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of all parties in Adelaide caused a special survey of 20,000 acres to be made, which almost drained the colony of money to pay the requisite sum of 20,000l. in due time. The survey having been completed, the parties agreed to divide the land into two portions, the officials and gentlemen taking one ten thousand acres, and the tradesmen the other. A toss-up decided the question; to the tradesmen fell the half called Burra Burra, to the officials the other, named Princess Royal. The former has a world-wide reputation; whilst the name of the other is unknown except in the immediate locality. The shares of the one have sold for as much as fifty times the original price, while those of the other are at about 75 per cent. discount.

The mining operations at Burra Burra were commenced in September 1845, and the ore was found cropping out of the ground in large masses of many thousand tons weight; and so rich, that much of it yields an average of 65 per cent. pure copper; and it is rather singular that a squatter, who had been living and folding his sheep over the ground, never noticed its existence. In the first year 6,359 tons were raised; and 10,745 in the second. In May 1847, the first dividend was paid,-50 per cent.; followed by another of the same amount in the ensuing

month; since which time the progress of the mines has been one of constantly increasing prosperity, until the discovery of the gold regions in the adjacent colony of Victoria, drawing away the miners, has left the proprietors without labourers. This has, up to the latest news, reduced the dividends, and also the price of shares.

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The following description of the Burra Burra appeared in the Adelaide papers:

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Proceeding from Mr. Wren's hotel we passed through a gorge of the northern hill, and in a few minutes found ourselves in view of the

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' eighth wonder of the world.' The Burra mines are chiefly in a basin about fifty acres in extent, nearly surrounded with low hills lying confusedly around; confused and irregular hills are indeed the prevailing feature of this district. The workings, however, are comprised in the space of little more than six acres; but this space on a working day is a most animated and astonishing scene. The first thing that strikes the eye are immense piles of earth intersected with vast heaps of ore laid out in a similar style to the broken stones on a macadamized road. Over the heaps are placed five or six great horse-whims, some of which ply night and day. One, in particular, at Kingston Shaft, never rests except on Sundays. During the night it raises ore, and during the day it raises water for cleaning it. No less than thirty shafts have been sunk, most of them to the water, and of course the operations downwards must be suspended till a steam engine, which has been ordered, arrives. The deepest shaft is the King

1 The South Australian Register for July 1851, announced, under the head of " Arrival of the Monster Engine," that it had reached the colony in the ship Joseph Weir, which was principally freighted with the several parts of the engine, and other machinery for the mine.

ston, which is sunk thirty-five fathoms below the surface, and which contains ten fathoms of water. Between the shafts are the sheds for

separating and washing the ore. The ore is washed on a very simple principle. A lever and rod are suspended above troughs filled with water, and a sieve containing the ore is attached to the rod. The cleaner, by jerking the sieve up and down in the water, causes the orethe heavier body-to sink, and the refuse on the surface is then taken off. It was stated by good authority that there was sufficient ore then on the surface, independent of what was on the road, at the port, on shipboard, or in England, to pay the shareholders 200 per cent. (25,000l.) every month for nearly twelve months. The average quantity taken away during the last few weeks has been nearly 100 tons per day; and, as the quantity brought from the mine to the surface is upwards of 80 tons daily, very little impression is made on the accumulations at the mine. We will now attempt to relate our labours in threading the mazes of the vast souterain. We e can assure those who read this, that it is not every one who can do it. The man who attempts such a great enterprise should be young and active, should be sound and lithe in limb, and should possess good lungs and no little perseverance. Above all, he should not

be stout, as some of the holes are so narrow that not more than thirteen stone can squeeze through, unless it belongs to a practical miner. You descend and find it only twenty fathoms; you follow on through galleries dotted with copper, down little shafts, and into great vaults, and chambers, and caverns, like Vulcan's forge, where men are seen with candles in their hats or stuck on the rocks, hewing away at the most splendid copper ores that eyes ever beheld. Ever and anon we came to beautiful little malachite arbours, which the miners called their gardens, every side of which being of a bright emerald green, and forming delightful spots in which to rest. A few of the miners grumbled because they had only 1s. 3d. per pound of tribute, (from this sum the tribute ranges to 2s. 6d.) and protested that they did not make quite 107. per month; but an old Cornish and Columbian captain, unconnected with the miners, who was present, told us that the miners were habitual grumblers; and we learned afterwards that some of them made as high as 40l. or 50l. per month, and that the superintendent sends as much as 2007. or 3007. in a week to Adelaide to invest for the fortunate and industrious. We must, however, mention, for the honour of the men, that the grumblers are a small exception. In some of the vast caverns thirty, forty, and

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