Moonta Mine, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Airing Date: May 14th, 2002
CLICK HERE for a traditional Cornish Pasty recipe. It's as good as the ones that Ernie tasted at Moonta.
Moonta is only about a 90 minute drive from Adelaide and 140 years ago copper was found at the top of a wombat hole. Today Moonta is known as copper country.
As for the creation of Moonta's other famous output, pasties well, they came with the copper hunting miners from England.
Mining works up quite an appetite and today there are about ten different places that sell Cornish Pasties - that's one for every couple of hundred people.
A classic pasty contains slivers of meat, onion, potato and turnip and in Moonta it will cost you around $2. The ideal pasty should be stretchy on the bottom and nice and crunchy on top.
The Cornish miners were a superstitious lot and believed that little blokes, similar to leprechauns lived in the mines. At night they would leave a bit of pasty for them in a hope it would bring them good luck in the morning.
To discover how the town used to earn its crust, shell out $2.50 and jump aboard a one hour tour through the ruins of the old mines.
If larger tunnels take your fancy, $13.20 will have you fitted out like a miner and heading underground to the Wheal Hughes Mine. Here your guide will identify walls that have turned bright green from copper and take you past lakes that are seven times saltier than seawater.
The locals are friendly, the history interesting and the only thing more popular than finding a mine full of copper is a pot, a schooner or middie at the local.
The facts
Qantas flies to Adelaide daily from all capital cities. Prices start from $176 ex-Melbourne return and $451 ex-Perth Additional taxes, levies and charges apply.
Qantas
Tel: 13 13 13
Historic mining cottages such as Binnawoil cost $80 a night for two people, each extra person will cost $10 with a maximum of four.
Accommodation at Moonta Mines
Book through Elders Real Estate
Tel: 08 8825 3055
Moonta Visitor Information
Tel: 08 8825 1891
South Australian Tourism
Tel: 1300 655 276
