Henry Roach

Henry Roach
Captain Henry Roach (date unknown)
Born	1808 Redruth, Cornwall
Died	6 October 1889 Burra, South Australia
Nationality	English, Australian
Occupation	Miner
Known for	Captain of Burra mine

Henry Roach (1808 – 6 October 1889) was a miner from Cornwall who was Captain of the Burra copper mine in Burra, South Australia for many years. In this position he almost always employed Cornishmen as his assistants, and most of the miners were also immigrants from Cornwall.

Henry Roach was born in 1808 in Redruth, Cornwall. Roach worked at the Tresavean mine at Lanner, Cornwall. He also worked in Colombia. He reached South Australia in 1846.

A shepherd had come across copper ore near Burra Creek in 1845, and another shepherd found copper ore to the north soon after. This triggered a scramble by miners from Adelaide to get control of the land. The northern half became the Burra Mine, one of the world's largest copper mines. Most of the miners and specialists at the Burra mine were from Cornwall, with 1,000 workers at one point.

Roach was soon made captain at the Burra mine in charge of the underground workings, and then made chief captain of all mine operations. He was superintendent from 1847. He continued as captain, with a salary of ₤300. For most of the mine's period of operation Henry Ayers was the company's chief secretary, working in Adelaide. The first of several beam engines from Cornwall was ordered by Ayers in August 1847. Roach oversaw the erection of all the Cornish engines. Roach's engine house was completed in 1849 and pumping began in October 1849.

Roach always recommended Cornishmen for his assistants. Matthew Bryant was hired as second captain in June 1847. The "grass captain", Samuel Penglaze, was appointed in 1848. Roach employed Cornishmen such as Richard Goldsworthy of Bodmin, third captain, John Congdon from the Caradon mines, chief engineer, and Philip Santo of Saltash, clerk of works. The Cornwall and Devon Society was founded in South Australia in December 1850 with John Bentham Neales of Plymouth, an investor in the Burra mine, as secretary. The aim was to encourage immigration from the English counties of Cornwall and Devon, and to look after the interests of colonists from those counties. Henry Roach was a member of the committee. Roach named the township of Redruth at Burra after his home town in Cornwall.

A number of miners made homes in caves in the bank of Burra creek rather than pay rent to the company. In the autumn of 1851 there were a series of floods that drove them out. Ayers was sympathetic at first, but soon posted a notice saying that any miner who chose to remain in the caves would be considered a trespasser. Knowing that Roach was likely to be soft on the men, Ayers gave Roach firm instructions not to help the washed-out families. He did allow Roach to help rebuild the bridge across the creek, but only if doing so did not delay completion of the new engine house.