protrudes on its right, just below the overhanging
gangway. Patrick " Paddy " Ryan, a shepherd for pastoralist Sir
Walter Hughes, discovered copper on Hughes' property at Moonta in May 1861. The Tiparra Mining Association (later the Moonta Mining Company) commenced operations in 1862 after a legal battle over title to the claim. It proved extremely successful, with the Moonta deposits resulting in high yields. It saw a particular influx of miners from
Cornwall in
England. The government town of Moonta was surveyed in 1863, which resulted in a division between the professional classes in Moonta and a more informal township dominated by mining workers at Moonta Mines. The Moonta miners' undertook
a major strike in 1864 over concerns about mining practices. By 1875, the success of the Moonta Mines and those in the surrounding area had made Moonta the second largest town in South Australia and the largest copper region in the British Empire; Moonta Mines itself had a population of 5,000 residents. In 1876, the Moonta Mining Company became the first mining company in Australia to pay out one million pounds in dividends. However, living conditions were poor and many people died to disease during this time. Copper prices had begun to decline by the 1880s, and in 1889 forced the Moonta Mining Company to merge with the owners of
Wallaroo Mines to form the Wallaroo and Moonta Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. The mine finally closed in 1923, after which the Moonta Mines locality sharply declined, although the cementation works continued in use until 1943. The Moonta Mines State Heritage Area was declared in 1984. == Industrial railway ==