Charles Morgan

he town of Burra began in 1846 as the company town of Kooringa, surveyed and built for the South Australian Mining Association. It was the first such company town in Australia and remained so until the closure of the mine. An Aboriginal word Kooringa (kuri-ngga) means 'in the locality of the she-oak'. The neighbouring hills of Kooringa and the mine were stripped of their trees for the mine works. Kooringa today is known as Burra South and is the main part of the town of Burra. George Strickland Kingston was responsible for laying out the town; Kingston was a Director of the Association and had arrived in South Australia in 1836, as deputy surveyor-general to Colonel William Light.

Kooringa was the first company township in Australia [43] and, until the closure of the mine, was maintained as a strictly company-run town. The township's name is derived from the Aboriginal word kuri-ngga meaning either in the circle or locality of the sheoak.[9] During the life of the Burra Burra Mine, the township was widely reported as shabby, rundown and poorly maintained with the inhabitants having little incentive to maintain their rented properties. Kooringa is still the main section of the town and is known as Burra South.