Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Locals are rallying behind volunteers locked out of the Moonta Mines heritage site, demanding answers over the National Trust of South Australia’s shock decision.

More than 300 people gathered outside the Sweet Shop — one of the site’s most popular attractions — on Friday, February 27, to protest the NTSA’s move earlier in the week to disband its Moonta branch committee.

Locals want lowdown on Moonta Mines shutdown

NTSA head office has taken full management control of the Moonta Mines Museum, Sweet Shop, tourist railway, walking trails, Moonta History Centre and the Miner’s Cottage, closing them until at least Easter.

Signatories on the Moonta branch’s bank accounts have been changed and locks replaced at all attractions.

All eight members of the Moonta branch committee have signed a letter to NTSA president Millie Nicholls, demanding written explanations for the suspension.

“There was no written advice to this effect nor was there any written explanation for our suspension,” the letter said.

“We were summarily advised that the (NTSA) council had — by unanimous resolution — removed the branch committee.”

The letter said it was “ironic that a trusted brand such as the National Trust, with the word ‘trust’ in its name, appears derelict in its duties and responsibilities” to care for its volunteers and provide proper processes for members accused of misconduct.

Branch chair Sharron Ward said there was “no natural justice’ in the way the committee and volunteers had been treated.

“They have provided one side of the story and we have not been given any opportunity to reply,” she said.

“The Adelaide National Trust has been the judge and jury without us having an opportunity to respond.

“The only way we can resolve it is to have a professional mediation process.

“The committee has been working behind the scenes to resolve this in a peaceful manner.”

Mrs Ward thanked members of the Copper Coast community for their overwhelming support of Moonta Mines volunteers and the preservation of local heritage.

“We love the Moonta heritage, our committee, the volunteers — we just want to get back in there and do what we have been doing for decades.”

NTSA chief backs heritage decision

NTSA chief executive Nicolette Di Lernia has responded to criticism from Moonta branch committee members, volunteers and supporters, issuing strong remarks of her own.

“The ones that are saying the NTSA has made the wrong decision are causing unnecessary distress to the community by spreading misinformation,” Ms Di Lernia said yesterday, Monday, March 2.

“There’s a mob mentality fuelled by a few very ill-informed people.

“A very nasty culture has grown up in Moonta.”

Ms Di Lernia accused some volunteers of harassing the three paid NTSA staff who live and work in Moonta.

“They have got their lives in Moonta and they are being made to feel unsafe in their own town,” she said.

Ms Di Lernia has given a range of reasons for the takeover, including the need for improved financial management, compliance with regulations, accountability, and the need to reduce the burden on volunteers on running the site’s attractions.

“The sites are not closed permanently, and we have not disbanded the Moonta branch,” she said.

“We have suspended the branch’s executive committee. This also is temporary.

“Our volunteers have not been suspended or told they are not wanted.

“This claim, in particular, is causing deep distress in the community.”

Ms Di Lernia said she had sent many emails to volunteers and made multiple trips to Moonta to explain the situation.

“We are spending a lot of time and energy helping to manage this enormous branch,” she said.

“The community knew that we had concerns. I had provided them with details in writing of what we wanted to improve.

“We were making progress on some things.”

YPCT asked Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison for comments about the potential impact of the Moonta Mines closure on regional tourism.

A state government spokesperson responded and said the National Trust operated independently from government with its own rules and governance structures, under the National Trust of South Australia Act 1955.

“The Trust is responsible for matters relating to its operations,” the spokesperson said.

“We remain supportive of the Australian Cornish Mining Sites: Burra and Moonta Consortium bid for World Heritage listing of the site.”

Ms Di Lernia said some branch committee members were resistant to change and had “held the reins very tightly for a very long time”.

She said the Moonta branch was part of the single legal and financial NSTA entity and it was not an “us and them situation”.

While she has previously pointed out the Moonta branch has an annual turnover of $600,000, Ms Di Lernia said the branch “spends more than it makes”.

She denied the suspension of the branch committee was part of a “cash grab” to benefit NTSA and said separate bank accounts were still being held for the Moonta branch.

She criticised the branch for spending $120,000 to build a crib room for the railway volunteers and said they had failed to save $300,000 needed to replace the train engine.

Copper Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association president Neil Windsor, who spoke at the Friday rally, rejected claims made by the NTSA about the branch’s financial management.

He said the branch held $200,000 in four fixed term deposits and had another $90,000 in general accounts.

Mr Windsor said the new engine would cost about $30,000 rather than the $300,000 quoted by Ms Di Lernia.

Emotions run deep in historic town

Neil Windsor says he was overcome with emotion by the level of community support shown for the ousted Moonta Mines volunteers.

Mr Windsor, president of the Copper Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association, said he had expected 30 to 40 people at a rally and YP Country Times photo shoot outside the Sweet Shop on Friday, February 26, after the mines precinct was shut down by National Trust South Australia.

“I drove out there and had prepared a couple of brief sentences to say,” Mr Windsor said.

“Then I saw all the cars and people — there were more than 300 there.

“I was overwhelmed, I had tears running down my face. I could not believe it.”

Speaking on ABC Radio last week, Mr Windsor said Moonta had been “gutted” by the NTSA decision.

“Our town and this area is run by volunteers,” he said.

“We are an historic town — Moonta had the second biggest population in SA in the mining days.”

Mr Windsor said the heritage attractions had a combined turnover of about $11,500 a week, creating a multiplier effect in the region’s economy.

Moonta Mines volunteers will be recognised for their service at a barbecue this week, to be hosted by Copper Coast Council.

Council chief executive Dylan Strong said the lunch would celebrate their achievements and ongoing commitment to the local community.

Council has stepped in to provide alternative roles for people who had been volunteering at Moonta Mines to meet their Centrelink obligations.

“Council appreciates that volunteers have been impacted by the closure of the Moonta National Trust branch and offer a range of opportunities to anyone needing to meet minimum volunteering obligations,” Mr Strong said.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
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