Felling an old chimney at Wallaroo Mines

At the Wallaroo and Moonta mines, as at the smelters on the coast, production was maintained by continual attention to advances in techniques. As gear aged or became outdated it was removed. The felling of this chimney is an example.

Following closure of the mines in 1923, the shareholders demanded that equipment be sold to recoup as much money as possible. Buildings and structures were also razed, with their stone and timber being sold for construction works elsewhere.

In James Boor's bonanza Bailey quotes a newspaper article: 'My sympathy was in common with an old friend, who complained about the destruction of the chimney. It is rather a pity that we cannot have one or two landmarks left' (p.175).

As the Hughes stack remains as a sole smelter landmark at Port Wallaroo, so at the mine site the Hughes Pump House remains as the only building left in reasonable order.

Bailey, Keith James Boor's bonanza: a history of Wallaroo Mines, South Australia [Kadina, S. Aust.]: H.K. Bailey, c2002

Bailey, Keith The Wallaroo mine, Kadina, South Australia (1860-1923): a pictorial history Adelaide: National Trust of South Australia, 1985