Burraga

Burraga is located in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, 47 kilometres south west of Oberon and about 67 kilometres (42 mi) south of Bathurst. It is within Oberon Shire.[1] At the 2016 census, Burraga had a population of 91.[2]

Burraga New South Wales
Burraga
Coordinates	33°57′0″S 149°32′45″E
Postcode(s)	2795
LGA(s)	Oberon
State electorate(s)	Bathurst
Federal Division(s)	Calare

The Burraga village developed as the Thompsons Creek copper mine developed. Copper was discovered around 1877 and was reported on by the Inspector of Mines in 1878.[3] Mining developed but was hampered by poor management and under capitalisation until the mine was purchased by Lewis Lloyd "the copper king" in 1879[4] being then known as Lloyd's Copper Mine.

As the mine expanded, workers settled on the nearby land resulting in the reservation of a site for a village in October 1883. A village was surveyed in December 1884 and a formal plan was reserved on 29 October 1887.[5] A public school opened in November 1883.[6]

As there were no other industries to provide employment the fortunes of the village rose and fell in line with those of the associated Burraga copper mine. In 1883 it was stated that the mine employed about 200 men and that the population of Burraga was about 500 persons including 60 children. The town had "the usual businesses" and a Post-Office and a Public School.[7]

In 1899, Lewis sold his interest in the mine at Burraga to an English company for £100,000, [8] and the mine became the Lloyd Copper Company Mine. Mining and smelting at Burraga had been hindered by the availability of water and fuel for the furnaces; the new owners set about solving these issues. Construction of a concrete dam on Thompson's Creek was completed in 1901 although, due to a drought, the dam did not fill with water until 1903. However, the new owners' attempt to change the smelting process, from using reverberatory furnaces to pyritic smelting in a water-jacketed blast furnace, was a failure. Although a large sum was invested in the operation, there had been some poor decisions made.[9]

A narrow-gauge tramway that used two Shay locomotives was constructed around 1912-1913 to bring timber fuel to the smelter.[4] A fire in late 1913 destroyed one of the locomotives.[10] Mining was closed down in 1919[11] and equipment from the operation, including the other locomotive, was sold off in 1920.[4][12] A branch railway line from Tarana to Burraga, which would have allowed coal to be brought to the smelters, was built only as far as Oberon and opened in November 1923.[13][14]

Mining continued on and off up until 1961.[15] Studies around 2012 were being conducted, looking for worthwhile lodes of copper and gold at the nearby Lucky Draw Gold Mine.[15][16]

Little remains of the copper mine's operations today; the single remaining tall brick chimney that dominates the site is a remnant of the failed attempt at pyritic smelting, the Burraga Dam on Thompson's Creek survives as a popular angling venue, and there are remnant shafts and slag heaps at the sites of the mine and smelters.[17]

The village of Burraga is a quiet place now but still has a public school[6] and a village store that is a postal agency.[18]