Burra Today
Burra today is an important regional centre for surrounding farming communities and a historic tourist destination. From its 1994 declaration as a State Heritage Town, tourism has grown to an estimate of 41,000 visitors in 2000. While many visitors are day-trippers and are from Adelaide, over 40% of the visitors come from outside South Australia and over 50% stay overnight.
The town and mine are both well preserved with many original buildings, the water filled open cut mine, well-preserved mining buildings and a pump engine house which today houses a museum. Several chimneys from the mining industry have survived and a tourist trail showcases the old Redruth Gaol, miners’ dugout cottages in the creek bank, a row of miners' cottages built in 1850, the cellars of the demolished Unicorn Brewery and other historic places. Burra is listed on the Register of the National Estate and many buildings are on the List of State Heritage Items. The town is publicly claimed to be the "Merino capital of the world".
Read more about this topic: Burra, South Australia
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