A history of Copper Mining and . . a little more local wine

This weekend we got a wee dose of history traveling parts of the Heartland Heritage Trail where towns were once the lifeblood stocked with copper, cattle, grain, slate, and sheep. The wines and Clare Valley are five star. Jamie Oliver served at brad Pitt's birthday party here in the valley.

We began our weekend away stopping by Martindale Hall an 11,000 acre sheep grazing land close to the town of such high quality slate that it was used for the surface for billiard tables. The hall is one of Australia' most stately homes and more recently the set for movies including Breaker Morant.

Martindale Hall, the 19th Century Georgian mansion

Mintaro 

 Ken and Pauline say that this year is their year to pass on what others treated them to while on exchange in CO in 2012. This weekend's "one waterbag trip" was beyond expectation. Easter treats

 (bilby chocolates verses bunnies) and the practice of putting the Currajong trees' seed pods down one another's tops and trousers and howling with laughter when the itching began. It releases the irritating hairs around September. I must remember to steer clear of Ken when spring arrives.
were included with the touring, coffee stops, wineries, delicious dinners and stories about Ken's childhood pranks of popping pepper seeds at the girls

The Currajong Tree

Skillogalee, I think

We spent Saturday at a few of the Clare Valley wineries on the Reisling Trail. In general they seem more "down-home" and sometimes set in historic cottages, farmhouses or even sheds. We started the tour in Auburn then Mintaro with antique shops and an array of guest houses. The area has historic bluestone buildings listed on the National Trust and there is a former railway line which has been converted to a lengthy walking/cycling trail in which I hope to return with a bike and helmet. Diverted thought: The other day I went for a bike ride, got a few K from the house and realized that I had no helmet. I snuck home through side lanes hoping not to get ticketed. Strict helmet laws exist in AU.

Sevenhill in exhistance since 1851
and still produces sacramental wines.

 Out of town we visited wineries. Paulett Wines perches high on the hill-face with great views. Sevenhill Cellers is the oldest winery in the valley and is owned and operated by Jesuits. The priests fled persecution in Silesia and began making sacramental wine although they were soon supplying settlers from the fields and mines. I sipped Toqay at Sevenhills and knew that it would be perfect poured over Golden North SA Honey Ice cream. Skillogalee   Cellar Door which we also visited, is my new favorite name for a winery.

Chapter 2 Burra:

To tour the Burra mines is a bit like playing tennis in Walsenburg. Where in Walsenburg you used to have to collect the key from the police station, here you must go to the information center to explore the historic town. You are also given a key.
Australians claim that history is slim post-English settlement days, but there are stories if you look. Like most mining towns, Burra has enjoyed good times and suffered. It has evolved into a significant historical town because its buildings give you an insight into early settlement. The entire tour points you to the historic telegraph station, town hall, a church, another church and another church, the Powder Magazine, the open-cut lookout, gaols, cottages, smelts, the brewery, inns with names like the Pig and Whistle, and The Miner's Dugouts.

Melissa and John, my favorite CO-co travellers!

Pauline and Pam
Imagining Life in a Dugout

The gaol was grim, but I think that I would have preferred it over the Miners' Dugouts (perhaps my thoughts of wishing to have been a pioneer woman are bogus). When the mines had a rapid influx of workers show up in the 1840's there was an acute shortage of housing. So, many dug into the clay banks of the creek favored by many miners looking for rent-free opportunities. Many others took to dugouts following a great flood. Out of 4,400 miners about 600 lived in dugouts.

               

I quite preferred the thought of living history at the Malowen Lowarh Cottage furnished in the style of the captain's residence. The cottage had a garden of herbs and hollyhocks from the period. 

Reconstructed Morphett's Enginehouse Museum built in 1858 had an 80 inch diameter Cornish beam engine. We were told that it was circular since the Cornish believed that The Devil lives in corners and so there were no corners here. The house and shaft were destroyed by fire when youths were smoking out rabbits.

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 When copper was discovered in 1845 two groups "The Nobs and The Snobs" vied for ownershop. The groups purchased it jointly and drew lots to divide the parts they would own. The Nobs,  capitalists and pastoralists, drew the lot of the southern half, but it produced small amounts of copper. The Snobs of the South AU Mining Association were shopkeepers and Merchants and went on to reap the rewards from the richest copper mine ever. Miners flocked to the area and settled within the town of Koorings: Hampton (English), Aberdeen (Scottish), Redruth (Cornish), and Llywchwr (Welsh). Each group stuck to their own communities. It was not the beginning of the "melting pot". And so began the South Australian Heartland settlements.

Glossary
bilby- like a long nosed rat or a midget kangaroo (once a 9 year old wrote to the candy factory saying she felt an Australian animal ought to represent the Easter rabbit and so began a new AU tradition).

one waterbag trip- Travelers rated the difficultly of their journeys by determining how many waterbags would be needed to get from A-B.

bluestone- could be basalt, dolerite, limestone or slate

Spring Dreams to all!
oxx PL