Opal Capital of the World - Coober Pedy

Almost halfway between Alice Springs (689km) and Adelaide (846km) is Coober Pedy, the Opal Capital of Australia. Coober Pedy is unique in that it boasts many underground houses and also a multicultural population. There are over 45 different nationalities, including Aboriginal, in Coober Pedy. The area was covered by a sea 150 million years ago, and for many thousands of years the Aboriginal people, leading a nomadic life, walked across the area in search of food and water. John McDouall Stuart was the first European to explore the area in 1858.

Originally known as Stuart Range Opal Field, opal was first discovered here in 1914 by a young lad named Willie Hutchinson who was a 14 year old member of a gold prospecting party. He was searching for water, which he found, but he also came back with a bag full of opal. The party worked the area for a number of years before the first opal rush took place in 1919. In 1920 a post office was established and a new name needed to be found, as Stuart Range was to similar to Stewart Range in Western Australia. At a meeting it was decided to use the Aboriginal words for 'white man in a hole' and Coober Pedy was born. With many soldiers returning from WWI and the trenches to mine, the miners found that living underground was more pleasant, especially in summer, and the underground houses became the norm. Today about 50% of the population live underground.

First day, after checking in to The Opal Inn, we had a drive around to get the lay of the land. The Opal Inn was recommended by many other travellers we met along the way. We had a good powered site $35 per night. Water one has to pay for. Lack of water is an issue in Coober Pedy. It is only the second place in our travels that we have had to pay for water ($1 for 40 litres). In the early years the government built a 2,000,000 litre tank in 1924 and water was rationed.

Driving around it was plain to see there are many opal stores, with some very pretty settings. We drove down the main street, stopping at the Opal Cave Shop to see the 'space ship'. This was a prop left over from a movie “Pitch Black” made in 2000. It looks like the spaceship has crash landed outside the shop. We didn't intent to go into the opal shop, but did as it is built into the side of a hill and is 'underground. Really interesting.

We next drove past the Drive-in, it didn't look like it would be opened anytime soon, however in the information centre there was a poster about a NAIDOC celebration of food stalls and a movie being screened that afternoon/night. We ended up going up a hill to see the weirdest art work and 'the big winch'. This is a 8m structure first built in the 1970's, and rebuilt after a fire in 1986. The Big Winch overlooks Coober Pedy.

Info centre was strange. Only one person manning a counter that appeared to be more council related. The info desk was un-manned and there was not lot of information around. I had to get the historical society leaflet from the back of the desk – no one to ask for it.

The next day we walked down the main street to the oldest underground church, St Peter and St Paul Catholic Church. The first church in Coober Pedy was dug out in 1967, with the beautiful stain glassed window being included in the 1984 extensions. It is set in a square with a number of historic information boards about the history of the town and opals.

After leaving the church, we met Stephen, an Aboriginal who introduced himself, had a chat, and then asked to borrow money. During the next few days we saw many local Aboriginals doing the same thing.

We walked down the street to Umoona Opal Mine and Museum. This is a must see in Coober Pedy. First, outside is one of the first underground houses in Coober Pedy owned and dug by George Burford and is heritage listed. Umoona means 'tree of life' and the Umoona Community was established to aid the settlement of indigenous people. Next walking into the museum, and it is free, there is a great display of the history of the area, with models and photographs. There is a great display of handmade tools and handicrafts. As one walks through each section, do both sides before going into the next section. I made the mistake of doing one side, thinking that we would be coming out the way we went in, but we didn't (although one can). The next section is the ancient history, when the land was covered by the Great Inland Sea, and dinosaurs roamed. Very interesting. There is an Aboriginal Interpretive Centre, that was closed to the public, as was the mine and house tour. I think it was because the Ghan train was in and running tours. We had look at the opal shop and a short video about opal miners and then went out a back door that took us to a lookout on top of the hill. Everything we had seen was underground. A really well displayed museum. Museum is free, and guided tours cost $12.

Back up the hill, past the turning for the big winch, is the Catacomb Church. This Anglican church made use of an old dugout and opened in 1977. It is in the shape of a cross, and named after the Catacombs in Rome. It was very simple but so beautiful. The alter was made out of an old winch, and even has the bucket used to bring up the rock. The cross, made of mulga wood sticks and the painted shadow on the back wall enhanced the simplicity.

We went to the first police station and cells, the 'free' noodling area – such a great idea, and the original water tank. We drove around the other side of town and then went up to see the Dingo Fence. The Dog Fence is the longest continual fence in the world, stretching 5,300 kms, from east of the Gold Coast, Queensland, to Ceduna, South Australia. It was originally build to protect sheep from the native dogs.

Lastly we went to the cemetery at Boot Hill. The first cemetery at Coober Pedy was established in 1921 and is closer to town. This one is a short distance south of town.

We had heard that there were some characters buried in the cemetery, so went to look - and yes there were some interesting graves.

 

We went past the large wind turbines that were installed in 1991 and presently supplies 4% of the towns power. An interesting place Coober Pedy. We went to so many little quirky places, and there are more that we didn't see. Lovely sunny days and cold cold nights ... and red dust everywhere!