Blinman is situated on the traditional lands of the
Adnyamathanha tribe of
Indigenous Australians, who were its custodians for thousands of years. One of their customs was burn-offs (controlled bushfires) to promote future plant growth. The first European settlement around what is now Blinman was
Angorichina Station, taken up for sheep farming in the 1850s. A shepherd employed by the station, Robert Blinman, discovered a copper outcrop on a hot December day in 1859. Blinman gambled some of his money on the presence of more underground copper and received a mineral licence in 1860. In 1861, Blinman and three friends, Alfred Frost, Joe Mole and Henry Alfred, received the surface lease for the land that became Blinman. Mining was successful in the first year, when the mine became known as
Wheal Blinman. The original four leaseholders sold their mine in 1862 for about 150 times their purchase price. The new owners were the
Yudnamutana Copper Mining Company of South Australia, which also owned a rich deposit north of Blinman. The mine was very successful during the 1860s and the site became permanent, with buildings being constructed and more miners moving to the area, some from the
Burra mine. The biggest challenges at the time were the transport of ore and the finding of water. During the next 20 years, wells were sunk at regular intervals to refresh the animals hauling the ore. In 1881, construction of the
Central Australia Railway reached
Parachilna, to the west of the mine, overcoming the tyranny of the journey over rough dirt tracks to
Port Augusta. Family life was hard in the early days. Locally, water and firewood had to be brought long distances. This job was left to the women and their elder children while the men were working. Many pregnancies failed in the early years and several deaths were reported from "inflammation of the lungs". With the original tent settlement being very close to the mine, it was impossible to escape the fine dust generated. A hotel and post office were first opened in Blinman in 1863. In 1864, a government surveyor laid out 162 allotments about from the mine, following which it was named
Blinman. The population was about 1500 by 1868 and the first school opened that year. Substantial shops were built in the main street in 1869. The striking of regular water in the mine the same year secured a regular water supply for the town. Mining continued until 1918, when the ore ran out. The busiest time for the mine was 1913–1918, when the town population had grown to about 2000. The total ore removed from the mines was about 10,000 tonnes.
Nomenclature of localities The locality of Blinman consists of land occupying the northern end of the cadastral unit of the
Hundred of Carr and includes the government (ie, government-surveyed) towns of Blinman and Blinman South – surveyed in 1864 – which according to the official database, are still located about apart along the
Flinders Ranges Way. The government town of Blinman North was surveyed in July 1867 on nearby land and also was not the subject of an official proclamation. In 1986, the former
Blinman was renamed
Blinman South, and the former
Blinman North was renamed
Blinman. In 2003, the
Government of South Australia proclaimed the locality of Blinman, incorporating both towns within new boundaries. In 2013, additional land was added to the locality. •
Blinman Mine and Mine Manager's Cottage •
Mine Road Dwelling and Dugout. == Attractions ==