February 4, 2025
In December 2023, we embarked on a 21-day-round-road-trip covering three States and a Territory of Australia culminating at Mount Olga – way past Uluru (Ayers Rock), the Continent’s most recognisable natural landmark, a few hundred kms from the border of the State of Western Australia. On our onward and return journeys, we stayed in an apartment, cottage, hotel, motel, caravan, villa, bungalow, suite, resort, town house, tree house, camped for a night under the skies and experienced a ‘dugout.’
The last mentioned, living underground with the earth as our roof was an adventure never to forget. The place is Coober Pedy, a town situated in the Outback (remote inland region) of South Australia, 846 kms north of Adelaide and 685 kms south of Alice Springs, Northern Territory (NT) on the Stuart Highway. The Highway is one of the best in Australia and the journeys north and south of the town were both comfortable and interesting.
From time immemorial, we have learnt that people lived in caves. There are thousands of cave dwellers – or ‘troglodytes’ – dotted across the globe to this very day. Some of them are living there because it’s a tradition, for few it’s an economic necessity and for many a lifestyle choice. These caves were created by the Creator. Welcome to the modern-day man-made-caves – desert homes, churches, galleries, hotels in all its spectacular shapes, forms and colours!
It is believed that the soldiers who returned from the trenches of France during the First World War introduced the idea of living underground in homes commonly known as “dugouts.” The miners quickly discovered the advantages of living underground to escape the extreme heat of the summer and winter’s cool desert nights. No matter how harsh the climate, the underground rooms maintain a comfortable, even temperature ranging from 22ºC to 25ºC day and night throughout the year. A standard three-bedroom cave home with lounge, kitchen and bathroom can be excavated out of the rocks in the hillside for a price lesser than constructing a house on the surface of the earth. Today, it is estimated that nearly 65% of the buildings are partially or completely underground in Coober Pedy.
History surrounding Coober Pedy:
Approximately, 150 million years ago, the Ocean covered the Coober Pedy region. As the Ocean water receded, climatic changes caused the lowering of the underground water tables. Silica solutions were carried down to deposit in cavities, faults and fractures in the ground and now, millions of years later, these silica solutions have formed into Opal.
In 1920, at a Progress Committee meeting the Opal miners chose Coober Pedy, an Aboriginal term meaning ‘white man in a hole’ to replace the existing name Stuart Range Opal Field. In June 1975, the Coober Pedy Aboriginal Community adopted the name “Umoona”, meaning “long life” – the name also used for the “Umoona” or mulga tree, a common tree in this area.
The Sun rises in Coober Pedy on December 29, 2023. The passing of the Sun as the day progressed, changed the desert colours, creating photogenic scenes that appear surreal.
Australia has 95% of the world’s supply of commercial Opal and the largest percentage still comes from the 70 Opal fields in and around Coober Pedy.
Millions of years in the making, this abundance of rainbow gems has put Coober Pedy on the map as the ‘Opal Capital of the World.’
Coober Pedy was originally known as the Stuart Range Opal Field, named after John McDouall Stuart who, in 1858, was the first European explorer to visit the area. In January 1915 – a small group of men called the New Colorado Prospecting Syndicate had unsuccessfully been searching for gold just south of Coober Pedy. On February 1, they had set up a camp and were looking for water when a 15-year-old William Hutchison, son of one of the men found pieces of surface Opal. Eight days later, the first Opal claim was pegged. Due to lack of water and extreme heat, the party left on February 18. A few months later, the O’Neill brothers & Fred Blakeley arrived and became the earliest Opal mining pioneers.
In 1917, the Trans Continental Railway was completed and a number of construction workers came to the Opal fields. They were followed by soldiers returning from the First World War. During the Great Depression of the late 1930s and 1940s, Opal prices plummeted and production almost came to a standstill. But then, typical of Coober Pedy’s history of boom-and-bust cycles, an Aboriginal woman Tottie Bryant made a sensational Opal find at the Eight Mile field in 1946 starting a new rush to the fields. During the 1960s, the mining industry expanded rapidly as many European migrants came to seek their fortunes. Opal mining developed into a multi-million-dollar industry and Coober Pedy became a modern mining town.
