Moonta Attractions | Near By Delights | Local History

Apart from enjoying the sheer opulence of Amelia’s Bed and Breakfast,
there’s a mother lode of interesting things to do in this historic seaside mining town.

Visitors to Moonta love:

• Enjoying pristine beaches with great fishing.

• Exploring crystal-clear rookpools.

• Walking the long jetty, especially at sunset.

• Devouring fish and chips on a beach.

• Grabbing the Discovering Historic Moonta guidebook from the old railway station and driving the 16 kilometre Heritage Trail. 

• Donning a miner’s hat and boots for an underground tour of the cathedral-like Wheal Hughes copper mine.

• Taking the 50-minute narrow gauge railway tour of the old Moonta copper mines.

• Learning about the town’s early days at Moonta Mines Museum in a school built in 1878.

• Raiding the yummy Moonta Mines old-style sweet shop.

• Experiencing a restored but cramped 1870s miner’s cottage.

 

Moonta, a great place to escape the city rat race, is the gateway
to numerous seaside gems including great charter fishing.

And it’s within easy reach of the famous Clare Valley wine region
and the national mining treasure of Burra. The Barossa wine region
makes a fine day trip.

Here’s more detail:

• Moonta forms the bottom town of the Copper Triangle, with visits well worthwhile to the nearby “sister” towns of Kadina and seaside Wallaroo.

• Kadina’s The Farm Shed, run by the National Trust, has half a hectare of undercover interpretive displays on local farming and mining.

• Wallaroo’s award-winning Heritage and Nautical Museum, also run by the National Trust, deals largely with maritime heritage.

• A day tour of Yorke Peninsula south of Moonta should include the pretty towns
  of Ardrossan, Port Vincent, Stansbury and Edithburgh.

• The Clare Valley is home of almost 40 welcoming cellar doors producing some
  of Australia’s finest wine, led by world-famous riesling.

• The old copper town of Burra is unique and fascinating, offering a Museum Pass
  with key so you can explore a series of historic buildings and museums.

Surrounded by stunning seaside vistas, history-proud Moonta was founded with the
1861 discovery, initially in a wombat burrow, of rich copper deposits and it became
South Australia’s second-biggest town.

The mines were largely operated by Cornish miners, and Moonta is today tagged
“Australia’s Little Cornwall,” with no visit complete without sampling a
mouth-watering Cornish pastie from The Cornish Kitchen.

The town has a strong National Trust presence and celebrates its history with
Kernewek Lowender, the world’s biggest Cornish festival.

The mining precinct is a protected State Heritage Area. Train tours are offered
around the site, and the National Trust’s Moonta Mines Museum is fascinating.

Moonta offers a brilliant blend of seaside offerings, with glorious beaches and
excellent fishing, plus terrific days-past insights into copper mining.