Kapunda, South Australia

Situated 79km NE of Adelaide, Kapunda was Australia's first mining town. First settled in 1839 by pastoralists Bagot and Dutton, copper was discovered in 1842 bringing Miners from Cornwall and Wales.  By 1860, Kapunda had grown to be the most important commercial town north of Adelaide - its population exceeding those of Glenelg, Port Adelaide, Port Pirie and Gawler.  More than 50 buildings erected in the first 20 years still remain standing.
One of the most famous residents of Kapunda was the "Cattle King" Sir Sidney Kidman who owned at the time 100,000 square miles of Australia.  One of his sheep stations alone contained 32,000,000 acres.  Kidman's horse sales in Kapunda were the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

Map, The Miner The Cornish Miner Story The Wall of Kapunda History The Kapunda Story
STATUE OF "MaP KERNOW" - Cornish for "Son of Cornwall plaque telling of the cornish miner and the statue of "map" copper ore and traces of crockery remind us of our history plaque showing some of the history of kapunda

We stayed at the Dutton Park Caravan Park which is Council owned and situated next to a golf course and the football grounds. 

Emu and Roos at Caravan Park

Windmill and Cabins in Park

The Park's Windmill
an emu and roos in a reserve alongside the caravan park The park's Windmill is a very popular subject for photographers The Park Manager said there didn't appear to be any history of the Windmill

Sir Sidney Kidman donated his home in 1922 and it is now part of the Kapunda High School.  Visitors are welcomed to tour the building during school hours.

Kapunda High School The Former Home of Sir Sidney Kidman The Copper Mine Closed in 1888
The former home of Sir Sidney Kidman
 The home is now part of the Kapunda High School the mines closed in 1888 due to flooding. wattle is in the foreground
CHIMNEY_LOOKOUT.jpg (19317 bytes) MINE_CHIMNEY2.jpg (130026 bytes) The Valley from Chimney
view from the mine chimney the chimney dominates the area the valley from the chimney lookout

The weekend of our stay, "Country Music for Cancer Research Festival" was hosted at Kapunda Harness Racing Club. Artists came from all over Australia to donate their time and talent to raise money for cancer research.  The 3 day Festival is held annually, and is a showcase for Australian Country Music.

ALBY_POOLE.jpg (145570 bytes) MALLEE_BLUE.jpg (136984 bytes) SWEETWATER.jpg (131707 bytes) ROY_GUITAR.jpg (122046 bytes)
alby poole travelled from interstate "mallee blue" - a South Australian band Lorri Spry of "Sweetwater" Roy (doing a solo act back at the caravan)

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