The mine chimney at Kapunda Mine Site

Kapunda
Historic copper mining town famous as the home and base of the 'cattle king', Sir Sidney Kidman
Kapunda is located 79 km north of Adelaide. It is a large and prosperous township which has enjoyed three clear periods of development - the period of copper mining, the period when it was the base for Sir Sidney Kidman's huge cattle operations, and the current period when it has become an important service centre for the surrounding rural area.

Still it is the mining connection which looms over the town in the very physical presence of Map Kernow (the Son of Cornwall) a huge 8 metre statue of a miner which greets visitors as they drive into the town.

The town's name is derived from 'cappie oonda', an Aboriginal word which applied to a spring near the present town site.

Before the arrival of the miners the district was settled by two pastoralists, Captain Charles H. Bagot and Francis Dutton. Both of these pastoralists were the founders of what are now considered 'prominent' South Australian families. The writer, Geoffrey Dutton, was a descendant of Francis Dutton.

Copper was first discovered at Kapunda by Francis Dutton in 1842. He went into partnership with Captain Bagot who had also noted the green colour of the rocks in the area. They purchased 80 acres of land for £1 an acre but it took two years for samples to be sent to Britain, tests be undertaken, and the results to return to South Australia. The results were remarkable. The copper was 22.5 per cent pure which was probably the richest ever found anywhere in the world.

The first mining, driven by Bagot, was literally the workers on his property digging the copper off the surface with picks and shovels. In the first year they dug 600 tons of ore which was worth £7000. By December 1844 the first Cornish miners had arrived in the area and underground mining began. By 1846 Francis Dutton had sold his 25 per cent share in the mine for £16,000 (a huge sum at the time). This left Captain Bagot with a 55 per cent controlling share in the mine.

In the early years the journey of the copper was extraordinary. The copper-bearing rocks were transported by bullock dray to Port Adelaide (a journey which probably took around 6 days) where it was loaded onto ships and transported to Swansea in Wales where it was smelted by the Welsh smelter operators. The loads were two tons. By 1850 the mine was producing 100 tons of ore per month.

Over the next few years the wealth of the Kapunda copper seam was recognised and copper experts and labourers arrived in South Australia to mine the seam. These people were specialists. The Cornish were the expert miners. The Welsh were the smelters. The Germans, who were already living in the area, began to cut down the trees and bushes which were sold to fuel the smelters. The timber was used as charcoal. Then there were the Irish who worked as labourers and later became the main bullock team drivers. The German women used to walk their farm produce (mainly fruit and vegetables) to the town in wheelbarrows and sell it to the miners.

With the arrival of a number of German-made smelters in 1849 the ships carrying the ore to Britain began to stop in Newcastle-on-Tyne where they loaded coal for the smelters. By 1851 there were more than 2000 people living in Kapunda.

By 1850-51 the mines were reaching below the water table (it was found at around 80 feet) and a Buel steam engine was imported and installed to pump the water out. The mines at the deepest point were sunk to 480 feet (around 150 metres). While other mines began to appear Bagot's was the only one of any importance.

By 1852 the siren call of the Victorian goldfields found the Kapunda mine almost deserted. Miners, with considerable expertise, headed off to try their luck at Bendigo and Ballarat. This lasted for about three years and slowly the miners began to return to the area where their jobs were reliable in the copper mines. By 1857 production was back to normal.

The rush was shortlived and by 1857 the mine was back at peak production with 4103 tons of ore being produced.

By 1861, as the sign in the Bagot Museum reveals, there were:

43 miners - mostly Cornish

106 pitmen

23 children - mostly Cornish

82 labourers - mainly Irish

13 boys - mainly Irish

36 smelters and furnacemen - mainly Welsh

The mine at this time was employing 302 men and 36 boys.

The copper was hugely valuable. At the time it was used for a variety of practical applications including copper kettles, copper ladles, candlesticks, bread-making equipment, copper coins, copper sheeting for ships and also taps and pipes. It was also used to produce brass.

The importance of the Kapunda copper mine declined with the discovery of copper at Burra where the lode was four times the amount of Kapunda. In turn the mine at Moonta on the Yorke Peninsula was found to be four times the size of the Burra mine.

