Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy has a population 3,500 and is a small town in South Australia located 846 kilometers north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway.

Coober Pedy is self-described as the “opal capital of the world” and the opals are the only reason why there is a town. Located in the Outback, it is hundreds of kilometers from the nearest settlement.

The harsh summer temperatures and the dominant industry mean that most residents of Coober Pedy live underground, ie in caves bored into the rock of the hills around the town. There are houses and other buildings on the surface but the advantage of being in a cave is that the temperature remains fairly constant.

Surface living at Coober Pedy requires air conditioning.

The name Coober Pedy comes from the local Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which means “boys’ waterhole”.

Aboriginal people have a longstanding connection with the area. The first European to pass near the site of Coober Pedy was John McDouall Stuart in 1858, but the town was not established until after 1915, when opal was discovered by Willie Hutchinson. Miners first moved in around about 1916. The harsh summer desert called temperatures mean that many residents prefer to live in caves bored into the hillsides.

Coober Pedy Attractions

Some of the interesting attractions in Coober Pedy include:

• Mines It is dangerous to wander among the diggings. You could fall down a shaft or be mistaken for a thief. Miners in Coober Pedy are a secretive lot and suspicious of interlopers. It is much safer to go to a worked out mine that has been opened as a tourist attraction.
• Graveyard This is a fascinating site where you will see headstones for a large number of nationalities. The town is a veritable “united nations” and the graves reflect this.

• Churches The Serbian Orthodox Church is bored out of solid rock and its beautifully ornamented interior is a must see. The Catholic Church is not quite as intricate or as large but is still a significant site.
• The stars The night sky in the Outback has to be seen especially on a moonless night. The stars and planets are awe-inspiring. At about 20km from town there is no electric light pollution and you can see by starlight. The constellations and planets appear to move across the sky and if you can get on a tour with a local expert it is a learning experience not to be missed.

• Other The first tree ever seen in the town was welded together from scrap iron and sits on a hillside overlooking the town. The golf course is completely free of grass and golfers take a small piece of “turf” around to use for teeing off.