The mid-north town of Burra is located approximately 160 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, along the Barrier Highway. The settlement which developed around the Burra Creek lies in a valley surrounded by bare hills. The trees were used long ago to fuel the mine's smelters.

Copper was discovered by shepherds in the Burra area in 1845. By the late 1840s, Burra with its 'Monster Mine' had become established as one of the major copper producing centres in the world. The mine made a significant contribution to South Australia's early prosperity, and boosted the struggling economy of the new colony. It attracted investment, and immigrants, particularly Cornish miners, to South Australia.

The town of Burra began in 1846 as the company settlement of Kooringa. As the population and demand for freehold land increased, other villages were surveyed further north. By 1851, 'The Burra' was the term used for a collection of small townships which grew up around the Burra Burra Mine. Together, these associated townships formed Australia's largest inland settlement.

Although many smaller settlements were abandoned, the bigger townships of Redruth, Llwchwr, Aberdeen and Hampton grew to reflect the individual cultures of the mainly British immigrant miners. In 1876 these larger settlements, together with Kooringa, were formed into the Corporation of the Town of Burra, but continued to retain their individual identities. In August 1924, an article in the Country News referred to 'Burra of the five towns'. Kooringa, Aberdeen, Redruth, Hampden (sic) and Copperhouse were named collectively as 'the Burra'.

In September 1940, the South Australian Government Gazette announced that the townships of Redruth, Kooringa, Llwchr, Aberdeen, New Aberdeen and Graham, were in future to be known officially as Burra.

Today a number of distinct nineteenth century elements make up the Burra precinct. These include some of the original larger villages, the Burra Mines and Smelts site and the Bon Accord Mine site.