Coober Pedy, an intriguing town in outback South Australia, is situated on the Stuart Highway, 538 kilometres north of Port Augusta and 685 kilometres south of Alice Springs. It is also on the eastern end of the (four wheel drive only) Anne Beadell Highway.
Coober Pedy is famous for its opals as a large percentage of the world’s opals come from this area. Opal was first discovered here in 1915, by William Hutchison, a 14 year old boy, who was in the area with three other men, looking for gold. The town developed in the 1960’s and 70’s when opal mining in the area developed into a multi-million dollar industry. It is now the largest opal mining area in the world with opal works, consisting of 70 individual fields, extending for nearly 40 kilometres around the town.
Coober Pedy has a population of 3500 and is a regional centre in the outback. It attracts an estimated 150,000 visitors every year and, apart from opals, relies on tourism to support the local economy. Due to its dry climate, water has always been an issue, but today Coober Pedy district council operates a desalination plant using a reverse osmosis process to produce excellent quality water. The water used in the desalination plant is pumped 23 kilometres from artesian bores. Also because water is precious, Coober Pedy boasts a golf course which has ‘browns’ instead of ‘greens’. Golfers have to carry their own ‘turf’ for teeing off.
The climate at Coober Pedy can be harsh. Temperatures can reach 45-50 degrees C during the hot summer and dust storms can be very unpleasant. As is common in dessert regions the nights can be cold. Soldiers returning from France during World War 1 introduced the idea of living underground, where the temperature remains fairly constant at about 23-25 degrees C, day and night, all year round. About 50% of the population live underground in ‘dugouts’ and it costs about $60-65 000 to purchase one. Of course there is no natural light in these houses and ventilation pipes from the underground houses can be seen rising out of the ground all over the hills at Coober Pedy. The soil in the Coober Pedy district is stable, so the walls and ceilings do not need to be supported in any way. Underground shops, churches and an underground Motel can all be visited when in Coober Pedy.
If you look very carefully at the hill in the distance of this photo you can see lots of ventilation pipes coming from the underground houses which have been dug into the hillside.
Down a dug out opal mine at Coober Pedy. Notice how the walls and ceiling do not need any support and artificial lighting is used, as there is no natural light.
Some of the machinery used at Coober Pedy opal mines.
If you look closely at this photo you will notice a yellow truck with a blower mounted on the back. Machinery such as this is a common sight in Coober Pedy. The mines are dug out with small, track mounted digger which has a revolving cutting head attached to the front. This machine is small enough to operate down the mine. If an opal seam is hit it sounds like cutting glass and the machine is stopped immediately. The opal is then dug out manually with hand tools. While this machine is working, the dirt drops into a pipe and is sucked up to the surface by the blower, like the one in this photo. The blower is driven by a big diesel motor and works like a huge vacuum cleaner. Dust is blown out the top of the blower and the heavy soil and opal fall to the bottom. When the blower is full enough, a spring is released, the bottom opens and drops the dirt, then closes again to repeat the process.
All around the Coober Pedy district are heaps of mullock, making the landscape look as though it is covered with giant ant hills.
Mullock heaps, looking like giant ant hills, Coober Pedy, outback South Australia.
Opal bearing material is sometimes put through a ‘Noodling Shed’. Noodling sheds are darkened inside and have a conveyor belt moving through them. Soil, on the conveyor belt, moves passed spotters who are looking for opal, which shows up in the ultra-violet light.
Opal is a hydrated amorphous variety of silica. Most opal found is called potch and is opal without much colour. This is the least valuable opal. Precious opal has fiery colours through it. When purchasing opal you will have the choice of: a solid opal, which is the most expensive way to buy opal jewellery; a doublet, which is opal glued onto a dark backing; or a triplet, which is a thin shaving of opal glued onto a dark backing and topped with quartz.
‘Noodling’, ie, fossicking for opals through discarded mullock is popular with tourists.
Venture 32 kilometres north of Coober Pedy and you are in for a surprise. The Breakaways Reserve, which was once an inland sea, is a landscape of low hills which change colour during the day and evening. The best photos can therefore be taken in the early morning and late afternoon, as the light changes. This area is called the Breakaways because these colourful, low hills have broken away from the Stuart Range. There are lookouts and suggested walks, so make sure you allow enough time when you visit this intriguing spot. This unique landscape has been used as a backdrop for advertisements and films such as, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Ground Zero.
The spectacular scenery of The Breakaways, 32 kilometres from Coober Pedy.
Next to The Breakaways is another interesting, natural landscape. The Moon Plain, so called because it looks like the moonscape, has also been the scene of many movies.
The Moon Plain, 32 kilometres north of Coober Pedy.
Take one ‘small step’ from your vehicle and feel what it would be like to walk on the moon.
Ian
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