Paxton Square is a square of cottages built by the S.A. Mining Association in Kooringa for miners and named after William Paxton a director of the company. 

The Early History

In 1846 the South Australian Mining Association laid out its private town of Kooringa to provide for its miners and artisans.  Two-room stone cottages were built by the company to be leased to its employees, by because the life-time3 of the mine was uncertain, and wishing to avoid the rents charged, the miners preferred to dig houses into the clay banks of the Burra Creek and its tributaries.  By 1850 there was close to 2000 people living in dugouts along the banks of the creek.

Why Paxton Square was built

As early as 1848, floods had washed people out of these homes and in an attempt to entice families out of the dugouts, the company laid out a square of cottages know as Paxton Square.  By 1850, the company had built over a hundred, two and three-room cottages in Kooringa as well as Paxton Square.  They were to be leased to miners for three shillings a week out of an average wage of one pound five shillings.  Although only a few of these company cottages survive today in Thames Street, Paxton Square remains in its entirety.  There is evidence that some of the Paxton Square cottages had been completed as early as 1849.  The original stone cottages had roofs of split timber shingles but these were covered with galvanised iron in 1873.  there is evidence that a well was sunk within the boundary of the square to supply water for the tenants.  Later, miners moved to the new town of Redruth, a government town, outside of the company’s town of Kooringa, where free title was available.