Explore Cornwall

Wheal Georgia

Caitlin — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 09:26:30 +0000

Just south of the hamlet of Rosudgeon is the overgrown remains of Wheal Georgia mine. This tiny sett was working in the late 19^th century, independently and as part of a larger group which included its close neighbours.

Wheal Georgia’s may have been called South Grylls at some point, and it’s plans frequently overlapped with those around it, making it difficult to discern where one ended and another began. Wheal Grylls (or Wellington), East Grylls (or Greenberry Moor), Great Grylls, West Grylls, New Grylls (Vaddon or Noble Dale) and Wheal Florence all worked together with Wheal Georgia at one point or another. Even St Aubyn and Grylls, slightly further away, is attributed to this group.

Like many of the mines in this area, Wheal Georgia was worked early on by ‘private’ miners, resulting in a lack of any records. It definitely worked between 1872-74, possibly under a Captain James Pope, and operated on Georgia Lode from Georgia (66 fathoms/121m) and Engine shafts.

The mine only had one engine house, a 45-inch pumping engine on Engine shaft. Over it’s life there are only two recorded outputs, one from 1866 as South Grylls, where 18 tons (18,289 kg) of copper was raised, and another in 1873 for just 1 ton (1,016 kg) of black tin.

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Busselton Jetty

Caitlin — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:26:29 +0000

The Busselton Jetty is the longest timber piled jetty in the entire Southern Hemisphere, stretching 1841 kilometres.

The jetty was build in response to the ever increasing population in the Busselton and Vasse regions, with work starting in 1865 to allow for larger ships to dock in the area. Over its lifetime, the jetty has changed lengths several times. It started at just 161m, with another 131m being added ten years later, and further extensions were made till it reached it current length. The port shut in 1973.

The shutting of the port also meant that funds from the government ceased. A cyclone, several fires and borer infestations over the subsequent years led to a state of disrepair. Local people in Busselton decided to band together to try and restore the jetty, however funding only allowed for roughly 50% to be fixed. From the early 2000’s, various committees have raised even more money, successfully restoring the jetty, installing a train service and and opening an underwater observatory.

Underneath the jetty is the home of 300 marine species. A small portion of this can be seen from the observatory, but beyond this is an entire underwater sculpture park teeming with fish, crabs, seals and other critters.

The underwater observatory sits 8m below the surface. The best way to reach is by taking the train.

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Burra Mine

Caitlin — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 07:43:09 +0000

Eight years after the formation of the South Australian colony and just one year after ‘Coppermania’ started at Kapunda, more copper was found at what would become Burra Mine.

In 1845, not one, but two copper deposits were found; one by William Streair and another just after by Thomas Pickett. Due to their close proximity the two finds were grouped together and sold for £1 ($165 now) an acre. However, an ongoing economic crisis meant that few companies could afford this hefty price. Three contenders for the lease arose. The South Australian Mining Association (SAMA), a newly minted cost-book company made up of merchants and landowners, the Mining Association of the Northern Monster Lode and a group of capitalists and pastoralists that for the Princess Royal Mining Company.

None of the companies had the funds to buy the entire lease by themselves, but combined they could. The first two groups joined forces under the SAMA title and with Princess Royal paid half each. The lease was itself divided in two and straws were drawn to determine who would get which end; SAMA won the rights to the northern section which became Monster Lode or Burra Mine and the southern section went to Princess Royal, naming their mine after themselves.

After buying the land, little money was left and lots of financial juggling was required in the early years. This however did not stop the mine from growing exponentially. Since the discovery of copper at Kapunda, hundred’s of Cornish miners began to flock to South Australia and Burra was no exception. The town wasn’t named Burra until much later on, with the Cornish miners setting up smaller settlements, naming them after places from home, like Redruth and Copperhouse.

1947 saw the purchase of the first steam engine as water in the mine became increasingly unmanageable. This was of course ordered from Perran Foundry in Cornwall; this arrived into Port Adelaide two years later and began the 100 mile trip to the mine. Smelters were built at Burra Creek in 1849 by Scheider’s Patent Copper Company. Prior to this all the higher quality ore had to be sent down to Port Adelaide, a journey of two weeks, and then onto Wales for processing. Poor quality ore had been smelted on site since 1947 and the installation meant that all of the ore could be smelted nearby, reducing costs immensely.

The Princess Royal closed in 1851. During this time, gold was found in Victoria and large numbers of miners left to join the rushes and work at the mine ground to a halt. The pumps were turned off and many of the lower levels flooded.

Just three years later, lots of the miners returned and work began again in earnest. Water continued to be a problem and a new larger engine was sought. This was purchased in 1858 and installed two years later. In 1860 the Monster Mine was considered the largest in Australia. However, this did not last and just seven years later underground work had come to a halt. Attention turned to above ground offerings and a new dressing floor with a tower was erected to treat this lower grade ore.

The mine struggled on for several more years, closing in 1877 as copper prices fell. One last attempt at working the site occurred nearly 100 years later in 1970, under Adelaide & Wallaroo Fertiliser Ltd, lasting ten years. Samin Ltd continued to process stockpiled ore on site for several years afterwards. In 1981 the mine closed for good and was later transformed into the heritage site it is today.

Engine Houses

The first engine house was ordered in the late 1840’s; this came second hand from Perran Foundry and was named after the principle mine captain, who may have worked at Tresavean in Lanner. Installed and working in 1849, it was inactive only three years later. The 50″ engine was dismantled the following year and sold to Bon Accord in 1859 for £2000 ($240,438 now). In 1887 it then went to Bird-in-Hand Mine. A 30″ crusher was added to the mine in 1850. As water became an increasing problem, this also started to pump water in 1855 before being sold to Karkulto Mine the year after.