By 1863 the rich ore lode had been worked out. The mine continued to operate but it was now specialising in low grade ore and open cut mining began. The mine was closed down in 1878 and the equipment sold the following year. It opened again on a small scale and continued until 1912. During this time a total of 12,800 tons of copper was mined.

It was towards the end of the life of the town's mining industry that Sir Sidney Kidman, one of Australia's richest rural entrepreneurs and a man who once owned more land than the entire British Isles. When he died in 1935 he controlled 68 large properties which covered 64 million acres of Australia. He regularly held horse sales behind the North Kapunda Hotel (which still stands in the main street) and at one famous sale a total of 3,000 horses were offered in an auction which lasted a week. The horses were all the property of Kidman.

In recent times Kapunda has prospered as a successful service town for the surrounding rural area. The wealth of the town during its halcyon days has been well preserved. This allows the visitor to explore the town's history and to make contact with the wealth (in the shape of large houses and elegant business buildings) which characterised the town during the 1850s and 1860s.

Things to see:  

Map the Miner at the entrance to Kapunda

Map the Miner
The first sight to greet visitors to Kapunda is that of 'The Big Miner' which looms over the road into the town. This is a depiction of 'The Cornish Miner' who was instrumental in the development of this whole region. The plaque on the miner reads:

'THE CORNISH MINER. The Kapunda Mine. This statue is a monument to the profound, role and contribution of the Cornish miner in the Kapunda and in due course in other mines in South Australia. The Kapunda mine, established in 1844, was the first successful metal mine in Australia and contributed greatly to the economic development of South Australia. Up to its closure in 1878 ore to the value of more than £1 million was produced and up to 340 men and boys, mainly from Cornwall were employed.

'THE STATUE. The statue was named Map Kernow, being the Cornish dialect for 'Son of Cornwall'. It was unveiled on 5 June 1988. The sculptor was Ben Van Zetten who was commissioned.'

Historic Buildings - A walking tour of the Town
The first stop off point in Kapunda is the Kapunda and Light Information Centre at 76 Main Street. They have an excellent brochure which covers 34 venues in a walking tour of the town. It is a comment on the quality of the town's historic buildings that so many are still beautifully preserved and worth inspecting.

The walk starts in Hill Street (turn west off Main Street and start at the large building which is the Historical Museum) and includes the following highlights:

Kapunda Museum
This large building was originally the local Baptist church and was built in 1866 with some financial assistance from George Fife Angas, one of South Australia's most important early citizens. The building ceased to be a church in 1948 and was used as a technical school until the 1960s. The unusual architectural style of the building is known as French Romanesque. Although it is open daily from September to May and open Sundays and public holidays during June, July and August 1:00 p.m.to 4:00 p.m. (contact tel: (08) 8566 2021 or (08) 8566 2603) it is well worth visiting. It has one of the finest collections of old record players (from cylinders through the 78rpm machines) in the country and also has a particularly interesting collection of early motorcycles. There are lots of interesting memorabilia spread through the building and it is easy to spend a couple of hours.

Display of a Cornish Miner in Bagots Fortune Museum

Herald Printing Office - Bagot's Fortune.
Two or three doors along at 5 Hill Street is Bagot's Fortune, the perfect introduction for anyone wanting to understand the rich mining history of the district. Through a series of excellent displays it depicts the lives of the early miners. There is a model of a miner pushing a load of copper ore, a small mine, a miniature of the main Kapunda mining operation and an accurate recreation of an Irish workers cottage at Kapunda in the 1840s. The building, the old Herald Printing Office, was completed in 1866 to house the operations of the Northern Star, a local newspaper which had started in 1860. The Kapunda Herald was published in this building from 1864-1950.

Buildings on the West Side of the Main Street.
On the corner of Hill and Main streets are the old Elder Smith offices which date from 1907. Turn the corner and walk one block and you will pass the ANZ Bank (formerly the Bank of Adelaide) which was built of sandstone and bluestone in 1866 (it was the first branch office of the Bank of Adelaide) and the Kidman Buildings (1909) which can be seen better from the other side of the street where, if you look up, you can still see 'Kidman Buildings' and 'Bank of NSW' in the upper part of the building. There are more 'Kidman' buildings over the road next to the North Kapunda Hotel.

