Map Kernow

Beautiful warm sunny autumn day. Went for a drive through the hills and then on to the Barossa Valley. 

Kapunda is one of my favourite South Australian towns. Like those at the top of the Yorke Peninsula, known as the ‘Copper Triangle’, Kapunda has a rich history of ore mining undertaken by Cornish miners in the mid nineteenth century. From the mine’s opening in 1844 to closure in 1879, more than one million pounds’ worth of ore was produced, greatly contributing to the developing South Australian economy. The mine employed 340 Cornishmen and boys.

The statue by the roadside as you enter the town was named “Map Kernow”, being Cornish dialect for “Son of Cornwall”. I used to holiday in Cornwall for years as a boy, it was a favourite  place to visit for my family. I remember the old ruins of tin mines there. I like the connection of my childhood to the place I choose to call home now.