Coober
Pedy, originally known as Stuart's range field, 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.
The
first explorer to pass near the site of Coober Pedy was
Scottish born John McDouall Stuart in 1858, but the town
was not established until after 1915, when opal was discovered
by Willie Hutchinson while he was searching for gold.
Miners first moved in around about 1916. In 1985 the opal
became South Australia's mineral emblem. In 1993 it was
proclaimed Australia's national gemstone - an annual opal
festival is held at Coober Pedy in April.
Oodnadatta
was proclaimed a Government Township in 1890 and on 7 January
1891 the railway line from Warrina to Oodnadatta was opened
and finally closed in 1980. Oodnadatta's busiest era was
World War II when Australian Army and Air Force set up local
facilities to service troop trains and fighter aircraft
en route to Darwin.
Woomera
is located approximately 488 km north of Adelaide along
the Stuart Highway. It is 177 km north of Port Augusta,
and 80 km south of the mining centre of Roxby Downs. The
Trans-Australian Railway passes Woomera at the nearby Pimba
rail siding.
Woomera
was given its name in 1947 and visiting the town was prohibited
until 1982 because of its military role. Although originally
a British base, Woomera has played host to a number of military
and aerospace organisations including ELDO (European Launcher
Development Organisation), NASA and the United States Air
Force.
Today
the town's population numbers in the hundreds but at its
peak in the 1960s, there were over 6,000 residents.
The
town of Hawker was established in 1880 and quickly became
a hub for wheat farming in the area when the railway arrived
to make it an important railhead. The wheat was recognised
as some of the best in South Australia and bullock teams
brought it to the railhead for shipment to the flour mills
to the south.
During
World War II the line became a vital link between Adelaide
and Darwin. 18,000 servicemen plus hundreds of thousands
of tonnes of military stores and equipment passed through
Hawker on their way to the north.
The
town of Roxby Downs was built in 1987 to service the Olympic
Dam mine and processing plant, located 16 kilometres north
of the site of the town. Roxby Downs was officially opened
on 5 November, 1988 and has a transient population of around
5,000.
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