January 20, 2019 Comments Off on Unusual places: South Australia’s Opal Capital of the World Views: 1618 Imago, Photography, Urban Trekker

There are a few places such as Australia’s Coober Pedy, a remote small town in the southern Australian outback, miles away from big city civilization. The air is arid, the temperatures hellish hot. What’s striking is that half of Coober Pedy’s population of 3,500 has moved to live in the underground.

Photo by: Pavel Špindler, CC BY 3.0

Local residents rely on mining opal, which is why the town has picked its opulent designation–this is the Opal Capital of the World. The terrain is so surreal that in 1985 the site was used for filming Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner.

The town of Coober Pedy, Photo by: Matt Malone (2007)

“The otherworldly landscape, which is checkered with ruddy-colored mounds of sandstone–the result of years of opal mining–was the perfect backdrop for the post-apocalyptic movie,” notes Smithsonian.com

Opal fields at Coober Pedy, South Australia (1992), Photo by CSIRO, CC BY 3.0

“That very landscape, not to mention the lure of finding a pricey opal, has drawn people here for years. It’s also forced the town’s residents underground–literally.”

Remnants of a movie set at Coober Pedy

Wim Wenders’ 1991 French-German science fiction drama Until the End of the World also used Coober Pedy as a filming location.

Coober Pedy was founded about a century ago when opal gemstones were first discovered in the area. The semi precious stone resource inevitably lured settlers to come here for the mining. In fact, an estimated 70 percent of global opal production can be traced back to this town in the Australian outback.

Panoramic view of Coober Pedy, Photo by: qwesy qwesy, CC BY 3.0

Amid excavations, miners have been able to stumble upon intricate treasuries.

One such find took place in 2016 when two local miners dug out opalised pearls, the first recorded item of its kind. The opalised pearls were identified to be about 65 million years when the area would have been a vast inland sea. The opals would have formed “when seas dried up and alkaline soil dissolved the silica in certain rocks, as well as bones and shells – and in this case, pearls,” according to abc.net.au

Opalised mollusc shell from a Coober Pedy mine, Photo by James St. John, CC BY 2.0

Not everyone can sustain the desert climate of Coober Pedy. Summer temperatures regularly hit 45 degrees celsius in the shade, and one would be so lucky to find a proper shade. Trees, like grass, flowers and other vegetation are rarity for Coober Pedy.

This evocative green door in Coober Pedy leads to someone’s underground home, Photo by: Lodo27, CC BY-SA 3.0

However, the town’s residents has found refuge in “dugouts.” They have applied their mining knowledge into digging holes to create underground dwellings where they can live. Temperatures in “dugouts” keep a comfortable constant of 23 degrees celsius regardless what’s the season above.

Dug-out in Coober Pedy, Photo by: Lodo27, CC BY-SA 3.0

Other amenities dug out by locals include an underground motel and a jewelry shop for tourists, who after mining are the second most significant source of income for Coober Pedy.

Inside Coober Pedy’s authentic jewelry shop, Photo by: Lodo27, CC BY-SA 3.0

There’s also the Umoona Opal Mine & Museum which offers a virtual tour for those who cannot make it there. The site of the museum was formerly an active local mine. But perhaps the most unexpected dwelling to see is the Serbian Orthodox Church, built by the Serbian community in 1993.

Municipal events include the annual Coober Pedy Opal Festival.

Balkan influence in Coober Pedy. The interior of the Serbian Orthodox church, Photo by Rober Link, CC BY-SA 2.0

Oddities will be noticed by the curious eye elsewhere. There’s no uniformity in how people’s underground homes look like. One owner has reportedly built a swimming pool at their premises.

Peek-a-boo at an underground motel room. The inverted umbrella in the ceiling catches loose dirt that falls down the ventilation shaft from the surface, Photo by: Kerry Raymond, CC BY 4.0 (2007)

Above ground: dozens of warning signs to keep aside from unmarked holes when traversing the area. Deemed unsafe to enter, most of those holes lead to abandoned opal mining sites. It’s hard to even imagine how many of them are around. Stats say by 1999, there were over 250,000 mine shafts entrances in the greater area of Coober Pedy.

Or, let’s not forget the chimneys, which also contribute to the odd-abundant landscape.

Coober Pedy chimneys, Photo by Nicholas Jones, CC BY 2.0

Last but not least, Coober Pedy has an inviolable relationship with Australia’s aboriginal people. It’s in the town’s very name. The word “Coober Pedy” is derived from the local Aboriginal term “kupa-piti” which stands for “boys’ waterhole.”

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Tags: Australia, Coober Pedy, mining communities, opal capital of the world, photography collection, rare places, remote cities, South Australia, underground cities, unusual places, weird planet