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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-18 Daily Xml
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Kernewek Lowender Copper Coast Cornish Festival

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:06): As we sit here today in this parliament, a very important event is underway on the Copper Coast, that is, the Kernewek Lowender. It is its 50th anniversary—it first arrived in 1973—and also this year it is 100 years since the mines shut in 1923. It is a rather significant event for what was one of the most profitable mines in the world and the impetus behind which the Copper Coast region was built.

The mines themselves operated at Moonta and Kadina for 60 years, between 1862 and 1923, with the Moonta colony swelling to become the largest settlement outside Adelaide by 1880. Some 12,000 miners and supporting tradies, engineers and their families—predominantly all from Cornwall—were living there in a fledgling district of new schools, churches, pubs, homes, shops, engine and boiling houses, chimneys and associated infrastructure, the remnants of which are still proudly standing today.

Thankfully, though, when those mines did shut in 1923, a century ago, not all of the 2,000-strong workforce lost their jobs when the mines were forced to close. Many families elected to stay in the towns of Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo to forge a new industry era supported by agriculture and services. Thankfully, too, in the years since, locals and historians, and especially the National Trust volunteers, have continued to recognise the historic significance of the Copper Coast's Cornish heritage and have worked hard to preserve its proud history.

The first festival arrived in 1973 and has done much in the last 50 years to celebrate and forge in memory the local Cornish legacy, but so, too, has there been much work done behind the scenes in the last 20 or so years to progress the Moonta mines site for World Heritage recognition. With great jubilation, the Moonta and Burra mining site precincts were nationally heritage-listed by the federal government in May 2017, a fitting formal recognition for the sites as places of outstanding heritage value to the nation.

Pleasingly, this year, in March 2023 the Moonta Mines and Burra sites received World Heritage tentative listing, which formally endorses the sites as of outstanding universal value as exceptional evidence of Australia's Cornish mining heritage—a truly exciting development. The sites are considered pre-eminent examples in the world of the transfer of Cornish culture to another country. It is this recognition that will be a factor that progresses the sites to collective World Heritage listing and bring with it, hopefully, for our region significant tourism and economic benefits to the Copper Coast region, Yorke Peninsula and, we would like to think, the state as a whole.

Commendably, much of the work that has been undertaken over many years to get to this point, predominantly by the National Trust, the Australian National University, the Cornish Association of SA, the SA Mining History Group, the State Heritage Unit, the Copper Coast Council and some other stakeholders. I especially note the ongoing advocacy and conservation work by the Copper Coast Council and the Moonta National Trust branch volunteers that have resulted in significant grant funding coming their way.

I can report that last year and this year conservation works at the mine site have been ongoing, including at engine houses, with roofs replaced, guttering and drainage improved, installation of interpretive works and night-time illuminations, the development of viewing areas, and much stone and brickwork repaired, repointed and replaced. There is much to do, but in the near future Moonta Mines and the region as a whole will deservedly be reopened as a major heritage tourism destination, and the future looks very bright.

As we get to the Cornish festival itself, with the furry and maypole dancing again this weekend, I take this opportunity to congratulate the hardworking committee led by Lynn Spurling, who is on her fifth festival—10 years of service, a truly commendable commitment. I invite all to join the celebratory 50-year milestone of this iconic biennial event that began in 1973. I would also like to commend all the sponsors, this year and in past years, the local community groups, businesses and volunteers, the latter being in the hundreds who all help to put on events or make or sell wares, to guide traffic or park cars.

We have a display in the window of my office of some of the news coverage of past festivals, the first one featuring former Premier Don Dunstan, a big supporter, who I believe chipped in $1,500 to kickstart the fundraising for the first event, and all the other premiers who have attended over, including Kadina born John Olsen, who served as festival president for many years. They are all on display in our window, and there are some quite startling sights to see in some of those old newspaper publications.

This week's festivities again include the major traditional events that have been going on since 1973: the maypole and furry dancing, pasty making (where I will be aiming not to cut off my finger this time for the first time), the great art prize, the cavalcade of cars, the locally brewed Swanky, which is very effective for those who like to drink for the effect rather than the experience, the gathering of the bards, the dressing of the graves, the village fair and all others. My congratulations to all who have put on a wonderful event again this year. May it be a wonderful, successful one and run for many years to come.

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