In 1852, a much larger pumping engine was ordered from Perran Foundry. This was a 80″ engine that worked until 1862 called Schneider’s. A 30″ whim was installed on Peacock’s shaft in 1857. It actually arrived in Australia, again from Perran Foundry seven years prior, but significant delays in building and installing the engine meant it did not go to work when it should have. It was converted to pumping water in 1872 and was scrapped in 1916.

Two engine houses were installed around Morphett’s shaft. The first was a 80″ pumping engine costing £8,688 ($1,058,970 now) erected 1860 by Thomas Paynter and Ambrose Harris, two Cornishmen. It stopped work for two years between 1868 and 1870, before stopping for good in 1877. The engine house caught fire in 1925 and was reconstructed as part of South Australia’s Jubilee 150 celebrations in 1986. A 20″ whim was also installed in 1861 until it was adapted to drive dressing machinery seven years later.

The last pumping engine to be built on the site was Graves. It was erected in 1868 by Thomas Payne. The house was originally supposed to have a new engine from Cornwall, but the order was cancelled and the idle engine in Schneider’s was going to be installed. While the bedstones from Schneider’s were moved into the new house, the engine never made it.

Two further engines were installed later in the mines life. 1876 saw a small horizontal whim being installed to haul ore trucks from the open cut up to the dressing tower and a 22″ crusher in 1874.

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Jaurdi Homestead

Caitlin — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 01:25:33 +0000

Just 175km west of Kalgoorlie is the former pastoral lease Jaurdi Homestead, nestled within the Great Western Woodland.

Following Ryan’s Find Road from the Great Eastern Highway, the uncapped track winds through eucalyptus trees and stretches of farmland. After passing over the railway, the small statured homestead is all that is truly left of the station.

Running through the station is also the old Stage Coach route, running from Yellowdine to Goongarrie, now named the Gus Luck Track; this follows a series of old wells and soaks.

Like so many areas around the Goldfields, Jaurdi Homestead was another location on the woodlines, with timber being cut here from 1910 to 1920.

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Wallaroo Mine

Caitlin — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 07:21:31 +0000

On the Yorke Peninsula are the scant remains of Wallaroo mine, the mine that started the third South Australian copper rush after Kapunda in 1842 and Burra in 1845. Copper was discovered here in 1859 after local shepherd James Boor spotted it while herding his sheep. Land owner Walter Hughes quickly secured the mining lease and opened the Wallaroo Mine, naming it after a sheep station with the same name that he also owned. By February of the following year work had begun around what would later be Home shaft by four miners.

Within a year, 150 men were employed at the venture and the neighbouring town of Kadina had been gazetted in 1861.The discovery of this copper added some financial stability for South Australia which at this time was going through a period of depression.

The peak for the mine was between 1870 and 1876, employing over 1,000 individuals and having five Cornish engines at work. Unfortunately copper prices began to dip in 1878 and activity began to decline with it. Despite this, the railway was still extended from Adelaide, improving the connectivity of the region. In 1899 nearby Matta Mine was incorporated into Wallaroo; this venture started work in 1863 but had ongoing water problems.

In 1890 the mine amalgamated with its neighbour Moonta Mine. The joint venture struggled on, with the Moonta section focusing on shallow levels and the installation of a new leaching plant. In 1904 a fire broke out underground at Taylor’s shaft, trapping miners until volunteers managed to control the flames and rescue them. No one was killed, but several miners suffered from smoke inhalation. The mine managed to continue on for a little longer, closing for good in 1904.

Engine Houses

The mine had a number of engine houses over its lifetime. The first was a 12″ whim and stamping engine in 1861, quickly followed by a 24″ pumping engine just a year later. A larger engine was installed on Taylor’s shaft; this was a 60″ engine built in 1863 and was the location of the 1904 fire, with the engine being replaced with electric pumps. In 1876 two new engine was erected, another 60″ pumping engine on Harvey’s shaft made by Harvey & Co and a 48″ engine on Hughes. Hughes shaft also had a man engine installed at some point, the only one in the southern hemisphere.

Lastly was Elder’s 80″ pumping engine, a second hand engine made by Harvey & Co for the New Cornwall Mine for £30,000. This venture collapsed in 1887 and the steam engine was sold to Wallaroo for just a tenth of the price, stones and all. There were three other engine houses built at some point, all were whim engines on Young’s Taylor’s and Office shafts.

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Shafts on the mine include Robinson, Hosking, Elder, Home, Hancock, Smith New, Weighbridge, Harvey, North Hughes, Higgs, Hughes, Richman, North Mair, Mair, Youngs, Old Engine, Matta, Stirling, North Young, Boors and Office.

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Goongarrie Homestead

Caitlin — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 07:04:50 +0000

Just a short distance north of Kalgoorlie are the well-kept remains of Goongarrie Homestead.

Encompassing roughly 60,000 hectares, the Goongarrie Homestead was once a working sheep station. The three remaining buildings on the site are a testament to its former function, with the shearers cottage still standing. The other two cottages belonged to the main house and the sandlewood camp. All three can be rented.

Starting at the homestead is the 3km Nganamarta Trail, guiding you through some of the beautiful landscape around the homestead. Numerous animals, insects and plants can be seen along the walk.

The station and the surrounding national park was purchased by the state government in 1995 and since then has functioned as a very popular camping and walking spot for locals and travellers. The land has always hosted a diverse number of plants and animals, with over 58 reptiles and amphibians, 95 birds species and 21 native mammals being found during surveys.

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