Following the successful bid to grant World Heritage Site (WHS) status to the mining landscape of both Cornwall and West Devon in England, the team behind the project is now building links with Cornish Mining communities across the world. This week sees international mining heritage heritage consultant Barry Gamble, from that southwest region of England, travelling to South Australia on behalf of the Cornish Mining WHS Office to provide professional guidance at a conference that could result in key Australian sites seeking World Heritage status as part of an international ‘Cornish Mining Frontiers’ initiative.
The Cornish Mining landscape was given World Heritage status in recognition of the area’s globally-important role in technological innovation, industrialisation and cultural development. Cornish miners were behind projects to prise some of the first diamonds out of the ground in South Africa and it was Cornish miners who first introduced football to Mexicans when they worked in the silver mines of the Sierra Madres. Given that nearly half of the settlers in South Australia in the 1860s were Cornish miners, Barry Gamble is now heading there to support a community consultation in the areas of Burra and Moonta.
Both of these places were strongholds of the global copper mining industry from around the mid-19th century and thanks to the use of Cornish mining expertise and methods, went on to become pivotal precursors to Australia’s multi-billion dollar mineral industry.
The Cornish Mining WHS team regards these pioneer mines – which spawned Australia’s earliest industrial towns – as intimately linked with Cornwall’s own mining landscape and the indication is that the Australian government is likely to back a trans-national bid for World Heritage Status. A resident of Plympton and Interim Director at Morwellham Quay, Barry Gamble is part of the original team that presented the Cornish Mining bid to UNESCO, resulting in the successful inscription on the World Heritage List in 2006.
“The cultural and historical significance of the Burra and Moonta sites is of truly international significance,” says Gamble. “They were once among tthe world’s greatest copper mines and a large part of that is down to the Cornish. During the 1850s and 1860s these were the largest inland towns in Australia and they flourished thanks to the skills, knowledge and experience of Cornish miners who emigrated there for work. Ironically, it was that competition from overseas that actually contributed substantially to the demise of our native mining industry. Achieving a linked World Heritage Status for these far-off regions would really be the final part of our story so we’re really hoping to take them forward and make sure that this history and these ties are preserved and celebrated.”
Deborah Boden, World Heritage Site Co-ordinator, says, “Raising awareness of the pivotal role played by mine workers from Cornwall and West Devon in the development of mining as a global industry is an important part of our role at the World Heritage Site Office. Much of our work is focussed on communicating the fact that the Cornish Mining landscape is an international asset, with significance for people across the world. The impact of Cornish mine workers as an industrial force can still be seen on every continent. The Burra and Moonta areas are perfect examples of this, and we’re working hard to create official links between both the national governments and local communities, so that people can explore this shared heritage and fully understand the importance of how Cornish mining shaped these places.”
Adam Paynter, Executive Member for Environment and Heritage at Cornwall County Council says, “This is an extremely exciting development and testament to all of the hard work that’s been put in by the World Heritage Site team at Cornwall County Council. Taking our Cornish mining heritage to the international audience in this way elevates its importance in the world’s mining heritage more than ever before.”
