Day Trip to Kapunda, South Australia

We haven't been out and about much in the last few weeks as we have been making some changes  in our back garden trying to make it more maintenance free, but of course that has meant doing some physical work.  We both have some age related aches and pains which makes progress in the garden pretty slow, so we decided to give ourselves a break and headed off to Kapunda in the Barossa Valley for a drive and to rest our aching bodies!

Our first photo opportunity was this old Dodge car on a property in Kapunda.  For those of you that have followed my blog you may remember that my husband has an interest in cars, and also of rusty things, so this car was a good find for him, and I do find the rusty old cars quite photogenic too.

The trip from our house to Kapunda is a nice drive of about an hour, so it is good for a day trip.

Kapunda Railway Bridge

The bridge was built over the River Light using stone from the nearby area.The railway bridge is no longer in service.  It was opened in 1860 to transport copper mined in Kapunda, and the section between Gawler and Kapunda closed in 1994.

The o.d railway line is still visible in parts of the town.

This building is part of the original railway station, but I think it is now a Bed & Breakfast and a work in progress as there were no signs indicating a business.  It was quite impressive.

I took this photo as it is the Uniting Church where my husband's grandfather was minister for some years, in about 1930.  The original church is the brick building to the left of the one on the right.

Restored mine chimneykapunda open cut copper mine

Copper was discovered in Kapunda in 1861.  

Kapunda was a keystone in the early development of South Australia. It has the distinction of being the oldest copper mining town in Australia, but not the oldest copper mine.

Clyde, the Clydesdale sculpture at the Copper Mine

View of the open cut copper mine

 

There are some lovely old houses in Kapunda, here are a few different styles.  There are also some very new housing developments as well, but I love the old style.

Wheatsheaf Hotel est. 1855

Some more rusty stuff! 

We came across this collection of old farming machinery in the small hamlet of Allendale North, just out of Kapunda

Part of the main street

One of the hotels

Town Square

Mural depicting the farming area

Map the Miner, a 7 metre statue commemorating the Cornish mining history

Davidson Reserve is a nice area where we had lunch.  There is a lake and walking paths as well as covered seating areas.

After lunch at Davidson Park, we headed towards home, passing through the farming countryside with stacks of hay in most of the paddocks.

These next few photos were taken as we drove home through the foothills near home.