THE OLD MINE

A narrow track

leaves the main road
and winds back
over the range
skirting steep falls
to the valley below.

It ends by ruins
of the old mine –
a boiler house
and chimney,
a gated adit
and main shaft,
some open cut workings
and other buildings,
all in local stone.

It was never a great mine;
about ten years of production,
a century and a half ago,
then a couple of short revivals
over following years –
but copper,
so basic to industry
in a growing colony.

Now it is quiet,
no sound of human activity,
a gentle breeze along the range,
an occasional bird call
but, by a cottage ruin,
a patch of small red poppies,
planted by someone long forgotten,
memories of a garden.

Spring Creek Mine is in the Southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia. For most people it is just a small sign post on the main road. For others, it is a place rich with history and its own quiet beauty.