Reading 1

Unit 1- Reading 1

Page 3

Coober Pedy: Really Down Under

Coober Pedy, a dusty town in South Australia, sits atop the world’s greatest known deposits of opal- a milky white gem with stripes and flecks of color. In hopes of getting rich, gemstone miners endure the harsh outback environment. They suffer through dust storms, flies, and midsummer temperatures higher than 120 Fahrenheit (about 50 Celsius). To escape the heat and the flies, the people of Coober Pedy go underground. They carve homes-called “dug- outs”—into the hills overlooking the town. Subterranean living has become normal in Coober Pedy. There are shops, hotels, meeting halls, and restaurants underground.

THE MINERS ARRIVE

The first opals in Coober Pedy were discovered by a 14-year-old boy. Willie Hutchinson, who was looking for gold with his father in 1915. Many soldiers returning from World War I came to the area and dug the first underground residences. A settlement took shape, which Aborigines (the original inhabitants of the area) called Kupa Piti. meaning “White Man’s Burrow.”

Most miners arrived in the 1960s and 1970s, immigrating to Australia and Coober Pedy from around the globe. The current population of 3,500 includes members of more than ethnic or national groups, including Greeks, Poles, Germans, Italians, Serbs, and Croats. They live together in relative harmony. Producing 80 percent of the world’s opals. Dealers from Hong Kong buy the opals directly from the miners because large companies cannot mine here. Mining permits are sold only to individuals or small groups.

ROUGH EDGES

Like many mining communities, Coober Pedy is a rough and rugged town. Trucks with “Explosives” signs on their sides clatter around the streets. A sign outside the drive-in movie theater politely asks patrons not to bring in any dynamite. The miners may enjoy a rough kind of fun including occasional fights—but the community takes a liberal attitude toward this behavior.

Its rough edges notwithstanding, Coober Pedy has a warmth and raw charm. Many residents claim that long ago they stopped off only for gasoline and never left. Some fell in love with the unique (though sometimes scary) scenery. Just outside town are colorful rocky areas, used as the so location for numerous films, including Red Planet and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. All around, the dry land forms a moonscape cut through by fencing, which keeps wild dogs out of the sheep farming country to the south and east.

Tourism is flourishing, and unlucky miners have opened opal shops, cafés, and underground motels. Still, this is a working town, and tourists had better watch their step. Peter Rowe, formerly the head of the Mine Rescue Squad, pulled plenty of badly injured people out of mine shafts during his career. The dirt tracks that cross the opal fields have many signs warning walkers to watch their step. Tourists have died after carelessly walking backwards while taking photographs.

HOME IS WHERE THE DIRT IS

To create a typical dug-out, you need a hill and a drill. Most home diggers tunnel into a hillside, which is a lot easier than digging straight down. If the hill doesn’t have a side of exposed rock, bulldozers push sand and loose soil away until a Sandstone face emerges. Dug-outs in the 1980s, before Coober Pedy established a town government, were usually blasted into a hillside, not actually dug. Drilling, with huge machines meant to dig tunnels through mountains, is now the technique of choice.

The homes are essentially artificial caves, but don’t assume there is anything primitive about them. Three-bedroom plans are common, and having your cave drilled out costs about the same so as building a new above-ground home of similar size. Needless to say, the structure is solid, which creates some challenges. Electrical wiring has to be placed in grooves in the rock and then plastered over. Plumbing is set in similar grooves.

The hills inside the town limits were all claimed soon after the comforts of dug-out living became well known. Coober Pedy had to expand, not because it needed more space but because it needed more hills. Some town planners predict that Coober Pedy will sprawl out to great distances as more miners seek a place to dig. Some paved roads have been laid, most of them running along the faces of as the hills and out to mine shafts. A lot more will be needed if homeowners head to the faraway hills.

One comfortable dug-out illustrates the advantages of underground living. Outside, it is pushing 104’ Fahrenheit (40’ Celsius). This is relatively mild for January in Coober Pedy. but hot nonetheless. Inside, it is wonderfully cool. The low ceiling and honey colored stone walls give a feeling of safety and refuge. Area rugs and comfortable furniture soften the interior. Appliances are set into customcarved spaces. Hole sweet hole.