The state government has committed to nominating Moonta Mines for World Heritage Listing.
The Australian Cornish Mining Sites: Burra and Moonta Mines is now one step away from tentative listing after Deputy Premier Susan Close announced the government would support the bid on Tuesday, November 7.
Once the tentative listing submission is presented to the federal government in early 2024, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation will deem it successful or unsuccessful.
Ms Close said Burra and Moonta Mines offer exceptional evidence of Australia’s Cornish mining heritage and the transfer of Cornish culture to another country.
“The state government proudly supports the nomination for World Heritage Listing and has written to the Commonwealth to convey this support,” Ms Close said.
“The state government will continue to work with councils to achieve this important recognition for this site.”
World heritage consultant Barry Gamble, who has been lobbying for the listing, announced the endorsement to a room full of interested community members at the Moonta Town Hall on Thursday, November 9.
Mr Gamble said the current stage was crucial for the bid’s chances of World Heritage Listing.
“If Canberra passes the bid to UNESCO, that’s a trigger for us to get all the dossier documentation ready,” he said.
“The dossier is a concise 300-page document.
“It’s a very inclusive, fully participatory process which will involve stakeholders including the two councils (Copper Coast Council and the Regional Council of Goyder), National Trust SA and experts brought in at various times.
“Once submitted, this dossier will be rigorously evaluated academically and physically on-site.
“Everything must be accurate, consistent, concise and once the document goes to UNESCO, it can never change, so we must be faithful to the story.”
Mr Gamble has participated in 21 World Heritage Listing nominations, 17 successful and four in the process of being ticked off.
“The next stage after that (the dossier submission) will be the formal nomination and evaluation,” Mr Gamble said.
“There’s a few years to go yet, but this is a landmark in the faith Australia is showing in these sites.”
CCC mayor Roslyn Talbot said council always had the intention of progressing the national listing to the world stage.
“You just have to see our Kernewek Lowender to see how the community celebrates the heritage which shows the world how much we want to keep that alive,” she said.
“I was really pleased with the engagement we had with the community (at Mr Gamble’s presentation) … people seemed to be excited by what it (tentative listing) is going to bring.
“We all know how great the bid is but, without the government, it’s not going to go anywhere.”
This article appeared in the Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 28 November 2023.