Our Stay in Coober Pedy:
We stayed two nights on our onward journey in an underground two-bedroom apartment and on our return, a night in the award-winning Desert Cave Hotel, the world’s first 4-star luxury property of its type which is a class apart. Go on a tour to get a feel of the first property mentioned of a former miner’s typical underground home, who have now moved interstate post- retirement. After returning from the Drive-in theatre, an outback 360º Circlevision cinematic experience, we joined three other families of adjacent dugouts for a bonfire and a barbeque on a full moonlit night. In the wee hours of the morning, back to our underground dwelling, our eyes refused to shut amidst the surrounds of serene natural interiors.
The second day, we wandered off on the dirt roads to explore where and how people lived. Unlike the rest of Australia, here the backyards are non-existent because the dwellings are dug into hills and thus one will often find everything openly stored in the front yard. The air pipes rising from the hills were an indication that there lay rooms underneath!
Among half a dozen dugouts we visited – one was Faye’s Historic Underground Home. This home was excavated in the original method using picks, shovels and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Built forty years ago by three women, this attraction is an insight into the strength of character that Coober Pedy was built on.
One of the hard benefits of digging so many holes into the earth in search of Opals and not finding any or only discovering colourless variety is, many of them can be converted into homes.
Mine Visits:
We had enough time to visit a few mines during our stay here – Old Timers Mine, Umoona Mine and Tom’s Working Mine. The historic Old Timers Mine – hand-dug in 1916, features a self-guided walk-through-tour of display galleries, two underground homes and precious seams of Opal, while the Umoona Mine & Museum contains an underground house, panoramic theatre, historic displays, Opal retailing shop and showroom. The award-winning documentary ‘The Story of Opal’ at Umoona Mine provided an excellent overview of the area’s ancient and recent history.
In Tom’s Working Mine on the highway, we had a first-hand experience in how Opals are traced and extracted, both by modern and older methods and had the opportunity to try ‘noodling’ for Opal ourselves. The shops in Coober Pedy have more Opals on display than anywhere else in the world.
Underground Churches:
The Churches here are open 24 x 7, 365 days of the year which was an eye-opener, when in most parts of Australia, the main doors are locked once the last person walks out. This flexibility allowed us to visit these places of worship after the sun had gone down.
Serbian Orthodox Church - Church of Saint Elijah the Prophet was built in 1993 and is dedicated to Saint Elijah.
St Peter and Paul Catholic Church - the first purpose built underground Catholic Church of its type in the world opened on June 25, 1967 and extensions completed September 1984.
The Catacomb Underground Church was dug out in the mid 1970’s and dedicated by the Anglican Church thereafter.
There aren’t places of worship of other religions at this stage. The District Council of Coober Pedy estimates the town’s population to be around 3000. Approximately 60% of the people are of European heritage, having migrated from southern and eastern Europe after the Second World War. In all, there are about 47 nationalities represented creating a very ethnically diverse community. There is a sizeable Indian Hindu population running restaurants, owning petrol stations and it wouldn’t be a surprise if an underground temple springs up in the coming years.
Coober Pedy is like no other …
Coober Pedy and its surrounds is often described as being moon-like, with its landscape dotted with shafts and mullock heaps from Opal mining activities.
The sun sets with a crimson hue in the dusty town on December 30, 2023.
When we first reached here, it all looked bare. But, once we started exploring, there was no end in sight. People are attracted to Coober Pedy for a range of reasons. Some are fascinated by the underground lifestyle - the homes, hotels, churches and restaurants that are tunnelled into hillsides and are almost invisible on first inspection. Others are drawn by the very thing that has pulled people from so many nations to this desert region – Opal. It’s the combination of all these elements that truly make Coober Pedy a place like nowhere on earth. Both the town and its hinterland, for different reasons, are photogenic attracting filmmakers who have shot a lot of movies here.
An Opal gift to the lady of the house whose birthday falls in October and a large stone from the Mine that aptly sits in our Mother Mary’s grotto are the mementos of this round-road-trip of nearly ten-thousand kilometres that we cherish.
After staying in Coober Pedy town
The English word ‘Underground’
Instantly glows like never before
With so many memories to hold
Just like the Opals, beneath the ground
It was a cool thing to have been spellbound!
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