Moonta Railway

"I'd like to welcome you aboard Moonta Railways for a tour of the Moonta Mines ... Copper has been mined here from 1861 until 1923 ... it was discovered by a bloke called Paddy Ryan a shephered, so lots of things around here are named after him for example Ryans Shaft ... that sort of thing." The copper history of Moonta is in the safe hands of Don Underlin and Mick Harby, two of eleven volunteers who run the National Trust's steam railway. The journey begins in the historic precinct of Moonta which, along with Kadina and Wallaroo, each make up a corner of the copper triangle at the top of the Yorke Peninsula. After Ryan's discovery things gathered pace in Moonta ... within four years there were 12 hundred men and boys working the mines - supporting a town of more than 5000.

Ten years later - this is 1876 remember - the mine returned over a million pounds in shareholder dividends. The train tour through the skeleton of this mining beast, reveals the remains of tanks used to sort the ore. Saltwater was pumped from the Gulf and into it was dropped copper ore and iron - when the water was drained the copper stuck to the iron and was scraped off and sent to market via Wallaroo. The flushing of used salt water is thought to be responsible for much of the degraded bush around the mine sites - a stark contrast to it's original state. "Moonta got it's name from an Aboriginal word meaning impenitrable scrub." The boom died when the mine closed in 1923 and with it went much of the population. But Moonta has survived as an agricultural and service centre and through its pride in heritage.

That's illustrated by a stop at the railway station which has been restored by fourteen young people on a TAFE accredited training scheme. The train begins and ends outside the Trust's Museum built in the Old Moonta Mines School. The 50 minute narrow guage railway journey departs hourly on weekend afternoons and during public and school holidays. It's $2.50 for adults and $1 for children. For more information email info@postcards-sa.com.au