Residents are determined to keep alive the rich heritage of Australia’s first steel mining town.
Story Anthony Cox Photos Robert Lang
Some 125 years ago, Australia’s steel industry was born – not in Tom Price, Newman or any of the mineral-rich locations of the Pilbara, but in an isolated SA community on the Eyre Peninsula. More than 2,000km from Australia’s best known iron ore fields, Iron Knob is where 20% of the steel for the Sydney Harbour Bridge came from.
Now, as the Iron Knob mine transitions to care and maintenance, hardly a whisper can be heard down the main drag. A short distance from the highway turnoff, a former petrol station rots, scrawled with graffiti warning of its collapse. Two churches wait for their doors to reopen. The former health service, takeaway store and institute hall have been long closed, and the former primary school building has been reduced to rubble.
But impressions that Iron Knob is a ghost town vanish when you feel the warm embrace from a community of 110 dedicated to maintaining its rich heritage. Everything from the tourist centre and museum to the town’s maintenance, and mine and town bus tours is managed by volunteers.
This story excerpt is from issue #165
Outback Magazine: Feb/Mar 2026
