Map the Miner
| Map the Miner | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Artist | Ben van Zetten |
| Year | 1986 |
| Medium | Fiberglass |
| Dimensions | 7 m (280 in) |
| Condition | Destroyed |
| Location | Kapunda, South Australia |
| Owner | Client: John Davidson and the Kapunda Rotary Club |
| Map the Miner | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Ben van Zetten; Lawry Love Grima |
| Year | 2007 |
| Medium | Bronze (current) |
| Dimensions | 7 m (280 in) |
| Location | Kapunda, South Australia |
Map the Miner, also known as Map Kernow or the Son of Cornwall, is a 7-metre (23 ft) statue commemorating the Cornish mining history of the town of Kapunda in South Australia. Built by Ben van Zetten, the statue stands to at the southern entrance to the town, and is regarded as one of Australia's Big Things. The statue was destroyed by fire in 2006, but it was rebuilt and rededicated 12 months later.
The Kapunda copper mine operated from 1844 to 1878, and was the first metal mine in Australia to achieve success. It produced over £1 million worth of copper ore, and relied heavily on Cornish immigrants for its operation. In 1986 local resident John Davidson suggested that a memorial be built to commemorate the influence that the Cornish miners had on Kapunda's (and South Australia's) development, and he sought funding through South Australia's sesquicentenary celebrations. Although funding was not forthcoming, the process brought him into contact with Ben van Zetten, a Dutch artist living in a nearby town. Van Zetten agreed to design and build the work, so Davidson turned to the local Rotary Club for support, who then organised a successful community fundraising campaign.
Located on Gawler Road to the south of the town, the statue took three months to build and was opened during Australia's Bicentenary celebrations by the South Australian Minister for Mines and Energy, Ron Payne. The ceremony included a speech by the Cornish Association's Ron Daw, and Trelawny was played while participants "partied on saffron cake and clotted cream".
The original statue stood until 1 June 2006 when it was destroyed. A local teenager poured Eranol (molecular iodine) around the statue, splashing some of the accelerant on the statue's right leg. Although his intent was to take a photo of the statue surrounded by a "ring of fire", and he did not intend to cause significant harm to the work, the resulting fire caused A$95,000 worth of damage and the statue had to be demolished.
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