Day 154 - Burra, 28th November 2025

We were up early and said our goodbyes to Fletcher (the gorgeous little dog) and his humans Kerrie and Glenn who we had met opposite us, and were on our way to Burra.

We arrived at the Showgrounds and set up quickly,

and then headed straight into town to start exploring.

We went to the Visitor Centre to get our ‘passport’ and our key to get us in to all the historical sites.

Our first stop was the old Burra Railway Station. It was built in 1883 to replace the wooden structure erected in 1870 and was in use until 1985.

We didn’t need telling twice when it said dress up and have fun!

Our next stop was the Bon Accord Mine Complex which is on land purchased in 1846. The mine offices, blacksmith’s forge, carpenter’s shop and manager’s residence were built in 1858. The mine was closed in 1862 and it is now a museum.

We went into the blacksmith’s forge and listened to the smithy’s story.

We made use of the umbrellas and looked around outside.

We were able to look down the mine and see where the men were climbing, in darkness except for a candle fixed to their hat.

We continued on to the Open Cut Lookout where Rach and I braved the rain to get a pic.

Next stop was the Burra Mine Historic Site. 

The Powder Magazine was erected in 1847 and is one of the oldest remaining mine buildings in Australia.

Morphett’s Enginehouse originally housed an 80 inch diameter Cornish beam pumping engine and was erected in 1858 by Cornish stonemasons. It ceased use in 1877. The machinery was removed for scrap about 1920 and the enginehouse was gutted by fire in 1925. It was reconstructed in 1986 and is now part of the Burra Heritage Trail.

There was the remains of the Dressing Tower which was erected in 1870 to treat low grade ore from the open cut workings,

and the crusher chimney from 1874.

There was a great view from the top too.

Our next stop was another chimney. Peacock’s Chimney was built in 1857 on a site within the open cut area. It was dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt on the new site in 1971.

The Miner’s Dugouts were next level. Due to a housing shortage in 1851, 1800 of the 4400 people in Burra lived in dugouts along the creek!

It was pouring with rain so we made the Unicorn Brewing Cellars our last stop for the day. It was built in 1873 and served the town’s nine hotels.

It was closed in 1902 and the brewery was demolished for stone in 1911. The cellars, storeroom, manager’s office and walls of the brewery block remain. The cellars’ more recent claim to fame is that they were used for the torture scenes in Wolf Creek 2. They were pretty creepy.

We went back to the Showgrounds and took up shelter under the verandah for drinks and 4.42s. It rained on and off all night…a lot! It didn’t dampen our spirits though. It ended up a late night with more than a few drinks!