North Kapunda Hotel
On the corner of Crase and Main streets is the North Kapunda Hotel which was first licensed in 1849. The yard behind the hotel was used for stock sales from the 1850s onwards but it came into its own when Sir Sidney Kidman began using it for his horse sales. There was one famous auction where a total of 3,000 horses were offered in an auction which lasted a week. The horses were all the property of Kidman. The yard was the centre of Kidman's empire from 1904 to the 1930s. The rear section of the hotel was probably built in 1866 when the hotel was completed. The rest is a series of more recent modifications.

Around the Town
Here is a very small selection of the best buildings and destinations around Kapunda. The best way to see the town is to purchase 'Discovering Historic Kapunda' from the Museum. It includes the Kapunda Heritage Trail which has an easy-to-follow drive around the town with a good map. It is worth taking the effort because the end result leaves the visitor with a sense of the historic richness of the town as well as a great understanding of the early mining industry.

Gundry's Hill Lookout
Head north along Main street and turn left into Clare Road and then right into West Terrace. Follow the road until you come to the signs to Gundry's Hill Lookout. This offers an excellent overview of the township and the surrounding agricultural land. It was here that a Captain Gundry managed an early copper mine. On the way up to Gundry's Hill you will pass

Kapunda High School
The average state high school isn't worth investigation but this high school is built around 'Eringa' a beautiful house full of excellent woodwork and characterised by some superb ironwork. This was the home of Sir Sidney Kidman. When he left Kapunda in 1921 he presented the house to the Department of Education.

The Open Cut at Kapunda Mine

Mine Lookout and Main Open Cut
The Mine Lookout can be accessed by taking Lucas Street east from Main Street, turning south into Whittaker Street which becomes Mine Street and then turning into Morton Street which leads towards the Mine Lookout chimney. There is a fence around the site so you have to walk to the chimney.

There is no better way to understand the process of mining which occurred in the district than to visit the main open cut mine. There is a walk around the edges of the cut and it is possible to go down into the valley where the miners worked and look into the various small cuttings in the sides of the valley. The area has a large number of descriptive displays which point out the features of the mine and provide fascinating early photographs which show the views, which are full of buildings and activity. The mine chimney (which was built in 1852) stands like a sentinel on the hill above the operations. It is still possible to see the sides of the cuttings covered in the distinctive bright green of copper washed down by the rains.

Below the Mine Lookout is a pleasant and interesting walk around the edges of the old Open Cut mine. There are descriptive panels with old photographs around the edges of the mine and at various points it is possible to walk down into the valleys where the ore was mined. You can still see the green in the rocks.

Continue around Mine Street and into Mugg Street. A short distance along are the

Mine Square Cottages
This Mine cottage is all that remains of three rows of six attached stone cottages built by the Kapunda mine owners on their property to house mining families. The first two rows were built by 1845 and the third by 1849. This is a portion of the third row. It is not available for inspection and so it can only be viewed from the fence.

	Tourist Information
	Kapunda Tourist Information Centre 7 Hill St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2902
	Hotels
	Clare Castle Hotel 105 Main St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2103
	Prince of Wales Hotel Mildred St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2034
	Railway Hotel Railway Pde Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2305
	Sir John Franklin Hotel Main St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 3233 Rating: *
	Sir Sidney Kidman 50 Main St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2205
	The Wheatsheaf Hotel Allendale North Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2198
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Anlaby Station Bed & Breakfast Anlaby Rd Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2465
	The Peppertrees Bed & Breakfast 47 Clare Rd Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2776 Rating: ****
	Cottages & Cabins
	Blue Gum Retreat Cottage Greenock Kapunda Rd P.O. Box 386 Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8563 4020 Rating: ***
	Saint Christopher's Retreat Bottom Old HouseRd Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8525 2247 Facsimile: (08) 8525 2608 Rating: ****1/2
	Kapunda Tourist & Leisure Park 11 Montifiore St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2094 Facsimile: (08) 8566 2972 Rating: **1/2
	Caravan Parks
	Kapunda Tourist & Leisure Park 11 Montifiore St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2094 Facsimile: (08) 8566 2972 Rating: **
	Restaurants
	Clare Castle Hotel Adelaide Rd Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2103
	Ford House 80 Main St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2280
	North Kapunda Hotel 50 Main St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2205
	Sir John Franklin Hotel Main St Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2106
	The Wheatsheaf Hotel Allendale North Kapunda SA 5373 Telephone: (08) 8566 2198 Facsimile: (08) 8566 3367