Kernewek Lowender the world's largest Cornish Festival held in the towns of Kadina, Moonta & Wallaroo. Kernewek Lowender the world's largest Cornish Festival held in the towns of Kadina, Moonta & Wallaroo.

History of the Kernewek Lowender

A short history of the Kernewek Lowender, the largest Cornish Festival in the World.
The Kernewek Lowender began as an idea in the early 1970's by local businessmen in the economically depressed Copper Coast in country South Australia.

The copper mines, once employed hundreds of Cornish immigrants were the lifeblood of the region, but after the mines closed in 1923, agriculture became the main industry. The original Cornish Festival committee selected the May long weekend for the first festival in 1973. The name "Kernewek Lowender" was chosen – it means 'Cornish happiness in the Cornish language'.

The South Australian Government's Premier's Department provided a grant of (AUD)$1000 and although the local community was sceptical, plans went ahead.

The first festival exceeded all expectations. In 1973, 20,000 people visited the district, of these 11,000 attended the Fer Kernewek (Cornish Fair) at the Moonta Oval, 15,000 people passed through the Moonta Mines Museum and 8,000 Cornish pasties were consumed. Petrol service stations ran out of super grade petrol and the local bakery at Moonta had sweep the flour mill floor to get enough flour for the pasties at the Fer Kernewek!

The festival has proudly retained it original constitutional aim which was to revive the traditions of the Cornish heritage of the Northern Yorke Peninsula and to co-ordinate all the functions of the Cornish Festival.

Today, over 30,000 people flock to the Northern Yorke Peninsular to attend this cultural festival which is renowned for its many free events, street processions, church services and art and craft displays. Many visitors are particularly proud of their Cornish ancestry and cultural and historical aspects of the festival are very popular.

Histoy of the Copper Coast

The three towns of Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo and their surrounding satellite settlements expanded as the wealth of the mines grew and demanded more labour. The Cornish were employed because they were the best hard rock miners in the established western world. They were recruited from Burra, Kapunda, Ballarat and Bendigo and from Cornwall itself. They not only brought their mining skills but also their culture; Methodism, their pasties and other delicacies, their love of singing, brass band music and their West Country speech patterns.

The region was the largest settled area outside the capital of South Australia, Adelaide and as such, several local men became very influential in the political and public service of the state. Kate Cocks, born at East Moonta, founded the British Empires first women Police Force here in South Australia.

The mines were a good training ground for the mining hierarchy in Australia and many prominent engineers and managers careers can be traced back to Moonta or Wallaroo mines. 60 years of mining activity bought great wealth to the state and the foundation of the University of Adelaide can largely be sourced back to the Wallaroo and Moonta Mines through it's directors, who endowed the university chairs.

After World War 1, the price of copper dropped considerable and in 1923, the mines at Moonta and Kadina closed. Soon after, the Wallaroo smelting works also closed. It was a disastrous time for the community who by then had largely elderly work force who were not able to easily find alternative work. However the agricultural industry, waterworks and the shipping trade with its wharf labourers were able to take some of the out-of-work miners and smelters. Many others found work throughout Australia at Kalgoorlie, Boulder, Broken Hill, Charters Tower and later Mount Isa

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