Air Adventure Australia

Destination Profile - Coober Pedy, South Australia

Coober Pedy is an opal-mining town located in the harsh outback of South Australia, some 850 km north of Adelaide and 690 km south of Alice Springs. The opal fields of Australia produce approximately 95% of the world's supply of precious opal and Coober Pedy is recognised as the largest producer of opal in the world with an estimated 70% of the world's precious opal being mined in the opal fields of the area.

For thousands of years Aboriginal people walked across this area. Because of the desert environment, these people were nomadic hunters and gatherers who travelled constantly in search of food and water supplies as well as to attend traditional ceremonies.

In January 1915, the New Colorado Prospecting Syndicate, consisting of Jim Hutchison and his 14 year-old son William, PJ Winch and M McKenzie had unsuccessfully been searching for gold south of Coober Pedy. The men had set up camp and were searching for water when young Willie found pieces of opal on the surface of the ground. This was on the 1st February 1915 and 8 days later the first opal claim was pegged.

Coober Pedy was originally known as the Stuart Range Opal Field, named after John McDouall Stuart, who in 1858 was the first European explorer in the area. In 1920 it was re-named Coober Pedy, an anglicised version of Aboriginal words "kupa piti", commonly assumed to mean "white man in a hole".

Today the town water supply comes from an underground source 24 km north of the town, then pumped through an underground pipeline to the water works where it is treated by reverse osmosis and pumped through a reticulated town water supply system. The treatment process is expensive.

Coober Pedy is world famous for its underground homes, churches and other tourist attractions. Approximately 50% of the population live in underground homes called dugouts.

The Proclaimed Precious Stones Field of South Australia includes the opal fields located at Coober Pedy, Mintabie, Andamooka and Stuarts Creek. The Coober Pedy Opal Fields cover an area of 4,954 km².

Now, most prospecting shafts are made by using a Calweld drill. Holes about one metre in diameter are excavated using an auger bucket. The drills can dig to a depth up to 30m in about 3 hours. Mullock is now brought to the surface using truck-mounted blowers which operate like a vacuum cleaner. Since the 1970s, the use of mining machines has increased.

Noodling is the process of searching through heaps of discarded mullock for pieces of opal missed by the miners. Many locals make a living off this method and it is popular with tourists. Permission must be obtained from the claim owner to fossick on his/her claim.

This destination is part of the Flyaway Faraway Kimberley Style, Unseen Centre and Wet Season Spectacular Australian Adventures.