Little Cornwall,” she said.
“We are pleased to be working with the Australian Government, the Regional Council of Goyder, the Copper Coast Council and the National Trust of South Australia, and in partnership with the Ngadjuri Nation Aboriginal Corporation and Narungga Nation Aboriginal Corporation to see this submission through.”
