The Cornish settler had a large influence on the development of the Yorke peninsula and was a major factor in the inclusion of the Moonta and Burra mines in the National Heritage list. In the 1840s, Cornwall suffered a tremendous impact due to the potato blight which led to a significant proportion of the Cornish population traveling overseas to seek employment as a way to avoid the famine.  During the 1860s to 1870s, Cornwall began to de-industrialize as the over-specialized economy failed to diversify. The discovery of copper in the Yorke peninsula saw many Cornish miners and their families to emigrate as they found themselves unemployed in Cornwall.