'Interior of the mine', one of four scenes engraved for a newspaper page from the Illustrated London News 2 December 1848 and later hand-coloured, about the Burra Burra Copper Mine and based on the 1847 watercolour by ST Gill. A man in the foreground holding a candle may be Gill, who is watching a 'tributer' ramming home a charge of gunpowder.

Copper was discovered at Burra in May 1845 and a mine operated there until 1877. The mine, run by the South Australian Mining Association, attracted many to immigrate to the colony, particularly those who already had experience in working in the copper mines of Cornwall, UK.

As Burra's population grew, accommodation became scarce. Some constructed primitive dwellings in the banks of the Burra Creek. Known as 'dugouts', conditions in these homes were often unsanitary and outbreaks of diseases, such as typhus and smallpox, were not uncommon.

In 2008, over 130 years since the mine at Burra closed, a South Ausralian company plans to explore the Burra area for copper once again.

Drew, GJ. Discovering historic Burra, South Australia, Adelaide: Dept. of Mines and Energy and the National Trust of S.A. (Burra Branch), 1988

Gee, Lionel CE. Record of the mines of South Australia, [Adelaide, S. Aust.: South Australian Dept. of Mines, 1966]

Willington, CM. The mineral industry contribution to the development of South Australia, [Adelaide, 1961]

Atlas of South Australia 1986: Copper, grain and wool

Atlas of South Australia 1986: Minerals and energy

Uranium South Australia