Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/155

 The Producers ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 129 in 1866, 70,829. The value of the wool export in 1856 was ^412,163 ; in 1861, ^"623, 007 ; in 1866, ^1.064,486; in 1867, /i, 144,341 ; and in 1868, ^1,346,323. In these fig-iires are small amounts obtained for wool which the geograpl^ical position of the Province drained from the neighboring colonies of New South Wales and Victoria. The general progress and develoiimcMit of the Province; was in(1uenc(d, more than is remembered nowadays, by the copper mines. In a lesser degree only Hurra, Wallaroo, and Moonta were to South Australia what Hallarat and Bendigo were to Victoria. They attracted population, they helped the general producers, and added gr(atl- to the wealth of the country. Kapunda was no longer a rich-producing copper-field, but the; Countv of Light, in which it is situated, had become the chief grain producer in South Australia. Moonta The mines on the Burra Creek still yielded good returns, but even th(y were soon to be overshadowed by the greater imjiortancc! of developments on Yorke Peninsula. P"or years a large tract of country th(>re had been utilised by Mr. W. W. Hughes — afterwards .Sir W. W. Hughes — as a sheep-run. As early as 1847 minerals were known to exist in the locality. In December, 1859, a shepherd named James Boor, employed by Mr. Hughes, picked u|) specimens ol mineral which, upon analysis, were found to be rich in copper. Two months later four Cornish miners repaired to the locality, and with the proverbial ability of their countrymen, soon proved that the prospects of the field were e.xcellent. Mineral leases were secured, and a company was formed. At first the mine was not ecjual to expectation, but after a year or two of courageous working the output was substantial and lucrative. J